Stoned Love

The corner of this week's sale banner, declaring twenty percent off everything, peeled silently away from the glass the second Elliot turned his back on the shop display window, leaving a bargain offer of 0% off everything to impress the potential customers. He stumbled out from the display window, squeezing between two mannequins, brushing them just enough to teeter both, a knitted beanie falling from one and the other almost collapsing on top of a customer who was checking the prices on the lower rails. Elliot blushed furiously, his eyes flicking away from the startled customer, trying to straighten the dummies up and replace the fallen hat. A tut and a roll of the eyes confirmed that not only had his name badge been read but the position of Store Manager had also been noted, clearly a role far above his capabilities. A slow shake of the head confirmed it. 

Elliot scuttled back to the till counter, the one place in the whole shop where he felt vaguely in charge, the slight height difference of the station elevating him more than the mere two inches it stood above the shop floor level. From here he could command his staff to take their allotted 20-minute breaks. He had made many a sale at this till, albeit sometimes for less than the ticketed amount, but a sale nevertheless. He had mastered how to run a cheque through whilst taking a stock call on the phone, demonstrating impressive multi-tasking skills. This was his command central, a strategically important station within the store. His shop was one of the furthest outposts in the local retail landscape, far from the malls where the bigger stores held court. He had to work harder to make the targets set for him, getting the footfall through the door was half the battle. Hard going when you were tucked away on a backstreet between a Chinese takeaway and a tattoo parlour.  

Elliot's hand slipped into his pocket, feeling for the flat, round stone with the strange patterned markings he knew would be there. He flipped it through his fingers like a coin. It liked to be kept warm so holding it in his hand was a good idea. He knew that much. When it had gotten cold, when he left it alone, things went wrong. He knew that too. A warm feeling spread across his chest as though he had just sipped a single malt, a familiar sense of relief as the stone warmed in his hand. The shop doorbell pinged and he turned to welcome the customer, leaving the talisman in his pocket alone again. 

Elliot had only been seeing Carly for a few months, but already he was beginning to think she might be the one. The one who could help him learn to stand up for himself. The one who would back him when he needed it most. The one who knew when to push him and when to leave him be. She seemed to understand his struggle to fill his own shoes and walk his own line. He was smitten. Life at work had certainly been better since they had met. He hadn't been bullied even once lately by Joe, his top salesman. Usually, the first to throw a criticism his way, or mock his latest blunder with a customer, he had backed off big time since Carly arrived. He sensed he was a new man, Elliot knew it. And Claire, with her daily excuses for why she had taken over an hour for her lunchbreak. He had actually managed to challenged her, and even as his voice cracked and he stuttered his reprimand, she had looked at him strangely but apologized and promised to be more considerate to the rest of team in future. She had taken forty-five minutes since and had sold more walking boots than the rest of the team put together. Little by little, Elliot felt like his shoes were beginning to fit. He could look at himself in the mirror in the mornings and the knot in the pit of his stomach was gone. This morning he had shaved off the stupid moustache he had hidden behind for the past five years. Carly said he looked five years younger. He was almost sure now that Carly was the real lucky charm in his life and not the little grey stone, she had given him. Sure, he couldn't leave home anymore without the little pebble in his pocket, Carly had warned him if he did, there would be consequences. The thought now of ever being without it made him break out in a cold sweat but with Carly he was back in the race, worthy, legitimate. And she told him every night that he was her world, that she was never happier than when he was with her and their love would stand the test of time and anything else the world cared to throw at them.    

Carrying the recycling out and emptying the bags into the trash bins, Elliot lifted his face towards the late afternoon sun. He sat down on the ramp at their backdoor, feeling the warmth on his forehead. Closing his eyes, his mind flicked through the chapters of years that had passed, the stories that brought them to this day. They celebrated was their wedding anniversary today, seven years married. A year after their nuptials, Elliot had been offered a promotion after his store blazed a trail to the top of the company leader board. He had thanked them then told them what they could do with it, taking great satisfaction in personally delivering his response to his manager Tom, who had been Elliot's constant critic. Over the phone of course, to his face might have been risky, he was a big guy and had a short fuse. That had been one of his finest hours, the rush of excitement, the exhilaration he had felt, slamming the phone down, bridge burning style! Was that what taking cocaine felt like, he wondered? He had almost burst with excitement when he told Carly he had followed her advice, quit the store and was now committed to working as her full-time manager from here on in. They had danced and drunk champagne till way past their bedtimes. He had spent the next two years helping Carly set up her own production company, getting her a deal with a local broadcaster just a year after that. She had established herself as a solid earner for channel 12 and was now on a permanent contract with viewing figures some of the bigger channels could only dream of. Today was also another anniversary. Of the car crash five years ago, that had left Carly in a wheelchair. Elliot had been driving them both home after dinner at their favourite restaurant. They could have walked but the weather had been dreadful, Carly didn't want to get her new hairdo ruined. He had only had a couple of beers; he still struggled to understand how he misjudged the road. He had left the stone at home that night, caught up in the excitement of the celebration. It lay in the pocket of the trousers he had changed out of at the last minute. He had walked away from the crash with only a concussion but Carly's spinal injuries were debilitating. She had worked hard at her recovery the last few years but the physiotherapy seemed to be relatively unsuccessful. None of this however had stopped Carly from holding onto her show and her contract with channel 12. Barely away from work any longer than if she had taken an extended holiday, she was back on screens within a month of the accident. He knew the risk of losing the show was what pushed her to get back to work as soon as she physically could. Only as good as your last review, she would say, plastering on the makeup and brushing the long black wig that characterized her on-screen persona. And no-one would notice the wheelchair, as she sat behind a cloth covered table for the whole fortune telling show.  

The little stone nestled in his hand, as he looked at its peculiar markings first on one side then the other. Such a strange little thing, not like the beach pebbles you see across the north eastern coasts. It seemed to be able to change colour from grey to blue to purple, depending on...what? It's mood? It's temperature? The weather? Elliot scratched his head as he passed it to Agatha who inspected it closely. "And you really think it's got what, some kind of magic power? This tiny little bit of beach rock?". Elliot sighed as he looked away, his gaze falling on the television. He knew how crazy it all sounded but he wanted Agatha to understand, to know everything; they had gone this far, she deserved to know the whole truth of the situation she was now involved in. "I think.." he tried to find the words to explain that weren't going to make him sound crazy. "I think it's Carly that has the power. Over me. I want out Agatha. I want to be free to be with you." Agatha followed his eyeline to the television. "But she'll never let me go. Never." The television crackled, a dark-haired woman laid tarot cards on a table, one by one. She lifted her eyes and spoke straight to the camera, staring into the kitchen at the two lovers as they began to plot their next move.