9-Pack: Unsimply Stitched Mens Dress Socks
- You know socks? Like, dress socks?
- These are those
- But fun!
- Are they available in Georgia red: If you’re looking for one color, you’re in the wrong place
A Glimmer
“Claire?” Cooper said. “Is that you?”
Claire stood from her seat at the coffee shop and hugged him. Then she stepped back to take him in. “Well, I’ll say,” she said. “I never imagined Cooper Jenkins growing up to wear a suit and a bluetooth earpiece.”
Cooper chuckled and they took a seat, an awkward silence settling over them.
Claire searched her mind for something to say, but could think of nothing. She’d only last week learned that her friend from high school lived in the same city as her and reached out to see if he wanted to meet up. He’d agreed enthusiastically, leading her to believe this might be easier. But, of course, reconnecting can be awkward.
“So,” Claire said. “Are you still painting?”
Cooper chuckled again. “I haven’t picked up a brush in years.”
“Oh, but you were so good!” Claire said. She still had a painting of Cooper’s hanging in her childhood bedroom, and it gave her a warm feeling every time she saw it when she visited her parents.
“Times change,” Cooper said. “No, I’m in the orphan business now.”
Claire puzzled at this, taking in his suit again. “You mean you run an orphanage?”
“Not one orphanage, but hundreds,” Cooper said, beaming. “Or, we don’t run them exactly, but we help them.”
“Oh, wow!” Claire said.
“Yeah, it’s pretty big stuff,” Cooper said. “We consult with private orphanage owners to help them maximize their adoption fees while minimizing overhead by locating a number of loopholes in the various regulations enforced upon them.”
“Oh,” said Claire, sitting back. “That seems pretty…”
“Brilliant?” Cooper offered.
“I was gonna say ‘cutthroat,’” Claire said.
Cooper sighed, dramatically. “Look, Claire, if it weren’t us doing it, it’d be someone else, okay? There’s money wherever you look, but you can only spend it if you take it. That’s what I always say.”
“I’m just surprised,” Claire said. “You used to be so creative, so vibrant, so thoughtful.”
“So naive,” Cooper said.
“You’ve really changed,” Claire said.
Cooper scoffed. “‘Changed,’ Claire? Really? Or did I just grow up?” His phone vibrated in his pocket. “Look, I gotta take this, and it’s probably going to be a minute, so why don’t we wrap this up for now and grab drinks some other time? Or, do you like oysters? Because I know a place. $250, all you can shuck. I’ll text you about it.”
Before Claire could say anything, he started his call and stood to leave. “Rodney, my man. What is it? … Ugh, Rod, how many times I gotta tell you: two space heaters per bunk house, maximum. You want a low electric bill, you’re gonna get a few whiners, capiche?”
Just before leaving, Cooper stopped and stepped his foot up onto a bench to tie his dress shoe. And that’s when Claire saw it: the vibrantly colored dress sock from Unsimply Stitched socks.
Claire smiled. Maybe he hasn’t changed so much after all, she thought.
