Part 5: And So It Begins
The continuing tale of how Lavinia became Molly, capturing love and so much more.
Both Ron and Molly (Lavinia) had lived alone for so long that just living with another personally was something requiring adjustments. There were some awkward moments at first but this odd couple soon settled into a platonic form of domestic bliss. Molly's cafe required an early start to the day and as soon as Ron heard her bedroom door open he would quickly use his toilet and rush down to the kitchen to get the coffee started and begin the process of fixing Molly's usual breakfast of three eggs over easy, two slices of toast and a sizable helping of either bacon or sausage. By the time she was dressed and down the stairs Ron usually had everything ready so all she needed to do was sit down and eat. He would pour himself a coffee and join her before seeing her off to the cafe.
Ron had never been much of a housekeeper, living the simple but lonely life of a somewhat shy bachelor. However, he was determined to make this partnership work. Never in his nearly forty years had he felt so energized and free of stress. After only a week or so he recognized just how hard Molly worked at the cafe and was determined to make her time at home as worry and chore free as he possibly could. Even with cutting the lawn, pulling weeds and planting a couple of nice flower beds he still seemed to have more free time and less stress than he ever imagined he would.
The cafe was only open for breakfast and lunch, closing at four p.m. By the time the register was balanced and the day's deposits taken care of, she and the staff were usually out the door by five. Her days were still long but without having to worry about the day to day drudge of housekeeping, her free time was now truly free. She even thought of actually closing the cafe one day a week or possibly letting her employees run the business while she gave herself one day a week off. While her relationship with Ron was strictly business she did notice a kindness in the man as well as a genuine interest in her well being that hinted at becoming something more. He seemed to make it his mission in life to see that everything in her home life was a perfect as humanly possible. There was also that reoccurring image of his trousers as she untied him from the chair and the thought of what that could possibly portend excited her.
This platonic pattern continued for a few months and might have gone on forever if not for the shoes. Molly was cooking that morning when a workplace safety inspector came into the cafe for an unannounced safety inspection. He was the typical overly self important petty tyrant that you generally get when you hand someone the power to enforce rules without oversight or recourse. Among the various violations he cited was a lack of safety footwear for all restaurant staff. It made no difference that Molly was the owner. If she was working there she had to have the fully approved footwear with hardened toe, anti-shock and anti-slip soles. Molly was on her feet nearly the entire day and had always worn comfortable sneakers. The smug bastard cheerfully told her that he was allowing her to stay open the rest of the day so long as every employee had the proper footwear by its end. Lose the sneakers or close the doors. The choice was her's to make.
Finding a comfortable woman's safety shoe in her size was impossible at either of the town's two shoe stores and she had to finally buy a poorly fitting men's work boot. By the end of the day her toes were sore and her heels chaffed. Walking into her home all she could think of was soaking them in a warm pan of Epsom salts. After dropping her coat on the back of a chair she went to a closet looking for an old enameled pan she remembered stored there. Ron heard her rummaging around and stopped fixing dinner to see what was going on.
Molly saw him come in from the kitchen and asked, "I need that old white foot bath pan Ron. Have you see it?"
"I think I saw it down in the basement." He answered. "What's the matter?"
Molly explained about her new shoes and how they made her feet hurt after just a single day.
"They need to get broken in," he responded. "They'll get better once that happens." I know a couple of tricks to speed that up. After dinner I'll work on them."
"Thanks Ronnie, now I just need something that works on the feet that go in them."
Ron glanced at her feet. "Holy smokes! Those dogs are really barking. I might be able to help with that as well. Why not get off them for a bit while I get the pan and the Epsom salts?"
She thanked him as he went off to find the pan and made her way to the big comfy couch in the living room. Ron returned a few minutes later with a pan of warm, salty water followed by a glass of red wine.
"Take it easy and sip on this. Dinner is started and I have enough time to run into town and pick up some things from the drug store that might help. I'll be back to get the food on the table, so just relax."
Ron was back before the hour was up bringing with him a can of neatsfoot oil and some moleskin. After seeing that dinner was still progressing he used a few spare moments to work neatsfoot oil into Molly's work boots and cut out some moleskin patches. After dinner he used a needle and thread to sew the moleskin onto the toe of a pair of socks. She had her feet propped up on the couch, a glass of red wine in her hand and a game show on the TV when he came in carrying the boots and socks.
"Here, give these a try."Ron said as he handed her the now softened boots and the pair of strange looking socks.
"Oh! The shoes feel so soft now. What did you do to them?"
"I used an old trick that we used to do when I was a kid with a new baseball glove. You paint the leather with neatsfoot oil and let it soak in while you work the leather with your hands to soften it up."
"Okay, but what's this on a pair of your socks?"
