"So, I'm going out for new character shoes. That way I can get something done and you can write, okay?" I said to Jamie. He was so cute. He was sitting on the couch with a puzzled look on his face as he typed into his computer. He would type something, and then delete it. Then he would type again and delete again. It was hysterical to me, but it worried him. I knew he worked well in quiet, so I figured to leave him alone for an hour or so.

"That would be marvelous. Thank you, Cathy," Jamie said. "Marvelous.... marvelous..." Soon he was typing again. It was like I wasn't there. I didn't mind, I just left. I walked to Capezio first. They were really expensive, but I like to see if I could find something I liked there, and then find a match at a cheaper store. Besides, sometimes on sale I could get something there.

I walked in and smiled A big red sign was hanging from the ceiling. Sale, Sale, Sale! Everything in the store of up to 50 off! Shoes up to 60 off! Sale, Sale, Sale! This was my lucky day. I knew the shoes that were 60 off would end up still being a much more than I could afford, but some of the other stuff I could still get. I walked over the shoe section. "Excuse me," I asked someone who worked there. "I only see black character shoes. Do you have any beige ones?"

"Sure we do. Walk this way," The worker said smiling. "They are up to 30 off with the sale. Anything look good?" I walked over to the shoes. I picked some up and put them down again. Then I found the one I knew I would get. It was beige with a beige buckle. It was your classic character shoe; only it was padded all around on the inside, even on the bottom of the strap. Having stood in characters for hours, the padding looked perfect.

"Do you have these in a size 6 ½?" I asked, showing the woman the shoe.

"Ah, the comfort shoe. Don't you just love it?" The woman said. "We were out yesterday, but we just got a new shipment, so let me check, okay?" I waited a while, looking at other shoes. None of them matched up to the comfort shoe. "Here's one," the woman said as she came back. She handed me the box.

"Heather! You have a call!" a woman at the desk called. Heather, the woman helping me, smiled and went to take the call.

I tried on the shoes. Oh, they were perfect. They had just enough padding everywhere, but not too much. It was soft and smooth, but it gave just the support I needed. I stood up in them and walked around a little. I had to get these shoes. They were heaven. I heard shrieks. "I got it! I got the job! I got it! I got it!" Heather was screaming.

"Wonderful," The woman behind the desk said. "Get back to work!"

"Sorry about that." Heather said when she returned. "It's just that I auditioned for this new show, Hot Cocoa and I got in. I'm only ensemble, but I'm an understudy for one of the leads!"

"This is crazy!" I said. "I'm in the ensemble of Hot Cocoa and I'm an understudy for a lead!"

"No way!" Heather said. "This is awesome. Is that why you're getting new character shoes?"

"Yeah, my old ones are pretty torn up. I'm Cathy, by the way." I said, extending my hand.

"I'm Heather, as I'm sure you know." She said smiling. "So, are you taking the shoes?"

"As long as they're not too much." I said.

"With the sale they are," Heather said, looking for a price on the box. "Sixty dollars plus tax."

"Oh, that's a bit much for me." I said. "Too bad, these shoes are perfect."

"Y'know what? I was going to get a pair for myself with this sale and my worker's discount. Hoe about I get two and you pay me?" Heather said.

"How much is it with your worker's discount?" I asked.

"Well, it's eighty dollars originally, so 80 minus 40 of 80 is..." Heather said, calculating in her head. "Forty-eight dollars plus tax."

"That I can do." I said. "Ring it up!"

"I'm back!" I said as I walked in. I looked around, but Jamie was nowhere to be seen. "Jamie? Jamie!" No response. His laptop was still there. Hmmm...I wonder what his next novel would be. He kept typing and deleting before...a quick peek couldn't hurt, could it?

If you look down the street in New York City, you see thousands of different people and you don't know any of them. They move fast, the whole world moves fast. Everyone moves fast, except for her. She took her time walking down the street. She didn't even notice when I went by, as if I were just another stranger. Yet I was not just another stranger, I was her ex-husband.

He was not writing that! I mean, it was obviously about me! I don't mean to sound conceited, but how many ex-wives does he have? I should stop reading now. I really should...

