Someone Special

Someone Special

by

Burt Sage

Hello. You’ve reached Living Dolls, Inc. My name is Brad. May I have your name, please?

You need my name?

No, I don’t need it. It’s just that I’m much more comfortable speaking with someone who’s name I know rather than some anonymous customer.

OK, Brad. My name is Alice.

Thank you, Alice. How may I help you?

I’d like to order a doll.

Have you been to our website? Do you have a particular doll in mind?

Yes. I’m interested in one of your custom dolls. It’s to be a gift for a friend.

I see. As you probably discovered from our website, we can customize the doll to your exact requirements. Let’s begin with size. Are you interested in a small collectible doll or a life-size doll?

A life-size doll.

OK. We have a wide variety of life-size dolls in stock. For example, we have a Ken, from the movie Barbie. That’s a popular product. We also have a Paul Newman doll, a Clint Eastwood doll, a Barack Obama doll, and even a Ronald Reagan doll. Would you be interested in one of these? Or do you have something else in mind. An old boy friend doll, perhaps? When we say we customize to our customer’s exact requirements, we mean just that.

Interesting! You mean I can really have one like my old boy friend?

So, the doll isn’t for a friend. It’s for you, isn’t it. Sorry to notice that, but to get you the doll you really want…..

Yes. The doll is for me. I shouldn’t have tried to pretend. Of course you’ll need to know what I want, not what my friend would want.

Good. Then it’s going to be a replica of your old boy friend?

Yes. He’s the best I’ve found so far, and I’m tired of coming home to an empty apartment. Can you have him say “Hi, Alice. How was your day?”?

Of course. But I have to warn you. At this level of customization the cost of the doll will be quite high. Depending on some of the further details, the price could reach $1,000.

I didn’t expect it to be cheap. That price doesn’t put me off.

Good. We’ll need some pictures and voicemails of him. We use laser printing to make the doll. We just scan the pictures and load the voicemails you send and the computers do the rest.

I have plenty of pictures of him and saved voicemails. Should I email them to you?

Emailing the voicemails will be fine. But for the pictures we prefer glossies. To make sure we get the details right, like, maybe he has a tattoo. The higher the quality of the pictures, the better looking the doll. It’s best if you mail them.

No problem. I have albums with his photos.

Great. Now, let’s work on the specs. I’m going to ask you quite a number of questions. OK?

Of course. Let’s go.

Let’s start with the height and weight. The height and weight will give us an idea of body type. But the doll won’t weigh that much. It’ll weigh on the order of 20 to 30 pounds—enough to give it some substance but not so much that you won’t be able to move it.

My boyfriend was five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 210 pounds.

Amazing. Those are my numbers. What about body shape. Was he the quiet, slender studious type, or athletic, or maybe slightly overweight?

Oh! He was the athletic type, for sure. So strong. He could pick me up and spin me around. I loved it.

Hmmmm….Sounds like fun. Can we get back to the order?

Sorry. Of course. What’s next?

Our customized dolls come in two versions. The first version is what we call the smooth model. The second version is the anatomically correct model. Which one would you prefer?

I get my choice on that?

That’s just the beginning. I can tell you now that among our customers there is little demand for the smooth version. So, if you prefer the anatomically correct version, you’ll be in good company. In fact, the demand for the anatomically correct version is such that the smooth version actually costs more. There’s just so little demand for that model. For our male customers, we don’t even offer a smooth version of our female dolls.

I get what you mean, Brad. Yes, I want the anatomically correct version.

Do you have any pictures of your boyfriend in the nude?

Sigh. No, I don’t. And it’s my fault. …...Do your other customers have those kinds of pictures?

Most of them do. You’d be amazed at the detail we get. If you don’t have the pictures we need, I’ll have to ask you some more questions.

OK.

But before we get to those questions, I have one further item to address. I’m assuming that you want the heated version. This version, when in use, has a body temperature of 98.6. To save power, when the doll is not in use, we let it cool down to room temperature. It takes about fifteen minutes to warm up when you want to use it. Do you want the heated version?

Of course.

Good. Lets move on. What degree of functionality do you want for the doll’s anatomically correct equipment?

You’re kidding! Aren’t you? I mean, do you really have that degree of customization?

We’re a full service company, Alice. We provide what our customers want. We can, of course, provide the doll with equipment that doesn’t function. But again, there’s little demand for that. The most popular version, the dual mode version, is one where the equipment stays in the quiescent state until the erect state is activated. After a customer selected length of time, the equipment automatically returns to the quiescent state. We can also provide a version where the equipment is permanently in the erect state. There is some demand for that version. Which would you like?

