Page 46 of His Christmas Star
He reached into the bag and pulled out a leather shoe unlike anything I’d seen before. “Beau, what is that? It’s beautiful.”
He handed it to me to inspect while he explained. “It’s a new design I came up with for your foot that doesn’t have any toes. I based it on the idea of someone with a midfoot amputation and some of the other shoe products that companies are using. The leather gauntlet is like your old one, but instead of using a wooden prosthetic foot, there’s a hard plastic plate that I bought off the internet. I added medical-grade foam to fill the rest of your boot and covered it all in leather. I had a couple of guys on a leather forum I’m on mention that they make these for people who can’t afford to get them from a clinic. I don’t want to do it for everyone, but I’ll do it for you, Miss Tobi, if they work. You should have something that works but also feels good and doesn’t hurt your skin.”
I held the foot to my chest as tears ran down my cheeks. “Beau, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. It’s only been a week since I showed them to you.”
“I would have had them sooner, but I had to wait for the plate to come,” he said, motioning at the foot. “Want to see the other one?”
“Other one?” I asked, laughing through my tears. “There’s more?”
“Well, you have two feet don’t ya?” he asked in his usual Texas drawl.
He pulled out the other one as I wiped away the tears, only for new ones to start. “Beau, this is too much.”
“Nothing is too much if you can walk safely and comfortably. Doesn’t everyone deserve that, Miss Tobi? If my daughter needed help, I sure hope someone would help her the same way.”
I squeezed his shoulder in solidarity with that sentence and nodded. “That sweet baby is so lucky to have you as a daddy. You know that, Beau Hanson-McAwley? And I’m lucky to have you as a friend. I don’t know what to say. I’m humbled by the time and work you’ve put into these.”
“This one was a little tougher to figure out because you have the one toe and the split,” he said, holding it up. I used the same theory as the other one, but instead of making a slot for your toe to go in, which just doesn’t make sense, I made it like a flip-flop. That way, your toe won’t be compressed and you’ll have better use of it.” He pulled back a piece of Velcro over the toes and showed me the space for my big toe, the foam that will protect the split in my foot, and the shaped foam to make up the other four toes. “Why don’t you try it on, and we will see if it works?”
I pulled my house shoe off and eagerly settled my heel into the new bison leather gauntlet he’d made. It was supple and made walking that much easier. “Oh, I like having that heel plate there now, Beau. It’s more stable.”
“That’s what this guy said online. He was a kinese—hmmm,” he said, stopping to think.
“Kinesiologist?” I asked, and he pointed at me.
“Yes, that. He explained how the foot works and said adding the full plate would put less stress on the bones you do have.”
He helped me settle my toes in the right places and then brought the Leather piece over to secure on the other side. I stared down at it in shock. “Beau, it looks just like a shoe. This is amazing. It’s going to slide right into my boots.”
“That’s the plan, and once you’re used to putting your foot in correctly, you can slide it in from the heel instead of opening the Velcro each time.”
He waited while I put the other foot on, too, and I stood up, testing to see if anything was pinching or needed adjustment. Beau brought my work boots over, and I tried them in the boots, thrilled when they slid in, and I could still zip the boot closed.
“Beau, I’m just stunned. They feel so different and so wonderful.”
He held my shoulders as I stood in place and forced eye contact. “The guy online said you have to break them in slowly, so you don’t get blisters on other parts of your feet. He said they would react differently from your old pair, and you have to relearn how to walk with them. Hold onto me before you take a step.”
Knowing he was right, I grasped his arm and took my first two steps, my eyes widening.
“It’s never been that easy before. That was smooth! Did you see how smooth that was?” I asked, my voice full of excitement.
“It looked the same to me, but I wouldn’t know how it feels. Only you’d know that.”
“Trust me. It feels unreal. Is this how it feels to walk for normal people? Wait, I know you can’t answer that. I’m just in shock at how little effort it took.”
He kept hold of my arm as we walked around the room, my head shaking continually with each step. Finally, he led me to the couch to sit. “That’s probably enough for now. You don’t want to overdo it until the toe is healed.”
He pulled my boots off but left the new feet on, slipping my house slippers over them, nodding when they fit inside those too. “I know you need the feet to move around the house, but no going outside and doing too much until you make sure they aren’t rubbing anywhere. If they are, call me, and I’ll come right over. We want to make sure we don’t cause new problems to start.”
I nodded, but I was crying again and couldn’t speak.
“You okay, Miss Tobi, or should I call someone?”
“I’m okay,” I promised, wiping my face with my shoulder. “It’s just that no one has ever done anything like this for me before. You don’t know how much this will change my quality of life, Beau. It makes me feel …” I patted my chest as I tried to find the words. “Like a normal person. I don’t have to be ashamed of my body. It might sound stupid to you, but that’s how I feel inside.”
He handed me a tissue and then patted my knee. “It doesn’t sound stupid, Miss Tobi. You can feel any way you want to feel, and no one can take that away from you. I’m glad they fit and are comfortable, but you promise me you’ll call with any problems, no matter what time it is.”
“I promise,” I said as I wiped my tears. “I want this blister to heal, so I can be up and running when the first students come in January. I’m not going to do anything I shouldn’t and risk the future of the school.”