I knew why she ignored me. It wasn't because I was her ex-husband. It was because I cheated on her. Not just once, but many times. That was why our relationship fell apart. It fell apart because I wasn't trying. I didn't think I needed to; I had a back up for after the divorce. I was married to Fiona, but I had Kelsey.

Okay, tell me this wasn't what I thought it was. It couldn't be. How could he write about something so personal, so confidential? I don't mean that nobody knows, but nobody needs to know. I stop reading. I had to. There was a knock at the door. I went to open it and Jamie was on the other side with a big garbage bag. "Trash day?" I asked him as I let him in.

"This is what Elise was giving the trash man." Jamie said as he opened up the bag. "All my clothes! All my possessions! CDs, books, videos anything that was worth anything! Can you believe her?"

"So, I guess you guys are over then." I said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jamie said, lugging his stuff into the apartment.

"So, seen any good apartments yet?" I asked, trying desperately to keep the conversation off what I had read.

"I saw some things in the newspaper. I'm going to check them out tomorrow." Jamie said, sitting in front of his laptop. "You didn't, uh, read this, did you?"

"No, don't you, like, hate it when anyone reads your story before it's done?" I said, acting with all my might.

"It's a novel, not a story and yes. Thank you for respecting my privacy." Jamie said. Gee, guilt me a bit more there, will you?

"So, guess who I met at Capezio?" I asked, very excited about my new friend.

"Stephen Sondheim?" Jamie joked, knowing that he was my absolute favorite person in all of musical theatre.

"I wish," I said. "No, I met Heather, this girl who's in Hot Cocoa with me! She's in the ensemble as well, but she's the understudy for the other lead. So if both leads are sick or something, we'll be playing opposite each other! Isn't this crazy?"

"So you went for character shoes and came out with a new friend." Jamie said. "Isn't there a Disney Channel movie like this or something?" He smiled his gorgeous smile and laughed.

"Stop it! I met a new friend, and she gave me a discount on the most wonderful pair of character shoes ever!" I said, taking out my new shoes.

"She gave you a discount simply because you happened to be in the same show as you?" Jamie asked in disbelief.

"Well, they were already on sale 30, but she let me a pair with her worker's 10 discount. Of course, she bought a pair for herself, too." I said sitting down next to him.

"Of course." Jamie said. We smiled and suddenly it was very quiet. Jamie moved closer to me, and I didn't move away. I moved closer and our faces were barely an inch apart. Then Jamie kissed me with his tender touch. He pulled away suddenly and looked at the floor ashamed. "Sorry, I'm such a jerk sometimes," he said.

"No, it's okay," I heard myself saying. "See, I'm smiling." He looked at me and smiled. Well, we had already kissed, so why not do it again? And again? And again? Finally, I did have to stop.

"What is it?" Jamie asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes something's wrong. This. I mean, Jamie it's us. We can't do this." I said, trying to put logic into this.

"You said it was okay before." He said confused. "Cathy..."

"I know I said it was okay before, but I was wrong. This is wrong." I said, repeating myself. "Jamie, we got divorced. You cheated on me. For the last year of our relationship we never talked to each other, we yelled. Are we supposed to forget all that? Are we going to start all over and have it all happen again?"

"It wouldn't happen all over again," Jamie said.

"So you do want to try it again." I said. "No, Jamie. It's...we can't." I wasn't making any sense. I wanted to go back to Jamie. I did desperately, but I didn't want that feeling of loneliness in a relationship again.

"You're not making sense," Jamie said. "You want this, I want this. Why can't we try again?"

"I can't, Jamie, I just can't." I said and walked out of the apartment. I walked down the street, and then I would walk back up again. I didn't know where I was going. I went into a diner and ordered a cup of coffee that I didn't drink. I walked up and down the streets again. Finally, I knew where I had to go. I walked and walked. On and on I went. When I finally got to my destination, I was scared. I knew I had to do this, but it was horrifying. I walked into the building and went up to the sixth floor. I went to the door that said 6C. I took a deep breath and knocked three times.

"Who is it?" a voice from inside asked.

"It's Cathy," I said. "Please let me in, Elise."

(Thanks so much for your reviews! They really help me going on. Why is Cathy going to talk to Elise? Please Review!!!)