The Boots by J.A. Hall

 

I found them sitting quietly on a shelf in a secondhand store. They weren’t brand new, but were slightly used. Their color was somewhere between a dark tan and a light brown. They were made of brushed suede, had a short square wooden heal, and the toes were squared, not pointed like most cowboy boots. They had leather straps that crossed over both sides with a round, brass ring. The bottom of the heels had a small metal plate on them that made a clicking sound on the pavement.

I was 12 years old that summer. My mother and I were living on our own and money was always tight. It was county fair time and I was going to show my horse for the very first time. I was in 4-H and our advisors worked with use very morning to get us prepared for the upcoming show. We would wash and groom our horses, clean, and polish our saddles, and get our show outfits together. My mother had put an outfit together for me out of some of her old things. It looked really nice, but the only thing I still needed was a pair of cowboy boots. It seemed like all the other kids had boots as a matter of course, but I had always made do with my old tennis shoes. I knew that we couldn’t afford to buy me a new pair of boots just for this one horse show. My mother had suggested that I might borrow a pair of boots from someone who might have an extra pair. It was probably a good suggestion, but I was too embarrassed to ask anyone. I would just have to try and figure out something on my own.

The day before the horse show my mother showed up at the fairgrounds during her lunch hour. She told me that a lady she worked with had told her about a secondhand clothing store in Chauncey that might have a pair of used boots at a reasonable price. We went to the store and looked around, but we weren’t having much luck. We were about to leave when I saw them sitting alone on a shelf. I took them down and tried them on. They fit me as if they were made for me. Mother asked the clerk how much he wanted for the boots. He said they were $15.00. Mother didn’t say anything, but I knew $15.00 was a great deal of money to us. She told the clerk that she would have to think about it and that we would come back later. We left the store and headed back to the fairgrounds. In those few brief moments I had gone from sheer joy in finding the boots, to complete emptiness in losing them. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about boots for the horse show. I was running out of time. Mother told me to say a little prayer and not to worry because God answered prayers. I went back to the barn and started brushing my horse and tried to forget about it.

The day of the horse show started out beautifully. The sun was bright and the sky was clear. You could feel the excitement in the air as kids were preparing for the show. Everyone was in his/her best show outfits. I was just about to get into mine when I saw my mother’s car come flying into the fairgrounds with her horn blowing and her arm waving for me to come over to the car. I ran over to the car and sitting next to my mother on the front seat were the boots! I was frozen with shock and I couldn’t hear or say anything. Mother handed me the boots through the open car window and gently said, “Go get them, Netty!” I gave her the biggest hug that was ever given to any mother before and raced back to the barn with my new boots. I put them on and felt like a million dollars. God had answered a prayer, but since I hadn’t been the one that said one, it must have been my mother.

It has been a long time since that summer. We had some great times that summer, just mother and me. I still remember those boots and the joy they brought. After I outgrew the boots, I gave them to a young girl who didn’t have a pair. I hope they brought her as much enjoyment as they did to me.

Connect with J.A. Hall

facebook – Little Meadow Farm

 

J.A. Hall is the author of the new children’s book Bandit Finds a Home (Monday Creek Publishing 2020). Hall grew up in southeastern Ohio riding horses and is the proprietor of Little Meadow Farm. She will be attending the 2021 Ohioana Book Festival in April and will be featured by Ohioana Zoom, April 23, 2021, 11AM. Find the link at Ohioana.org when it becomes available. Connect with Hall on facebook @ Little Meadow Farm.