Jim Miller was bored. At 33, he had achieved the things he wanted most from life - a thriving business, a beautiful wife, the house in a nice neighborhood........ He had everything, so why wasn't he happier?
His last two clients for the afternoon had canceled out, leaving him on the opposite side of town from his office with not enough time left in the day to make it worthwhile to drive back. In a fit of indulgence, he decided to take the rest of the day off. After all, he was the boss, he could goof off a little if he wanted to, couldn't he?
Unfortunately, his wife Nicole would still be at her job for the next three hours, leaving him with time to kill. A couple of cold beers in air conditioned comfort suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. And the bar in the next block, with it's "Live Girls" sign, was an enticing destination.
Forty five minutes later, it didn't seem like such a good idea. The beer was flat, the ambiance was flat, the music was too loud, and the "live girls" looked like tranked out zombies. He would never have believed that he might actually prefer going back out into the Arizona summer sun instead of watching strippers, but that was rapidly becoming the case.
Throwing some money on the bar for the (lousy) beer, he turned back toward the entrance. In a small alcove he hadn't noticed before, some racks and shelves caught his eye. Dusty plastic packages containing vibrators, cheesy lingerie, and other adult toys were packed into the room. "What the hell", he figured, "it's out of the sun and maybe I'll find something interesting."
In the back corner was a small glass case, holding a few items that were too small for the display racks. Oddly enough, there was a necklace in the case. Plain, a stainless steel chain with a small pendant, it looked totally out of place in these surroundings. Curious now, he moved in for a closer look. The pendant was a dull gray color, and had some sort of hinged cover in the center, about the size of a dime. There was a folded piece of paper under the amulet, but nothing else to indicate what it was or why it was there. There wasn't even a price tag.
For some reason, the necklace caught and held his attention. Since the cabinet had it's latch in the front, he opened it and picked up the pendant for a closer look. The hinged cover opened easily, disclosing an inset stone that resembled Tiger eye, a topaz yellow background with a dark brown line through the middle. Nothing spectacular, but somewhat nicer than the setting. He wondered if Nicole would like it?
Seeing his interest, the scruffy looking young man who had been sitting at the end of the bar (instead of minding the store) came over and mumbled "canIhelpyou" in a perfunctory tone of voice. Seeing the amulet in Jim's hand, he became more attentive and even smiled at the prospect of a sale.
"Hey, that's a real find, isn't it?" he exclaimed, trying (and failing) to project enthusiasm and good cheer. "Man, you won't find something like that downtown!" When Jim's only response was a raised eyebrow and a slight frown, his sales pitch ran down rapidly. "Damned piece of junk, can't even give it away" he muttered, starting to turn away.
"Wait a minute," Jim said, "What do you mean?"
"Ah, that thing's been here for over a year, and nobody's even looked at it. Some drunk caught the bartender in a soft moment and traded it for a beer. Claimed it was some kind of magic thing. Nobody could figure out how to make it work, though, so it just sits there. The paper there is supposed to be instructions, but it must be in some kinda foreign language 'cause nobody can read it."
Sceptically, Jim picked up the paper and unfolded it. There was handwriting on the page, but somehow it seemed to evade his focus. Maybe it was the dim lighting. "I'll give you a dollar for it" Jim heard himself say, much to his surprise.
"Done!" the man exclaimed, holding out his hand. Jim was now the proud owner of a piece of jewelry that he'd had absolutely no intention of buying. He shoved the necklace and the paper into his pocket and walked back out into the burning sunlight.
Phoenix traffic was, as usual, terrible. Twenty minutes of tense, claustrophobic dancing with cars brought him to his house in a lousy mood. The mailbox surrendered a mix of bills and junk advertising, nothing to lighten his mood there. A glance at his watch revealed that Nicole's arrival was still a little more than an hour away. Maybe she would appreciate a pitcher of cold martinis - or about half a pitcher, by the time he'd quenched his own thirst.
Fifteen minutes and two martinis later, Jim was beginning to relax enough to feel human again. Remembering the necklace, he pulled it and the folded paper out for another look. This time, when he unfolded the paper, the words became clearer (although the handwriting was still very bad).
"This is wery speshul magic amulet. Only works for certain persons. Must be sykoligikly right for effect. Not for jelus assholes. Makes wife wery sexy! Rewards good lick husband. Show stone to wife to make work. Kaushun! Works fast. First be sure yure ready!"
Well, that was pretty lame. Nicole was already "wery sexy", knew it, and dressed to show herself off. Her mild exhibitionism was one of the things he adored about her, since it perfectly matched his voyeuristic tenancies. He really liked the effect she had on strangers, taking secret delight in their double-takes, stumbles, and general distraction (not to mention their urgent need to sit down to keep from displaying their embarrassing reactions). And what was that "Rewards good lick husband" line all about? Maybe he had read it wrong, the writing was almost illegible. "Be sure yure ready?" Ready for what? This was beginning to seem like a sick joke, and he was out a dollar!
"Hi, honey, it's me!" Nicole's cheery voice broke his concentration, making him smile. She still had that effect on him, even after eight years of marriage. The pixie face, long legs, high-set perky breasts, and long brunette hair over startling green eyes would be enough to give a statue a hardon, even without the tantalizingly almost sheer blouse and almost mini skirt. Ordinarily, she dressed even more revealingly, but her boss was a little conservative and she had to dress down to keep her job.
"Come on in," Nicole continued. (HUH?) "Jim's probably back in the den." She came bouncing around the corner with all her usual energy, dragging a gawky younger man after her. "Jim, this is Mike Peters, our new research assistant. Mr. Franklin wanted me to show him the McKenzie proposal, but the interim versions are missing from the office computer. Since I have them on file here, I invited him home with me."
