Two Different Shoes, One Inhaler

Marguerite works in the back room of the pharmacy. The room is small and cool. It has shelves of white boxes from the floor to the ceiling. She knows every box.

At ten to three, Wolfgang runs in through the side door. He is new, and he is always late. Today he carries a big bag and a paper cup.

"Sorry, sorry," he says. "The alarm did not ring."

Marguerite looks at him. Then she looks at his feet. "Wolfgang, what are you wearing?"

He looks down. On his left foot is a black shoe. On his right foot is a brown one. They are not even the same shape.

"Oh no," he says. "It was dark in my room."

"You walked here like that?"

"Nobody said anything. I think people are polite."

Marguerite laughs and goes back to her work. She counts tablets into a small tray. The back room is quiet, except for the clock above the door. It ticks loudly.

At three o'clock the shop phone rings. The pharmacist at the front, a young man, calls through the door. "Marguerite, it is the school! They need you!"

She picks up the phone in the back room. A woman's voice is fast and tight. "This is the sports teacher at the school across the field. A girl here has a race at three twenty. She left her inhaler at home. Her mother says you have the same one in the shop."

Marguerite checks the screen. "Yes. It is ready on the shelf. It has her name on it."

"Can someone bring it? The girl is very scared. Without it, she cannot run."

"We will send it now," says Marguerite.

She puts down the phone. She takes the small box from the shelf. She checks the time. It is three o'clock. The race starts in twenty minutes.

"Wolfgang!" she calls. "Take this to the school. Run!"

"Where is the school?"

"Go out the front door and turn left. Follow the road around the park. Then the long road to the gate. It is a fifteen-minute drive. We have no car today."

"Fifteen minutes by car?" Wolfgang says. "I cannot run that fast. Not in these shoes."

Marguerite thinks hard. She does not want to waste the time. She looks at the box in her hand. She looks at the clock. Then she looks at the back door.

It is a plain grey door with a heavy lock. It leads to the small yard where the staff keep the bins. Behind the yard there is a low fence. Behind the fence is a long green field.

"The field!" she says.

"What about the field?"

"It is the school field. Their sports day is on it right now. If you cross the field, it is three minutes. Five, in your shoes."

Wolfgang stares at the door. "Nobody uses that door."

"Everybody uses it for the bins," says Marguerite. "Come on."

She opens the lock with a big key. The door sticks, so she pushes it with her shoulder. A bright light comes into the dark room.

They step into the yard. The fence is low and old. Wolfgang climbs it first. His brown shoe slips on the top bar.

"Be careful!" says Marguerite.

"I am careful!" says Wolfgang. "These shoes are not!"

He jumps down on the other side. Marguerite passes him the box. Then she pulls a stool from the yard and climbs after him. She is not young, but she moves fast.

The field is wide and green. Far away, children in blue shirts stand by a white line. A referee with a loud whistle waves his arm. Everyone is ready to start.

"Go!" says Marguerite. "I will follow."

Wolfgang runs. His left shoe is smooth and quick. His right shoe is heavy and slow. He looks like a man who runs in two different races.

Marguerite watches him go. She holds her side and walks quickly behind him.

At the line, the children see him first. They laugh and point at his feet. Some of them cheer. A small girl in a blue shirt stands alone. Her hands press against her chest. Her breath is short and shaky.

Wolfgang stops in front of her. He bends over, out of breath, and holds out the box.

"Delivery," he says. "From the pharmacy. Special, for you."

The girl takes the inhaler and puts it to her mouth. She breathes in slowly. She holds it. She breathes out. Her shoulders drop, and her eyes get wide again.

"Thank you," she says.

"Good," says the sports teacher. She is still holding her whistle. "You are two minutes early."

Marguerite arrives a moment later, with her hair flying. She sees the girl standing straight and smiling. She puts a hand on her heart.

The referee looks at Wolfgang's shoes. "Excuse me, sir," he says. "Did you run here with those?"

Wolfgang looks down. Then he looks up and smiles.

"They are a pair," he says. "Just not the same pair."