'A Pair of Silk Stockings' (Subtitles)Part 2

by Kate Chopin Part 1 Short Story in English
Part 2

Next, she went to the shoe department, sat down and waited to be fitted.

The young shoe salesman was unable to guess about her background.
He could not resolve her worn, old shoes with her beautiful, new stockings.
She tried on a pair of new boots.

She held back her skirts and turned her feet one way and her head another way as she looked down at the shiny, pointed boots.
Her foot and ankle looked very lovely.
She could not believe that they were a part of herself.
She told the young salesman that she wanted an excellent and stylish fit.
She said she did not mind paying extra as long as she got what she desired.

After buying the new boots, she went to the glove department.
It was a long time since Mrs. Sommers had been fitted with gloves.
When she had bought a pair they were always “bargains,” so cheap that it would have been unreasonable to have expected them to be fitted to her hand.

Now she rested her arm on the counter where gloves were for sale.
A young shop girl drew a soft, leather glove over Mrs. Sommers’s hand.
She smoothed it down over the wrist and buttoned it neatly.
Both women lost themselves for a second or two as they quietly praised the little gloved hand.

There were other places where money might be spent.
A store down the street sold books and magazines.
Mrs. Sommers bought two costly magazines that she used to read back when she had been able to enjoy other pleasant things.

She lifted her skirts as she crossed the street.
Her new stockings and boots and gloves had worked wonders for her appearance.
They’d given her a feeling of satisfaction, a sense of belonging to the well-dressed crowds.

She was very hungry.
Another time she would have ignored the desire for food until reaching her own home.
But the force that was guiding her would not permit her to act on such a thought.

There was a restaurant at the corner.
She had never entered its doors.
She had sometimes looked through the windows.
She had noted the white table cloths, shining glasses and waiters serving wealthy people.

When she entered, her appearance created no surprise or concern, as she had half feared it might.

She seated herself at a small table.
A waiter came at once to take her order.
She ordered six oysters, a chop, something sweet, a glass of wine and a cup of coffee.
While waiting to be served she removed her gloves very slowly and set them beside her.
Then she picked up her magazine and looked through it.

It was all very agreeable.
The table cloths were even more clean and white than they had seemed through the window.
And the crystal drinking glasses shined even more brightly.
There were ladies and gentlemen, who did not notice her, lunching at the small tables like her own.

A pleasing piece of music could be heard, and a gentle wind was blowing through the window.
She tasted a bite, and she read a word or two and she slowly drank the wine.