Why does that man want to buy one woman's shoe?

     "Our Christmas-shopping trip took a crazy turn when I heard my husband ask a saleslady at one of the shoe stores if they would sell him just one shoe."

     "'One shoe?' she asked."

     "I tried to save us from the 'you-guys-are-nuts' look, but it was too late; his explanation had already spilled out of his mouth: 'Yes, I'm looking for just one shoe ... for our son's gecko ... for Christmas.'  (I begged that she not tell anyone what my husband had just said.)"

     "Maybe he was a bit rummy from too much shopping, but this search for a shoe soon became my husband's obsession.  You see, our son's leopard gecko has outgrown the fake tree in his cage and needs a bigger cozy, dark place to spend his days.  When our daughter was visiting him this fall, Doobie curled up in the toe of her clog.  When it was time for her to go, he had to be forcefully shaken out, he liked it so much.  That's when the idea was born."

     "After looking at many utilitarian, clog-type shoes in a couple of different stores, my husband decided that Doobie should really have a glitzy high heel, instead of a clog.  He'd hold each shoe up, inspecting the toe space, turning it this way and that while imagining big Doobie curled up in the tip of the toe."

     "With a little help, he finally came to his senses and agreed that, no matter how sexy, even on sale, $40 was a bit much to spend on a shoe for a gecko!  Though we were both beat, he insisted on checking out the Goodwill store before heading home.  After much deliberation over the vast selection of shoes, he finally found a pair of fire-engine-red pumps.  Not quite so sexy as the others he'd seen - but, satisfied with his find, he said that he thought Doobie would look good in red."