Rules of the Road

As Jenna drives Mrs. Gladstone away from Peoria and toward their next stop, Springfield, Illinois, Mrs. Gladstone expresses her anger at the slipping quality she saw at the Peoria store. She also shares with Jenna that her son Elden is pushing her out. He thinks she is too old and needs to retire, but she doesn’t want to. She does not trust Elden to do the right thing for the company since his only interest is money. Mrs. Gladstone asks to look at Jenna’s shoe; she appreciates the quality of the leather and then reminds Jenna of her own belief in what makes Gladstone’s stores great: “An unmovable insistence on quality and fair pricing. An insistence on the finest, most shoe-educated salesforce in the business” (59). This reminds Jenna of the intense training course she received from Murray Castlebaum and how it made her the exceptional shoe salesperson she is today. These thoughts are cut short by Mrs. Gladstone telling her that Elden has cancelled training courses and fired managers who refuse to sell shoddy merchandise. Mrs. Gladstone sadly says, “‘it's a sad day, Jenna, when profits and greed alone influence quality. It's an even sadder day when honor in business is close to becoming a thing of the past’” (60).

While Jenna drives Mrs. Gladstone to Springfield, she remembers what her mom said about not driving away from her problems, but she is happy to be away from the mess with her father. She sighs and takes this time to think about God (whether God sometimes sticks cotton balls in the sky, just for fun) and her future red sportscar.

The hotel room in Springfield only has a twin bed and a rollaway, which is 11 inches shorter than Jenna. Despite the cramped room and crowded hotel restaurant, Mrs. Gladstone and Jenna have an enjoyable meal together. Mrs. Gladstone reminisces about her childhood, recalling the joyful days living along the banks of the Guadalupe River, where she hated wearing shoes to the chagrin of her father, a Baptist minister. Mrs. Gladstone tells Jenna what her father used to say about shoes, “Daddy always said that shoes take us along life's pathways, they get all muddied up, all scratched from wear. We've got to clean them up take care of them. He said God was like a master cobbler, stretching a piece of leather over a wooden last, fastening it down with nails, carefully stitching it together to form something special” (63). Even though her father died before she opened her first shoe store with her husband, Mrs. Gladstone credits him with her appreciation and ultimate love of quality shoes. Her father’s sermons gave shoes a deeper meaning than mere commodities.

Lying in the too-short cot, Jenna starts thinking about her father. He was a great salesman; he sold vacuum cleaners and practiced with Jenna when she was little. She remembers the good times when he was “a real father” before his drinking became a problem. While Jenna is deep in thought, Mrs. Gladstone wakes up from a nightmare with a cry. Jenna comforts her and shares that she too has nightmares, where she is drowning in bourbon, her father’s favorite drink. Mrs. Gladstone explains she is having nightmares because Elden is pushing her out of the company. He is afraid she will not go quietly, so he has been buying up Gladstone stock to gain control of the company.

Jenna doesn’t understand the intricacies of stocks and company holdings, so Mrs. Gladstone gives her a quick economics lesson and then tells her Elden is in cahoots with Ken Woldman, the president of The Shoe Warehouse, and they are trying to gain control of Gladstone’s together. The Shoe Warehouse is a budget-price shoe store chain that has little regard for good service and quality. The notion that the mission of quality and care that Gladstone’s is built on will be destroyed pushes Mrs. Gladstone to tears. Jenna comforts her and tells her that she mustn’t give up. When this does not fire Mrs. Gladstone up, Jenna leans in close and says, “‘Mrs. Gladstone, I can't believe you're not going to do anything” (68). A spark of anger lights in Mrs. Gladstones eyes before she turns away.

The following morning Mrs. Gladstone is tired and quiet. She tells Jenna to subtly check out the Shoe Warehouse store while she is in meetings with her Springfield staff. Jenna, who is 5’ 11”, finds it hard to blend in, so she decides to just walk in like she owns the place. What she finds horrifies her: misleading labeling, dusty signs, no continuity, and a salesman who couldn’t care less about the customers. Jenna finds herself unable to stand by as the salesman gives a woman with young children incorrect information, “New shoes are supposed to hurt” (72), before walking away. Jenna grabs a foot sizer and goes into “shoe professional” mode, fitting the child with correct shoes and at the same time educating the mother about her children’s feet and the importance of shoes. She even makes the manager honor the woman’s coupon that he was refusing to accept, with the help of a nearby policeman. The woman is extremely grateful, and Jenna leaves the store feeling powerful.

Mrs. Gladstone and Jenna stay in Springfield for three days. Jenna fills the time exploring, meeting new people and sending postcards to her family and friends. Mrs. Gladstone spends her time in meetings and finding out everything she can about Elden’s plans for the takeover. Harry Bender, the “world’s greatest shoe salesman and manager of Gladstone’s flagship store in Dallas” (77), passes on the news that Elden is ready to sell Gladstone’s to the Shoe Warehouse straight after Mrs. Gladstone announces her retirement. Even though her hip is hurting more every day, Mrs. Gladstone is determined to keep going.

That night, while Jenna is trying to get comfortable in the tiny cot, Mrs. Gladstone starts to talk about her friend and advisor Harry Bender. Harry Bender is legendary in the shoe business, which earned him the nickname Mahatma Bender (the Great Sole, a play on Mahatma Gandhi, the Great Soul). However, Mrs. Gladstone only gets one sentence out before she goes quiet and seems deflated. When Jenna asks if everything is okay, Mrs. Gladstone replies softly, “‘No, it’s not’” (79). This simple expression is a trigger for Jenna. Her mother said it after a big fight with her father about his alcoholism, after which they got a divorce and her father left. After the fight, Jenna’s mother had taken both Faith‘s and Jenna’s hands, which gave them strength to get through that difficult time. All this flashes through Jenna’s mind as Mrs. Gladstone slumps on the bed looking dejected. Jenna considers taking her hand but settles instead for “‘Sleep tight, Mrs. Gladstone. Tomorrow is another day’” (81). Mrs. Gladstone softly thanks Jenna.

The following morning Mrs. Gladstone’s hip is so painful that she cannot get out of bed. She refuses to call for a doctor, but Jenna, used to having to manage her father’s health, gets a doctor anyway. After much arguing Mrs. Gladstone eventually agrees to go to the hospital by ambulance for X-rays. She takes Jenna’s advice to save the energy she is using fighting the doctor for “the real fight” (86) that lies ahead.

After an overnight stay in the hospital and ignoring the recommendation to get a wheelchair, Mrs. Gladstone tells Jenna to “do what I’ve hired you to do” (88) and to drive her to St. Louis. Jenna is tired and annoyed at being snapped at by Mrs. Gladstone. As she is driving, she starts to think about home and how much she misses her mother, Chicago, Opal, and even Faith. Jenna’s depressing thoughts move to her grandmother, and she wonders whether Grandma might slip too far away while she is gone. She also thinks about her dad: Would he be bothering Faith? What if he left and never came back? It all becomes too much for Jenna, and she starts to cry. She pulls off at the next exit, parks at Pru’s Pie Place and runs into the bathroom to wash her face and calm down. When she leaves the bathroom, she sees Mrs. Gladstone sitting at a table with two pieces of coconut cream pie, waiting for her. Jenna shakes her head after Mrs. Gladstones asks if she wants to talk about it, and rather than push, Mrs. Gladstone just says, “‘Some things go too deep for words’” (91).