La douleur exquise

It was my birthday in April.  So what does the Working Girl get for herself on her birthday?  A pair of uber fabulous kicks of course!  It’s about a splurge for another year of surviving the trials and tribulations of a girl in the big city.  So, I wanted to bring a little Brian Atwood to the Working Girl’s Shoe Closet’s couture collection.  And what better choice than the ‘Maniac’ to do that?

I only found one place that was selling them at the time.  I quickly ordered them and could NOT wait for FedEx to bring them to my doorstep.  Tracking the shipment like a cyber stalker, I would hit “refresh” every day for hours like that would make them arrive sooner.  One day, out of the blue, I get a FedEx tag on my door with the “Second Attempt” check box marked.  I looked at it in disbelief thinking, “EXCUSE ME??”  I resigned myself to say fine, another 24 hours and I will be reveling in joy.  Small price to pay for glory.  Next day, ANOTHER TAG.  No shoes.  Long story short, FedEx held my shoes hostage claiming my neighborhood was “unsafe” to leave them even though I had signed the slip complete with detailed instructions such as my phone number in case they felt they still could not leave them.  Calling the store was my last resort.  I called them with one of the most horrid non-reactionary responses.  They were not apologetic.  They were not even the least bit horrified that my $600 shoes were being held hostage.  They offered to redirect my shoes to be delivered to my office.  They called FedEx and made the arrangements for next day delivery.  The next day came and went and still NO SHOES.  I was beyond myself with anger.  Who are they to deny a woman's right to shoes?  And since when does the Universe keep The Working Girl from her shoes?

In the end, the shoes never came.  It was a cruel joke to see my beloved desire just outside my reach.  Seeing the dream of my dreams, no more than that, a dream I never ever deigned to dream come true, almost within within grasp, only to end up not being able to really have them, like a love that you can never fulfill in the way true, sincere and genuine love should be enjoyed, realized and had, it’s the most exquisite pain.  

Note: I didn't order them from Nordstrom.  Nordstrom would NEVER treat their customers like that.