April 6th, 1986. That was my first day working at The Shoe Shop on Richmond St. My name's Jake, Jake Hollister. I used to work at a Subway down the street from here, but let's just say I wasn't really making the donuts if you know what I mean. So, I did an interview here and got a job as a cashier. The workday starts at 9:00 am so I was hoping to get to the building around 8:45. I got up, got ready, ate an Eggo waffle, and headed to work. So I walk into the store and I see this girl. She had frizzy auburn hair and green eyes, average height. She was alone, so I decided to talk to her. Her name was Penny Bridgington and this was her first day as well. We totally hit it off. She laughed at all of my jokes and made some jokes herself. She was a prankster just like me. I could tell that we were gonna be friends sooner or later.

Hi, I’m Penny Bridgington and I scored my first job at this place called The Shoe Shop on Richmond St. on March 30th 1986. I applied for this job straight out of college because, what else am I gonna do, right? So I walk into my first day on April 6th here and I see this guy. He was really tall and had scruffy hair. I have to admit he was kinda cute. He wasn’t very shy and we started joking around with each other right away. I could tell that I wanted to be with him right away.

After five years at The Shoe Shop, Penny and I became best friends. She even helped me pick out a venue for me and my fiance, Kelly’s, wedding! Isn’t she awesome! I wonder when Penny will get married. Probably soon, I mean who wouldn’t want to marry her? She’s funny, smart, sweet, and so pretty. Well I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Well, I realized that I will be alone forever. Jake is getting married to another girl from his old job. Her name is Kelly and she has everything a girl could ever want. My crush on Jake has only gotten bigger throughout the years. Gee, I truly thought I had a chance with him. Oh well, there’s other fish in the sea I guess.

I broke up with Kelly. She wanted me to stop being friends with Penny because we were “too close.” I guess she had very strong feelings about that because she destroyed my car after I said I didn’t want to lose my best friend. A year after the breakup, I started to develop a crush on Penny, so I asked her on a date. It went extremely well. After that first date, every date after that went better than the date before. After a year of dating, I just knew that she was the one.

Oh. My. Goodness. Jake just proposed! My dreams are finally coming true! It was perfect, it was sunny and we were out at the park for some ice cream. After we ate our ice cream, he popped the question, and I of course said yes! We got married about a year after the proposal. The wedding was held in a beautiful church in our hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Everyone from The Shoe Shop was there, including Thomas Sanderson, the 17-year-old intern. The wedding went smoothly and I have to say, it was the best day of my life. June 19th, 1994 will always have a special place in my heart.

8 years later, Penny and I moved to New York City with our 3 kids and started to work at the corporate office of The Shoe Shop. Years went by and me and Penny are still as happy as when we got married. Now looking back, I think that I’ve always loved Penny. Well, I guess even if your life seems like a rainy day, love will always make it sunny.