"We may still be able to save the tongue if we hurry! Hand me the--thank you. We need to see if this is a deep scar or if it's just at the surface...oh, thank god, it can be saved if we just--"
"You're being ridiculous, Richie," sighed Melissa heavily. "It's just a shoe."
"Hey, I'm just trying to have some fun with this job," laughed Richie as he continued to work on the tongue of the shoe that had been turned in to the shoe hospital the two of them worked at.
"Well, do it a bit more quietly. I need to focus."
"On shoes? Do they really require our full attention?"
"I, perhaps unlike you, like to do a good job."
"Hey, I like to do a good job."
"Oh come on," Melissa said, rolling her eyes, "you don't take this job seriously."
"Well do you? We call ourselves a hospital, isn't that a bit stupid?"
Melissa shrugged her shoulders, "Sure I'm not gonna pretend that our job is as important as someone who works in a real hospital, but the word is just used so people know what we are--"
"Saying 'shoe repair' would do that too--"
"If you'd let me finish, you'd've heard me say that it also grabs people's attention and all businesses try to do that. I don't think it's so dumb."
"Okay, but all we do, Melissa, is fix shoes. It's kinda a dumb job."
"Toldja you don't take the job seriously." Melissa shrugged again and kept working on the shoe she had. In fact, she hadn't stopped working during the whole conversation.
"And you think it's not dumb? Come on." Richie put down the shoe he was working on for dramatic effect.
"No, I don't think it's dumb for people to want things repaired."
"Oh but these people could just buy new shoes." Richie saw the kinds of people who came in here, they had far more money than Melissa or Richie did. They could so easily have just bought new shoes, why bother with repair?
"But doesn't that tell you something?"
"Okay, I'll bite, what does it tell me?" Richie asked, making the tongue of the shoe move as though it was talking.
Melissa rolled her eyes again before replying. "It tells you that they value these shoes for some reason or at least the idea of not throwing something out because it needs a bit of care."
"And?"
"And I happen to think that's nice and that that means we are doing something important for these people because, you're right, most of these people could just so easily just buy another pair of shoes, but these shoes mean enough to them that they choose to keep paying for them to be fixed. There are some pairs of shoes I've seen in here five times or more and sometimes the clients tell me that the shoes were the ones they wore to their wedding or were given to them by their grandmothers and I like being able to help people fix things that mean something to them."
"Okay...I guess--"
"Wait, I'm not done. And for those where they just value something being fixed, I also like that idea. We have so much waste and garbage in this world and even if the shoes don't hold some deep sentimental value for them, they clearly think that maybe we shouldn't waste a pair of shoes that could be just fine with a little bit of attention. So yeah, I also like those clients. Now this doesn't mean that clients can't be difficult and that sometimes the shoes smell and that some of the repairs are tricky, but I guess I think it all means something."
Richie was quiet for a moment. He observed Melissa and noticed, perhaps for the first time, that she looked rather serene while working and that she had been able to form all of these articulate points while trying to repair a heel. "You make some good points," he admitted.
"I know I do," she said, smiling.
"Does this mean I have to start taking this job more seriously?"
"I'd appreciate it."
"Can I still do the hospital joke sometimes?"
"How about once a month?"
"Twice a week."
"Once every two weeks."
"Twice every two weeks."
"You mean once a week?" Melissa asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"On average, but I want wiggle room to make two jokes in a week and then skip a week."
Melissa rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine."
"Then hand me that glue, stat!"
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
Photo by Thomas Hawk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/30856488494/
"You're being ridiculous, Richie," sighed Melissa heavily. "It's just a shoe."
"Hey, I'm just trying to have some fun with this job," laughed Richie as he continued to work on the tongue of the shoe that had been turned in to the shoe hospital the two of them worked at.
"Well, do it a bit more quietly. I need to focus."
"On shoes? Do they really require our full attention?"
"I, perhaps unlike you, like to do a good job."
"Hey, I like to do a good job."
"Oh come on," Melissa said, rolling her eyes, "you don't take this job seriously."
"Well do you? We call ourselves a hospital, isn't that a bit stupid?"
Melissa shrugged her shoulders, "Sure I'm not gonna pretend that our job is as important as someone who works in a real hospital, but the word is just used so people know what we are--"
"Saying 'shoe repair' would do that too--"
"If you'd let me finish, you'd've heard me say that it also grabs people's attention and all businesses try to do that. I don't think it's so dumb."
"Okay, but all we do, Melissa, is fix shoes. It's kinda a dumb job."
"Toldja you don't take the job seriously." Melissa shrugged again and kept working on the shoe she had. In fact, she hadn't stopped working during the whole conversation.
"And you think it's not dumb? Come on." Richie put down the shoe he was working on for dramatic effect.
"No, I don't think it's dumb for people to want things repaired."
"Oh but these people could just buy new shoes." Richie saw the kinds of people who came in here, they had far more money than Melissa or Richie did. They could so easily have just bought new shoes, why bother with repair?
"But doesn't that tell you something?"
"Okay, I'll bite, what does it tell me?" Richie asked, making the tongue of the shoe move as though it was talking.
Melissa rolled her eyes again before replying. "It tells you that they value these shoes for some reason or at least the idea of not throwing something out because it needs a bit of care."
"And?"
"And I happen to think that's nice and that that means we are doing something important for these people because, you're right, most of these people could just so easily just buy another pair of shoes, but these shoes mean enough to them that they choose to keep paying for them to be fixed. There are some pairs of shoes I've seen in here five times or more and sometimes the clients tell me that the shoes were the ones they wore to their wedding or were given to them by their grandmothers and I like being able to help people fix things that mean something to them."
"Okay...I guess--"
"Wait, I'm not done. And for those where they just value something being fixed, I also like that idea. We have so much waste and garbage in this world and even if the shoes don't hold some deep sentimental value for them, they clearly think that maybe we shouldn't waste a pair of shoes that could be just fine with a little bit of attention. So yeah, I also like those clients. Now this doesn't mean that clients can't be difficult and that sometimes the shoes smell and that some of the repairs are tricky, but I guess I think it all means something."
Richie was quiet for a moment. He observed Melissa and noticed, perhaps for the first time, that she looked rather serene while working and that she had been able to form all of these articulate points while trying to repair a heel. "You make some good points," he admitted.
"I know I do," she said, smiling.
"Does this mean I have to start taking this job more seriously?"
"I'd appreciate it."
"Can I still do the hospital joke sometimes?"
"How about once a month?"
"Twice a week."
"Once every two weeks."
"Twice every two weeks."
"You mean once a week?" Melissa asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"On average, but I want wiggle room to make two jokes in a week and then skip a week."
Melissa rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine."
"Then hand me that glue, stat!"
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/30856488494/
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