Prologue:
A lifelong collector of goods and objects from far and wide has passed and left the entire collection and the business built around them to the only remaining relative, a niece on a career path of her own. Vikki has taken on the task of administering the estate and liquidating the business and collection. However, she has come to find out that many of the goods have been cursed or enchanted with amorous powers that affect those who encounter them. These are the stories of some of those encounters with objects found at Amorous Goods.
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Tom liked to go for long walks when he was making a difficult decision. Right now he had been walking for two hours with no end in sight.
His girlfriend, Dorothy, had practically given him an ultimatum. He needed to propose soon or she was going to move on. While it was true that they had been dating for nearly a year, Tom was not convinced that she was a good fit. Dorothy was without a doubt a responsible driven woman, who would go far in the world. She was an executive assistant for one of the partners in the accounting firm where he worked. She always dressed sharp and was very attractive.
She was 5'7" and 24 years old, whereas Tom was 5'10" and 26. They met at work and started dating. Not exclusively at first, but for the last six months they had been monogamous. She wouldn't agree to sex until he agreed to stop seeing anyone else, which wasn't an unreasonable request. The sex was good, but not the best he'd ever had. Dorothy not only seemed reserved, she was distant during sex. Perhaps she'd had better sex before and was feeling the same disconnect he was. More likely, she just didn't like sex and was going through the motions to satisfy him. Of course, he just couldn't know.
He wondered if he was willing to spend the rest of his life with a mediocre sex life. On the other hand, she was driven and organized. She kept his apartment clean and organized, while doing the same for her own. She spent the night at his apartment most days of the week, while he stayed at hers during the weekends. She managed to give him some good advice on how to get ahead at the company, and was helping him with the process of establishing his own financial consulting firm. He had no doubt that with her as his wife he would become a very successful business owner.
But deep down Tom missed his old girlfriend, Samantha. Sammi was a real party girl who loved to fuck. There was nothing reserved or distant about Sammi in the sack. The two had met while he was in college. She had been a psychology major, and it was true what they said. Most psychology majors were trying to figure out what was wrong with them. Sammi had self esteem issues, commitment issues, trust issues just to start. She had more issues than The New York Times.
Tom dated her for three years, but Sammi could never be completely faithful. She never cheated on him, because she never promised him to be monogamous. Every time he wanted to be her only one, she told him upfront that it wasn't going to happen. She gave him the option to stay on her terms, or leave. He left a few times, but would inevitably end up back with her.
She liked him and he liked her, but she just kept allowing herself to be seduced by smooth operators. She sought validation through sex, and Tom couldn't provide enough. He tried to get her to settle for threesomes with the two of them and some other partner, but she would eventually break whatever rules he tried to enforce.
If Tom could have been satisfied with a relationship minus the monogamy, he would have been happy with Sammi, but that was a deal breaker. Sammi was a fun girlfriend, but would not be a wife for him. On the other hand, he could have Dorothy with all the monogamy he wanted, but none of the passion. His biggest concern was that he might marry Dorothy and cheat on her with Sammi. Could he marry Dorothy and risk turning into the sort of person who might cheat? Would he be able to settle for a lifetime of missionary position with a starfish after having sex in twenty different positions over the course of a week with Sammi?
And so Tom kept walking. He had started from Dorothy's apartment, ostensibly to clear his head with the intention of arriving at his own apartment. He left the familiar confines of the financial district long ago, and now he was in the eclectic neighbor of used book stores and antique shops. He was lost in his thoughts, when he pulled up short realizing he had no idea where he was. He pulled up his cellular phone to look at a map, only to find that his phone was out of power. He looked around him, hoping to find a familiar landmark or welcoming store front.
Across the street was a store named Amorous Goods. The seemed more welcoming the South Asian Herb market he was walking past. He looked in the window at some of the objects in the window on display. It reminded him of some of the sex shops that he and Sammi has visited, though this shop has a more refined air to it. He walked in the door and a bell sounded somewhere.
