Mary was glad the women's bathroom was close to the restaurant entrance. She easily slipped out without Alan noticing and hurried through the mall to the nearest shoe store. Her large clawed toes stuck out of her shoes comically. She glanced around, glad there weren't many people shopping this time of day.
She quickly grabbed the largest pair of boots she could find. They were a dull black and went about a foot up her leg. There was plenty of toe room for her expanding feet.
In the changing room, she removed her old shoes with some difficulty. Her feet ached as she forced them through the too-small openings, but she finally did it. She could see several black horizontal stripes were growing along with the orange fur, and the fur reached farther up into her pants. It actually felt like it was growing at that very moment!
Her legs itched like crazy. She could feel her legs getting hotter as the fur grew all the way up, even into her privates. She scratched at her panties, wishing it would stop.
Regardless of whether she had wished it or not, the transformation did seem to have stopped at her waist. Mary breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody could see the fur through her pants. She slipped on the boots, laced them up, and marveled at how perfect a fit they were. They looked a few sizes too large for a woman of her size, but she figured it was better than walking around with bare claws.
Mary left her destroyed shoes in the changing room and paid for her new boots at the register. Then she returned to the restaurant and back to Alan, who must have gotten very suspicious by this time.