Origin
We had all talked about it and ultimately agreed, me, Mike, Janice, and most of all, Judy. It was her wedding after all and whatever she wanted was it.
I could feel the tension as I stood in the back of the church with the rest of the wedding party; Mike and I in identical tuxedos. With the single exception that I had a rose in my lapel, we could have been twins; well there was him being a good four inches taller than me and outweighing me by a little over fifty pounds and being black. The rose signified I was the father of the bride, my ex, Janice, was as gorgeous as ever in her purple gown, her auburn hair done up off her shoulders, her green eyes sparkled, the rose on her breast matched mine. The two of them barely looked at me and I fully understood why, but Judy had had the final word, it was what she wanted.
Mike and I had been best friends since high school, we had run track together, he was a sprinter, 100, 200 and 400, I specialized in the middle distances, 400, 800 and 1500, we teamed up on the 4×400 relay where I was the number three and Mike was the anchor, or ‘the hammer’, as we called him; I always watched in amazement after I handed him the baton and he flew around the track for the last lap, embarrassing whomever else was unfortunate enough to be on the track with him. Mike had missed a shot at the Olympics by less than a second, the drunk for that one was as close to epic as it got.
We met Janice in graduate school, Mike was getting an MBA to go with his degree in Sports Management after a short stint with the Miami Dolphins, I was finishing up my PhD. In Literature and Composition and Janice was in her third year of law school.
Mike and I walked through the mall having just watched one of Steven Segal’s movies, who knew which one, because they’re all pretty much the same, just brain-dead mind-numbing entertainment, explosions, gunfights, and decent martial arts. I was stressing over a bad case of writer’s block, and Mike thought that since my novel was a war story, some gratuitous violence would help, it hadn’t.
Mike could still feel the funk I was in and decided the nuclear option was the only thing left, grabbing my arm, he dragged me into the first dress store we passed, right up to the first sales associate we saw,” Miss, sorry to dump this on you like this, but my friend here is as depressed as hell, he dresses up a bit and damnit, he needs a new dress more than anything. Hook him up please before I kill him.”
Mike knew about my dressing because it was kind of his fault, his big sister Anne was a fashion designer, up and coming and brilliant, she needed a model for one of her shows at the last minute and she and her brother had convinced me to do it, with my long, lean runners body, I would be perfect. With the wigs and makeup, nobody would know; the problem was, it had been a fantasy of mine for as long as I could remember and, once I had tried it, I didn’t want to stop. The upside was I could always claim to have been custom fitted by one of the biggest names in the industry, and I did have a couple of her dresses in my closet to prove it.
I glowered at Mike, smiled weakly at the sales associate, and didn’t object.
Janice looked at Mike and then at me, smiled and twenty minutes later, I had a cute sweater dress; just above my knees with a Henley top and long sleeves, some tights, and a new pair of boots to go with it. Janice joined us at the bar later and, of course, at the end of the night, I had to model for Janice. I didn’t object to that either.
It had worked, I was now dressing every day, and my novel flew from my fingers into the keyboard, for the next eighteen months the three of us were near inseparable.
I was the last one to finish. Janice had easily passed the bar and with Mike’s MBA and NFL connections, they soon had a burgeoning business as sports agents. The same day my life’s work, my novel, no my tome, my 500 page historical fiction masterpiece, my epic tale of love and war, victory and defeat, all wrapped in the Revolutionary War; Lexington, Yorktown, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, was finally published Mike and Janice signed to represent, Demetrious Finley, a quarter back out of Alabama that was poised to go number one in the coming draft. The three of us had done our best to deplete our favorite watering hole of every bottle of Stoly they had and fully believed we had accomplished our goal, none of us were conscious enough to know for sure.
The Uber driver poured us out of his car and we staggered into the house we were all sharing heading for our separate bedrooms, when I woke up the next morning, naked, in bed with Janice, we discovered our celebration had gotten a little out of hand. A month later, Janice discovered she was pregnant. We did the right thing, getting married at the justice of the peace, her sister was her maid of honor and Mike was my best man. Judy was the fruit of that night and today was her day.
It turned out that the only thing epic about my novel was its abysmal failure, critics ripped it apart and sales were laughable, humiliated, I had crawled into a deep depression and made some choices that I still regret, paramount of them were going behind Janice’s back and starting to take hormones and the fling I had with a man that picked me up in a bar when I went out by myself dressed to the nines. Janice found out about both and confronted me, the divorce was amicable if not friendly and I gave her everything.
She and Mike moved to New York taking Judy with them and I took a position as a professor of English at a small university in Texas, spending my off hours dressing as provocatively as I could and hooking up with men and women in bars so they could punish me for my crimes. The only upside was that with the hormones, I grew a nice but modest pair of boobs which meant I didn’t need forms for my dresses anymore and could still present as a man if I needed to. That and I looked at my novel in a new light; ripping it apart, I published a series of romance novels from the material that were so well received, I won a few awards.
With some newfound confidence, I pulled myself together, was granted tenure at the university, started doing everything I could to be a part of Judy’s life and repaired my relationship with my two best friends enough to be Mike’s best man when he and Janice got married two years later. I still dressed and went out but was more discriminating in the partners I chose.
So here we were, standing in the back of the church, I could see Tom, waiting patiently for Judy to come join him so they could start their life together; if I could have handpicked a man for my daughter, it would have been Tom, Mike and Janice agreed, they were perfect together.
