The shop was in a dusty back alley. I had to stoop to enter the wooden doorway which led into a gloomy interior. As my eyes adjusted I could see shelves of carvings, very common in Bali, but these were all erotic: women, men, animals and monsters in a breathtaking assortment of positions and combinations. Fascinated and aroused, I made my way deeper into the shop. The carvings further back seemed more sinuous, torturous and powerful. The subjects were twisted, their faces contorted with pain and pleasure. Some of the carvings almost seemed to writhe with actual movement.
As I bent to look more closely, an ancient man emerged from the deepest shadows of the shop. Like most Balinese he was short, his brown face laced with wrinkles, his beard long and white but his eyes were intense, dark and so alert they almost flashed.
"How I help you Sir?" His voice was surprisingly deep. He spoke slowly and although his accent was strong I could understand him easily.
"Ah... I was looking for a present for my wife..." I faltered under his penetrating stare.
"Something to her pleasure." He nodded to himself. Although it wasn't a question I answered.
"Yes... exactly."
Talking mostly to himself the old man continued. "But there is more. Your wife... she no longer gives you pleasure of her body."
My mouth was dry. "Well I wouldn't say that exactly... I mean we both still enjoy sex... it's just lately... she doesn't seem that keen..." I couldn't believe I was telling this old shopkeeper the details of my sex life. He just nodded again, his expression unchanged.
"You want grow her desire... make her fires burn hot down below."
This time I just nodded. I couldn't trust myself to speak. He moved closer. I would have stepped back but the shelf, loaded with wooden erotica, was right behind me.
"How hot? Hot like good wife should be or hot like she-monkey in mating time? Does she spread legs only for you or like street whore open for every stray dog who come sniffing her holes."
My heart was pounding. Somehow this old man had discerned my deepest, darkest fantasy, my secret desire to have my darling, faithful, gorgeous wife give herself willingly to other men. Before I could speak the old man gave one more solemn nod and made a strange gesture with his hand.
"Be it so." was all he said. He moved back into the shadows at the back of the shop. I heard the creak of a door opening and waited several long minutes. Finally he re emerged and handed me a long rectangular wooden box.
"This," he said, his voice sounding even deeper, "will do all you desire. If you certain, you use on your unfortunate wife at night but you warned... no toy, no trick, carving hold strong spirit, always hunger for body and mind. If you use you cannot go back."
This was getting way too weird. The old guy was clearly crazy. I should have handed back the box but it seemed easier just to pay and get the hell out. Also, in my defense, I was still feeling disoriented by the whole sexual impact of the place.
"How... " I had to clear my throat. "How much do I owe you?" The old man named a sum. It was a high price... especially in Bali where everything is so cheap. He also announced the price in such a firm way that I somehow knew the usual haggling was out of the question. I paid over the money, which was every note in my wallet, in fact exactly the sum I had in my wallet. Again that was weird. I thanked him, half bowed and quickly exited the shop.
My guide was waiting by his taxi at the end of the alley. He looked nervous. I managed a reassuring grin. The shop was all he had promised and more. I even bought him a beer before we wound our way back to the hotel.
I arrived at the hotel before Katy and the kids. Of course the first thing I did was open the box. Inside was a wooden dildo. It was large, long and thick, without being enormous. It was beautifully carved from a wood so dark it had an almost oily appearance. It was superbly realistic, but I felt a bit disappointed. What was I expecting? Certainly something more exotic and erotic than a plain wooden dildo.
I took it out of the box. The texture was pleasant... a little knobbly with carved veins but satin smooth. No splinters here. I found myself stroking it with my hand as though I was pleasuring my own penis. It felt good... exciting.
There was a sound of people on the stairs. My family. Hurriedly I put it back in the box and hid it at the bottom of my bag just as they walked in. They'd enjoyed a great time at the water park. Katy asked about my day and I told her most of it, but for some reason I left out my visit to the dark little shop.
We had dinner at a restaurant on the beach then went for a walk as the night fell quickly. Even at this hour there were still lots of vendors trying to sell cheap junk.
It was quite late when we got back to our little hotel. The kids went off to their room. They were still excited to have a room to themselves with their own bathroom, television and minibar. When we first arrived in Bali I ordered them not to buy anything from the minibar but having seen the prices I told them they could buy as many sodas and snack bars as they liked.
In our room next door, I had a quick shower, ever hopeful of some holiday sex. We'd been here several days but it hadn't happened yet and from the look of it, wasn't going to happen tonight. Katy had already gone to bed with her novel. As I climbed in beside her and gave her a kiss on the cheek she smiled vaguely and gave me an ""mmmm" but didn't stop reading.
I lay back, frustrated. The air con made our room bearable but it was still hot. I was only wearing boxers. Katy was wearing a plain cotton nightie which completely covered her firm, smallish breasts. No sign of her delicious long nipples. The nightie was quite short and I imagined it creeping up over her shapely thighs. Was she wearing panties I wondered. I felt my penis stirring so I rolled over, facing away from Katy. A large tent in my boxers would be very obvious under the sheet that covered us.
Katy took this as a signal. Bookmarking her place she lent over, kissed me on the cheek, rolled back, turned off her light and as usual fell asleep remarkably fast. My Katy is an excellent sleeper. She drops off quickly and sleeps so soundly I have sometimes joked that a horde of Mongol cavalry could ride through the room and she wouldn't wake.
The combination of heat and my semi arousal meant that for me, sleep was far away. I lay there listening to Katy's steady breathing and contemplated whether I should go for another swim in the pool, even though it was after hours. I carefully slid out of bed, very quietly and gently, although I didn't need to bother. I could have leaped up and it wouldn't have disturbed my sleeping beauty.
Opening the fridge to get a water, the light fell on my bag and I remembered the dildo. My stomach gave a little flutter of excitement. What was it the old man had said... "use it on your wife at night"... something like that. A moment's search and the box was open, the dildo a dark shape in my hand. It did feel very sleek and sexy. I could almost imagine a tingle in my palm. "Use it on your wife." It was too tempting.
I crossed to the bed and looked down at Katy. The room was far from dark. A courtyard light shone softly through our thin curtains. I could see Katy's face, peaceful and ever so cute. The subtle swell of her breasts under the sheet...the shape of her legs. Maybe if she'd been on her side I would have left her alone. Maybe if her legs had been together I wouldn't have gone ahead. But she was lying on her back with her legs slightly spread, so open and inviting I couldn't resist.