Tom wasn't really shopping as much as he was looking for a shop keeper who could give him directions back to civilization, but he felt an obligation to look over the display merchandise. A voice from somewhere in back of the store called out "Just a minute." Tom looked around at the various objects on the shelves. He recognized the Ben Wa balls, though these seemed to have a malicious shine to them. He saw a strap-on dildo that was emitting a low rumbling hum that he was afraid to touch.
On another shelf he saw a small clear box that held what looked like a Magic 8-Ball. The box was labeled as The Decision Maker. Just like one of those classic children's toys, it had a little window that displayed a small message inside. The current message said "Definitely, Yes". Tom began to reach for it, when a woman came down the aisle. "Hello, I'm Vikki. Can I help you find something?"
"Yes. Thank you. I'm looking for directions. I'm a little lost. I took myself for a walk and now I need to get back to Crenshaw Street."
"Oh. That's over a mile away. Do you want me to call a cab for you?" Vikki asked.
"No. I'm happy to walk, just tell me which direction to head and I'll be fine." Tom assured her.
"Well," Vikki began, "you'll want to turn right out of the store and go three blocks. That will take you to Jefferson Avenue. Turn left and in about a mile and a half, you should be in familiar territory."
"Right. Jefferson eventually runs parallel to Crenshaw. Okay that will get me where I want to go." Tom thanked her.
"Are you sure you don't want a ride? It's still a long way. I can get a cab here quick."
"No, the walk helps me think. By the way, what can you tell me about this Decision Maker here? How much is it?"
Vikki startled for a moment and looked where he had pointed. "Oh. I had forgotten about that piece. I suppose it would be harmless to let that one go." She thought for a moment. "Forty dollars."
Tom thought. That was more than he really wanted to pay. But she had been generous with the directions and maybe it would help him with his decision regarding Dorothy. Sometimes it's just useful having someone to help make the important decisions for you. "Deal!" he said. He paid the money and walked out of the store with his Decision Maker and headed for home.
He arrived safely at his apartment about half an hour later, but he was no closer to making a decision. When Tom arrived home he immediately plugged in his phone. It took a few minutes to come alive, but once it did it buzzed with message alerts from missed phone calls and text messages. Tom anticipated these were from Dorothy and decided he was not ready to talk to her yet.
He sat down at his kitchen table and stared at his Decision Maker. He shook it as if it were a Magic 8-Ball and asked aloud, "Should I marry Dorothy?" Immediately he felt a deep lassitude as if he had fallen asleep and he started dreaming.
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Tom was sitting at a kitchen table, but it did not look like his kitchen. This was a much nicer, much larger kitchen with a large professional grade refrigerator and stove. There were marble top counters and a large central island. The afternoon sun was shining in through huge vaulted windows looking out over a large backyard. He could see an outdoor hot tub and a pool house in his backyard.
That's right. That was his backyard. This was his house. Tom lived here with his wife Dorothy and daughter Delilah. It was a large six bedroom house with a three car garage and finished basement. They purchased this house eight years ago. Tom's company, Insight Investing, had taken off and the family was quite wealthy. Dorothy had informed him that they needed a bigger house because Delilah was going to be born soon. They bought a house big enough for a large family that never materialized.
Tom looked up to see his wife standing over him. She had an impatient look on her face that he knew too well. She had always been a take charge demanding personality, but it had served their marriage well so he never complained. She had good business contacts from working as an administrative assistant that she had steered his way over the years. While she had been only working part time since Delilah was born, she had been instrumental in Insight Investment being as successful as it was. Make no mistake, Tom had put in the long hours, working fourteen hour days and most weekends, but he depended on his wife to raise their daughter and manage the household.
Tom looked down at the table in front of him and saw the Dissolution of Marriage forms laid out on the table. His loving wife of eleven years had just asked him for a divorce. Tom was shocked and dismayed. He knew there had been cracks in their marriage for a long time, but he had always assumed that Dorothy was happy. He had spent their entire marriage trying to keep her satisfied. She had always been a cold fish in the bedroom, but he never pushed. They hadn't had sex ever since Delilah was born, because Tom never wanted to force the issue.
