"Hmm, can I?" Jacob beamed at the idea.
"Sure; what size?"
"Thirteen…"
"I'll be right back." The salesman said as he dashed off to the men's section.
"How you like?" Jacob asked Markus as they waited for the clerk's return.
"They're cool…" Young Markus beamed looking at how cool his feet looked in the fresh Puma's high top. Jacob looked at the cleats and could see what the salesman was saying about looking bulky and not having a snug fit.
"How do they feel on your feet?" He inquired.
"They feel like flip-flops. I kept stumbling when I run." Markus explained coming back to sit down with Jacob. "Can I try these?" He said pointing to another pair of high tops.
"Here you go sir…" The salesman said as he returned carrying two boxes of cleats; one was high tops and the other ones were low. He set them on the side of Jacob as Jacob began taking off his own shoes.
"Hey Markus try on those low tops first." Jacob suggested to Markus dismay.
"But Dad…" Markus grumbled as he took off his first pair and began putting on the ones that his father had suggested.
"Do you want me to get you a pair of tube socks? The feel will not be the same with those silk socks." The clerk explained as he observed the fine silk black socks that Jacob wore.
"Yea, I guess I should buy me a pair of gym shoes too…" He commented. "After all I'll be the one taking him to and from practice and games." He reasoned.
"Stay here and try on these cleats with your son. I'll go and pick up a couple pairs of gym shoes along with those tube socks." The clerk happily expressed as he thought about the commission he was about to make with this sale.
* * * * * * * *
Marla shuddered as she sat outside in her car in front of the two-story burgundy Victorian frame house again. Should she confront Mrs. Ellis about the situation with the numbers or should she just take the hint and leave them alone?
"Aaaah…" She screamed behind the closed windows and locked doors of her car as she banged her head gently against the steering wheel. "What to do what to do?" She wondered out loud as she sat. Another fifteen minutes ticked by as she debated whether or not she should approach Mrs. Ellis again.