Still barefoot after all these years

by sharleen wl

the following took place some time last year when we were still in lock down and our restaurant only served take out orders. as i previously told you i was working as a cashier and they let me work barefoot since there were no dine-in customers. that particular day was quite busy, and one of the servers didn't come in, so they were underhanded. 

i offered to help by bringing the orders out to the customers who were waiting in their cars outside. at first my boss hesitated cos i was barefoot but finally let me do it since they could really use my help.

it was around 6:30 pm and it was still a little light outside. one of the servers asked me if i could bring out an order to the car parked right in front. i said sure. i looked at the receipt and saw the name was david. so i walked out and saw there was only one person in the car (the driver). he was wearing a hat and a face mask. so i went to the driver's window which was open and said, "david? here's your order."

the guy turned towards me and looked down at my bare feet, and then exclaimed, "oh my god, sharleen!"

i was stunned and wondered who the fuck he was. seeing me speechless he was like, "hahaha, you don't recognize me do you? i recognize your pretty face even behind that mask!" he then took off his mask. i instantly recognized him. he was david my friend from college.

"i'm sorry david, it was probably your hat," i was like a little embarrassed.

"hehe yeah, and that's ok. i can see that you're still barefoot after all these years. they let you work barefoot here? hey, do you have a few minutes so we can chat a little?"

i went in to tell my boss that i met an old friend and asked if i could have a few minutes break. he said ok, so i walked back out to david's car. he told me to jump into the front passenger seat. i took my mask off and briefly told him what had been going on with me.

"well, i'm sorry you haven't been able to find a job in your field, but look on the bright side; at least you can work barefoot," he said, to which i agreed. "are the floors in there pretty dirty?" he asked. i said yes, and showed him the bottom of my right foot, and he was like, "oh, wow!" 

ya, after working almost 8 hours barefoot which included walking back and forth to the parking lot delivering food, my soles were fucking black. and yes, david is one of 'those guys' if you know what i mean, lol.

i was his crush back in college but at the time i was going out with the other guy rick, and david wasn't really my type so we just remained 'friends.' he told me that he was now engaged and working and living in california but his company had to temporarily close due to the pandemic, so he decided to come home to hawaii and spend time with his family.

after like 15 minutes i told him i needed to go back to work cos they were very busy, and he should head on home before his food got cold. so we kissed (i know it was a no-no back then but we did it anyway, lol), and as i was stepping out of the car he said, "keep those feet bare and dirty!" i giggled and walked back into the restaurant.

from paradise hawaii, this is sharleen reminding you that life is magical. yes, especially when you can work barefoot. so...

aloha and have a magical day!