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Back The Shoe Queen
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. “And may I say, those shoes are adorable.”
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. ( I )
  7. ( one )
  8. ( two )
  9. ( three )
  10. ( four )
  11. ( five )
  12. ( six )
  13. ( seven )
  14. ( eight )
  15. ( nine )
  16. ( ten )
  17. ( II )
  18. ( eleven )
  19. ( twelve )
  20. ( thirteen )
  21. ( fourteen )
  22. ( fifteen )
  23. ( III )
  24. ( sixteen )
  25. ( seventeen )
  26. ( eighteen )
  27. ( nineteen )
  28. ( IV )
  29. ( twenty )
  30. ( twenty-one )
  31. ( twenty-two )
  32. ( twenty-three )
  33. ( twenty-four )
  34. ( V )
  35. ( twenty-five )
  36. ( twenty-six )
  37. ( twenty-seven )
  38. ( twenty-eight )
  39. ( twenty-nine )
  40. VI
  41. ( thirty )
  42. ( thirty-one )
  43. ( thirty-two )
  44. ( thirty-three )
  45. ( thirty-four )
  46. ( VII )
  47. ( thirty-five )
  48. ( thirty-six )
  49. ( thirty-seven )
  50. ( thirty-eight )
  51. ( thirty-nine )
  52. ( forty )
  53. ( forty-one )
  54. ( forty-two )
  55. ( VIII )
  56. ( forty-three )
  57. ( forty-four )
  58. ( forty-five )
  59. ( forty-six )
  60. ( forty-seven )
  61. ( forty-eight )
  62. ( forty-nine )
  63. ( fifty )
  64. ( fifty-one )
  65. Acknowledgments
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. Questions for Discussion

“When you’re really angry at someone, you can do very bad things. I did something bad tonight. I think I wanted to get even.”

“Don’t tell me any more. I’m not asking.”

He seemed, for a moment, to be deliberating over whether to say more about this but apparently decided not to. “Genevieve, I’m a man who likes to look to the future, always have done. I don’t fixate on the past. But you have to know what’s there. There are lessons to be learned—you learn them and you move on. That’s how you make things good. I still love you, God help me.”

“Are you saying you want me back? Do you really think we can go back to the way things were?”

A dry chuckle. “Oh, no, honey. We’re not going back. We’re going forward.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a deal to propose. And I want you to give it some proper thought. I’ll say what I have to say and you can stay here tonight and sleep on it.”

Again she waited. He looked taller, as though he was actually growing, in front of her eyes.

“You’ll tell me your secret. The secret that’s undermined this marriage and made you turn to another man. You’ll tell it to me, and I’ll listen, and then we’ll move on. We won’t talk about it ever again. We’ll leave Paris as soon as I can wrap things up and organize the tickets. We’ll go to Boston. You’ll treat me the way a wife should treat her husband, with respect. We’ll have children.”

“Oh, Robert—”

“No, don’t say anything now. Take tonight to think it through. It’s not a bad place, Boston, if you give it a chance. You’ll never want for anything. You’ll get to know my mother and sister. They’ll be good friends to you. We’ll all take care of each other. We’ll leave this whole mess behind us and start again.” Another puff on the cigar. “No more affairs, no more lies, no more secrets.”

He drained his glass. His hands were so steady now.

“What makes you think I’d come to Boston? You know I’ve never wanted to go there.”

“What choice do you have? Anyway, Paris isn’t right for you. It’s not what you need.”

“What do I need, then?”

He leaned forward. “I know about the shoes, honey. The tiny ones with the buttons. Your little-girl shoes. Of all the hundreds of shoes in that room of yours, you packed your Mary Janes to take away with you.”

She tried to speak but couldn’t.