Those High Heels

 

The board meeting had been down by the coast due to the fact that one of the members lived there and always had to drive two hours to attend the meetings in the city. No one had objected to it because it was a weekend. She had gone a bit earlier to spend some time with her family but on Saturday was ready for the meeting that would last all day long and then there would be a dinner to celebrate.

The meeting was held outdoors so we could feel the sea breeze, although the tide was high no one worried whether the water was going to invade the land. We all sat there attending to the agenda. The only difference, if you observed us, was the attire. Everyone was dressed up for the meeting, not in casual beachwear.  She never missed a meeting since the other female directors could never make it due to distance, age, or other family affairs. She nicely dressed in a green skirt outfit and heels although she did feel funny wearing them high heels at the beach.

Sitting next to her favorite director, she took notes and doodled a bit. She pitched in with much effort because it was always the president and the vice president who agreed to what the new projects would be. Being an overly competent person, she was added to many projects. Whenever she objected, the male members who always tried to sweet talk her into joining. She had finally learned to say no in the sweetest way, not to offend anyone.

Towards the end of the meeting, they decided to gather in the hotel lobby for dinner around 6pm. None of the members question the reason for such an early dinner. Perhaps they were going to drive to a nearby city. Hopefully there would be something on the menu which she could eat. She had finally found a diet that she could manage to feel good about and help improve her health, which she did not want to interrupt.

Meeting ended. She gathered all her material and headed for the hotel. As she reached to elevators, there was one about to close and she yelled: ‘hold the door.’ A nice young gentleman did just that. She got in without paying to much attention as if she were looking but not really seeing anything. She was stuck in her own thoughts.

When she finally caught her breath returning to the present moment, she noticed that the whole elevator was a bar. It was a big room filled with fancy dressed people ordering drinks, smoking cigars, gambling, laughing – having a good time. ‘Excuse me. Does this elevator stop on the 8^th floor?’ She asked a waitress who greeted her at the entrance. ‘Yes, it is a regular elevator, however, it is just a bit slower than the systematic one therefore you truly do not have to rush to get off. Can I get you a drink?’ Her language was formal and she was extremely polite. ‘Just some water please.’ The waitress nodded for the young girl to follow her to the bar. However, before they reached the bar, two men dressed in golden suites called the waitress over and spoke to her. It must have been something serious for they did not have their friendly faces on.  The girl in the heels did not like the look they gave her as she walked by. As a matter of fact, she did not appreciate any of the looks she was getting as she made her way across the room. It felt as if she were being checked out from head to toe and then back up again, which made her tremendously uncomfortable.

‘The owners have asked me to ask you to please roll down your sleeves and put on the suit jacket.’  Luckily for her, she was carrying one just in case the meeting was going to be held in a freezing airconditioned office. In the end, she kind of wished it had been, it was blazing hot outside. ‘They do know the temperatures are high outside. What happens to those people who are in their beachwear?’ The young girl asked as she was undoing her sleeves. ‘Well, to be frank, the elevator does not stop for them. The owners are the ones who control who can come in and who can´t.’ She thought it was odd. How can you judge people by the clothes they are wearing, after all it was a beach town. With this thought in mind, she decided to pay for her water and get out of there as soon as possible.

Finally, the elevator reached the 8^th floor, and she got off relieved to be out of there those were a bunch of bizarre people. She told her family about it, but no one believed her.

After a warm bath, trying to rid her mind from what she had just experienced. She decided not to wear heels to her dinner with the board. She went to the same elevator door and waited patiently for it to reach her floor. When the doors opened, it was a regular elevator.

Written: March 7, 2023 (based on a dream)

 

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