Chapter 10

As Abbey crawled closer to the foot that was thrust towards her face, she realised that this time she had been presented with a shoe instead of a sandal like her Master Joe usually wore. This show was a black leather lace-up shoe and it was dusty from the dirt that blew around the streets of the city. Abbey could smell something disgusting as she moved painfully on hands and knees nearer to the feet of the man who was waiting eagerly for her to begin the task of cleaning his shoes. He had seen how Abbey licked and sucked at Joe’s toes, and he was anxious to see what she would do with his shoes. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to lick his bare feet, especially after seeing how Joe’s toenails were so dirty, but he wondered how far Abbey would sink into degradation. He didn’t have long to wait, as Abbey bent her head lower and began the task of licking the dust off his shoes.

For Abbey, this was an easy task, as the shoes were made of leather, so her tongue slid smoothly over the dusty surface. However, when the man sat down and presented the soles of his shoes to her for cleaning, she realised what the smell she had noticed was. The man had obviously stepped in some dog shit on the pavement on his way to Joe’s apartment, and although he had scraped most of it off, there was still enough wedged into the ridges of the sole of the shoe to produce that disgusting smell.

Abbey hesitated, and nearly gagged as the man thrust his shoe closer to her face. Taking a deep breath, and closing her eyes, Abbey set to work licking the dirt encrusted sole of the shoe. Gathering all her strength, she darted her tongue out and poked it tentatively at the shoe.

The rough surface of the sole contrasted negatively with the smooth surface of the upper part of the shoe that she had licked clean a few minutes before. However, in addition to the difference in texture between the upper and the sole of the shoe, Abbey was acutely aware that she would have a much more difficult task to clean this part of the shoe. The dirt was encrusted more and the dog shit made her feel nauseated, but Abbey knew that she would have to complete the task in order to please her the owner of the shoe and her Master Joe.

That was when Abbey realised that she was worth less than the dog shit that she was about to clean with her tongue. She was totally degraded and humiliated, and that thought sent a thrill through her body. With that as her incentive, Abbey began to lick and slobber over the shoe. As she pressed her tongue against the foot, she could taste the dog shit entering her mouth. She paused briefly, but then somehow managed to swallow the disgusting pieces of dried feces that clung to the shoe.

Fortunately, for Abbey, and probably fortunately for the guests because Abbey could feel herself gag and almost vomit as she swallowed the dog shit, the man withdrew his shoe from Abbey’s face after she had showed how willing she was to carry out any task that she was ordered to do. Abbey felt relief, but also she felt disappointment at not being forced to discover the depths of her humiliation in front of this group of men.

“Did she clean your shoes well?” asked Joe.

“Not bad, but not as good as any shoeshine boy on the street” replied the owner of the shoes.

“So she shouldn’t be rewarded. In fact, she should be punished for not doing a good job. Right?” said Joe. “You’re right” was the reply.

And that’s when the group began to debate about an appropriate punishment for a job badly carried out.