His slippers just weren’t doing the job anymore, his feet were so cold.
This pair had worn so thin. He looked down at the state of them. The uppers were no more than paper now. He would have to buy new. He would take a trip to the shops tomorrow. He’d look for really fluffy ones, the sort that women wear. It didn’t matter, did it? He lived on his own now, he could wear what he liked, nobody would know!
A new thought struck him. The idea appealed. He smiled to himself and the notion that he could do it. This would be something else that nobody would know about. They would not need to know. He fossicked around in the cupboard until he found it. He shook the can, there was not much in it, but it would do.
It was getting dark now, but he would go out before the cold set in. He was sure his neighbours wouldn’t notice what he was doing. He went out into his tiny back garden and placed an upturned bucket in front of his chair. This would elevate his legs.
He squirted the lighter fuel and struck a match. The old footwear puffed into flame. He went back to the chair and put his feet up. He felt the heat on the soles of his feet at first. Then it slowly spread to his toes. He grinned. He couldn’t remember when his feet had felt this good.
His slippers had never before made his feet this warm.