Excerpt: Bronze Boots - Working Title

“But she cannot wear those! They are entirely inappropriate for a girl!” protested Alma Jones to her beloved, if absent minded, husband Lawson. “They're boy's boots!”

Young Aradia Jones sat on the stairs outside her mother's parlor, listening to the genteel argument. She moved her feet in the late-afternoon sunlight streaming through the window above at the landing, admiring the glint of the copper toe caps in the illumination.

The boots in question were new, purchased that very morning in the city to replace a worn-out pair of girlish brown kid with buttons. These new boots were made of sturdy cow-hide, supple yet strong, dyed a rich bronzy red color. Instead of the tricky buttons, which required an adult's skill with a button hook to fasten, these sturdy boots featured though braided laces, which this five year old girl-child was quite capable of lacing and tying for herself. She had proudly demonstrated this skill for her father and the salesman at the store. Most blasphemously of all, these new boots were reinforced at the heel and toe with caps of thin copper, shining proudly in the autumn sunlight. The boots had indeed been manufactured for the use of active, rough and tumble boys. This was their primary sin in the eyes of Alma Jones.

Already, Aradia was in love with her new shoes.