I want the dual mode version. How do you activate it?

It’s sensitive to touch. All you have to do is gently rub the equipment and it will change mode.

I can’t believe it! Just like a real guy! Just ….like …..a ……real ….

………………. Are you still there, Alice?

Yes, I’m still here.

Are you all right? You kind of faded away.

It’s nothing, Brad. Nothing. I’m sorry. Where were we?

No, Alice. It’s not nothing. You were having a flashback, weren’t you. About a time with your boyfriend. Do you want to talk about it?

Gee, Brad, ah……..

Yeah. I know. Why should some sales guy on the telephone care. It’s you, Alice. There’s just something about you that intrigues me. The way you talk. The sound of your voice. I can’t put my finger on it, but something tells me you’re special.

Oh, stop it, Brad. I’ll bet you say that to all your women customers.

No! I’m serious. I talk to over a dozen women every day. You get to know certain types right away. Half of these women are married with husbands who are married to their job. The romance has gone out of their lives, and their loneliness and frustration leads them to our products. The other half have sexual fantasies that need satisfying. For those customers it’s only about sex. Rarely do I talk to someone like you. When you say you want a doll that will greet you when you come home from work, it’s more than just sex with you.

Ah...I don’t know, Brad. It’s really personal.

Alice, like you, I lost someone special. It was hard getting over her, but I have. And I’m trying to move on. Meeting new people is hard. I took this job because it offered the opportunity to talk to a lot of different people every day. It’s kind of an experiment, to see if the person I’m looking for might actually call me.

You want to meet people who want to buy sex dolls?

I know it sounds crazy, but like I said, most of my callers just want the doll for sex. But you sound different, Alice. You could be what I’m looking for. Someone who makes me smile every time I hear her voice. Someone I would look forward to coming home to. Someone who makes me feel content just sitting beside me. I think you could be that person. I think you, too, are looking for someone special, but are settling for something less, a doll, out of loneliness.

Well, I’m definitely searching for someone special. It was my own fault that I lost the one I had.

Tell me about him, Alice.

Sigh. OK. But first I have to tell you that most people think of me as a prude. I believe that sex is kind of sacred, and should be shared only by a couple who make a long term commitment. So, if your real motive is to find a partner for a brief liaison, I’m not what you’re looking for.

I can have all of those relationships that I want. That’s not what I’m searching for. Yes, I want a lover. But I also want a best friend. That’s what I’m looking for.

That’s what I’m looking for, too. I thought I had found him. But when he discovered that I wouldn’t go all the way, he went looking elsewhere.

And that’s what caused the flashback?

Yes. I would finish him manually, but it wasn’t enough.

Sounds to me like you’re the lucky one, Alice. From the stories that my customers share with me, a commitment to him wouldn’t have lasted. You’d have probably held him for several months, but sooner or later he would look for other beds to share.

I sure don’t feel like the lucky one.

……. Do you have a job, Alice? What do you do for a living?

I’m an escrow officer at Lands End Title Company in Santa Monica. I help close real estate contracts.

That sounds impressive. So you live here in Southern California? I live in Malibu.

Yes. I live in Santa Monica. I’m right down the Highway from you. You said that you took your current job as an experiment to try to meet more people. What’s your real job, Brad?

I’m a salesman. I can sell anything. The job I left for this job was with Premier Auto Sales in Beverly Hills. I sold Bentleys and Ferraris and even Rolls Royces.

That’s kinda cool. So what do you do in your spare time?

I’m a runner. I spend most of my spare time training. Last weekend I ran the half marathon down in Laguna Beach.

You’re kidding! That’s where I was last weekend! I didn’t do the half marathon, but I did run the 10K. Running is my passion!

I can’t believe my ears. You love running?

Yep. I’m up at 6am every morning for a run on the beach. I have a special route that I follow.

Which beach?

The Will Rogers Beach. I run down to the Santa Monica pier and back. It’s a little over a mile.

If you’ll let me join you, I’m good for breakfast….

I’d like that. Here’s to tomorrow morning, then. But be on time. If you’re not there at 6am, I’ll start without you.

I’ll be there for sure! Oh. One more thing, Alice. Should I assume that you no longer have an interest in the doll we were designing?

What do you think, Brad?