Bite of Vengeance

Shoes fascinated me.

Among the many marvels the people of earth have created, shoes were by far the most ingenious. As I sat watching my only family leave, all I could pay attention to was the soft groan of leather, the squeaking of rubber and the clicking of buckles. What a symphony to listen to as I lay there watching him abandon me.

That was what he did.

Every day for the last four years, that was just what he did.

Our relationship wasn't all that endearing, though he liked to think otherwise. I sighed. Men and their play toys. He left me all alone the entire day, returning home in the wee hours of the night, only to bark at me to 'go there, do this, or get him that.' I was his play toy.

But being the bigger person, I forgave him. I remained patient.

Until today, when he made the biggest mistake of all.

At the brink of dawn, Daniel committed the unpardonable offence. Something I never thought he would do to me. An act of such audacity, I had to retaliate.

The door shut behind him with a resounding, satisfying bang. I shook off my pretend stupor and jumped off the black leather couch. Giving my aching joints a workout, I stretched off the last bit of sleep, in the mood for some vengeance.

So many pretty things. Daniel's apartment didn't have much on the cheap side - upper Manhattan had that way of overpricing. The apartment itself came with three cream walls and a fourth fibre-glass one that framed a spectacular skyline. From the black leather furniture to the modern art gracing them, my best friend didn't have room for second best.

In conclusion - to choose would be maddening.

But when you've known the guy your entire life, you get a head start.

Sauntering my way to the shoe rack, I made my choice.

Even in this huge, fancy abode, Daniel only had few possessions he truly loved. Unlike most of his loud and raunchy friends, Danny's favourite wasn't his flatscreen or his Rolex.

No. What Danny so dearly loved sat on the lowest deck of the shoe rack, wrapped and boxed. Bearing a tag inscribed, Louis Vuitton.

I grinned my evil smile.

Tenderly retrieving the box, I paused for a moment of doubt. But then I remembered this morning - after that dreadful first call, his instant solution had been to call her.

He had no idea, of course, how I hated her. It would be wrong to blame him for that, but still. From the few visits she'd paid us, I could picture her face in my mind - her plump cheeks, her smothering smile, and that choking perfume - dear me. She was the kind of woman who'd hug a person to death.

I shuddered. I had to do this. For my survival, if not for tasteful revenge...



Later that evening, Daniel Anthony stepped off the elevator, briefcase in his hand, his hair tousled and his eyes droopy. It had been a long day at the office, and everything seemed to be coming at him the wrong way. But as the faint scent of perfume drifted through the open elevator door, he smiled.

At least one thing was going right.

"You'll have no problem with her," Daniel said to the woman walking beside him. "She's very obedient."

Erica, his secretary, gave him a broad grin. He had to force a smile back. Sure, he liked Eri but man, she looked like the big bad wolf after it won the lottery. He'd heard rumours of Erica's legendary obsession with pugs. Just hadn't experienced the whole extent of it until now.

"You can trust me, sir. I'll take good care of her."

He inserted his key, and turned the lock, his smile genuine this time. When he got the call this morning for a business trip to Texas for two weeks, the first person he'd thought of to leave his darling dog with was this woman. Obviously, she didn't disappoint. He never thought anybody could be so in love with man's best friends.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Erica. I'm sure Vesta will like you."

Danny opened the door. And his jaw dropped.

Scattered in unrecognisable pieces on the foyer were the remains of a - shoebox? Cardboard lay cleanly ripped with the precision of a shredder, the carpet looking like the battlefield for a paper war. Amidst all that chaos, no shoe was to be seen.

"I - I don't understand -" Danny stuttered. Vesta would never do this.

Erica pointed to the couch, silent horror in her eyes. On the black leather sat his drooling pug, exactly like he'd left her in the morning - with one minor addition. No, make that a torn, chewed up, Louis Vuitton pair of additions.

The screaming started right about then.

One needn't be told whose.