The rehearsal dinner had been a little awkward with Mike and me not really knowing who was supposed to give the father’s toast, I had gone first, doing my best to acknowledge the wonderful woman my little girl had become and to praise her choice in Tom, but when Mike spoke, it hit me; I had been there for all the big stuff, the important stuff; graduations, track meet finals, her Girl Scout Gold Award, we all even shared a beach house at the coast, where I taught her how to surf, but Mike had been there for all the little stuff, taking the training wheels off her bike, buying her ice cream in the eighth grade when Billy Smith had called her a freak because her dad was black; the skinned knees, the nightmares and the times she didn’t make the team, all those things that made him her dad and me just her father.
“Judy,” I put my hands on my daughter’s shoulders,” listen, there is no way for me to ever express how much I love you and how proud and happy I am for you right now, but I need your permission to do something,” when I told her what, she hugged me tightly and whispered,” Thank you” in my ear.
I kissed Judy on the cheek and could feel her relax just a bit, “you’re doing the right thing today, you know that, trust your heart, ok?” she smiled at me and nodded.
I walked up to Mike, took the rose from my lapel and pinned it to his,” I may be her father, but you’re her dad. I think this is yours,” I hugged him fiercely, smiled at Janice and went to take my seat in the front of the church. The wedding was beautiful, at the reception, Mike got the honors of the father’s dance while I happily took a turn with Judy right after.
That had been little more than twenty-four hours ago, I had left early the next morning to catch my flight home, made the drive to the coast and prepped the beach house for the season, Mike and Janice would be joining me in a few days after they got Judy and Tom off for their honeymoon and took care of a few post-wedding details, Tom and Judy would join us ten days later, our entire family would have two weeks together: I couldn’t wait for everyone to get here.
By the time I was finished getting the house ready, the sun was dancing with the horizon, I went for a run on the beach; I loved running in the edge of the surf, especially as the tide went out, the cool splash of the water on my legs invigorated me, I could close my mind off to everything except the sound of my heart and the rhythm of my feet on the sand, letting all the tension in my world slip out to sea with the tide.
Something snagged my foot, and I did a world class face-plant into the surf. Laughing at myself and wiping the sand from my face, I looked down to find a gold chain laying half exposed in the sand, a little digging exposed an intricate pendant about an inch in diameter with a deep purple crystal in the center hanging from the chain, it was beautiful.
I rinsed off in the sand shower at the beach house before taking a long hot bath, spending over an hour getting dressed, fixing my hair, and doing my makeup; I had made sure shaving wasn’t an issue years ago with six months’ worth of electrolysis. Mike and Janice wouldn’t be here for another day or two as they wrapped up post wedding details so I had some time for Jamey to come out and play; me dressing wasn’t a problem, in fact, it was accepted if not expected, Janice sometimes commenting that my bikinis were racier than hers. What I was doing tonight, though, is what had gotten me in trouble over twenty years ago and I knew I needed to get that out of my system before they got here.
I knew just the place to go, too. Taking one final look in the mirror, I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. For some reason, I dropped the pendant in my purse as I left.
Charley’s wasn’t technically a gay bar but it was very ‘alternative lifestyle’ friendly and was my best chance to find what I was looking for, with a bottle of lube and three condoms in my purse, I was hoping for a very long night.
Greg was the bartender and had my whiskey neat ready for me by the time I got to the bar,” Long time Jamey, good to see you again. Looking hot as ever,” he winked. I took a quick look in the mirror and decided I had to agree with him, even nearing fifty, I was frickin’ hot.
“Thanks Greg, you, too,” I handed him my card so he could start my tab. It was going to take a few to get myself ready for what I hoped I had planned. If nothing else, I knew I could wait until close and Greg would be happy to fuck me silly; it had happened before, and it had been amazing.
Taking a seat at the end of the bar, I crossed my legs, making sure my skirt stayed above my knees, and began to scan the room, it was still early, but a girl never knows, does she?
The night dragged on, and while there were a few candidates, nothing like what I really wanted tonight, so I sat, flirted with Greg, sipped my whiskey, and waited. I finally had to go to the ladies’ room, touching up my makeup, I spied the pendant, when I got to the bar, I took it out and, for the first time, really examined it; extremely ornate with etchings all over it in what appeared to be Arabic or some Middle Eastern language. Lost in my interest in the treasure, I almost didn’t hear Greg,” six o’clock, Jamey, and he’s heading your way.”
I looked up to see the most impressive man I had ever seen, very expensive suit. probably an Armani, his dark complexion reminded me of a rich cup of coffee, his eyes were so dark they were almost black, a neat trimmed beard graced his chin, his jet black hair hung down below his shoulders, and my god, he was bigger than Mike; at least seven feet tall and huge, I smiled as he walked up to me.
“May I join you,” he asked with an accent I hadn’t heard before, actually waiting for me to say yes before he sat down, I could feel the eagerness raging in my ass as I wriggled in my seat; this would be heaven If it happened.
“Please, I smiled coyly,” I’m Jamey.”
“Please call me Raj,” he extended his hand, it totally engulfed mine, oh my god I hoped the myth about hand size was true. He kissed my hand delicately, smiling and locking onto my eyes as he did. I wanted him to take me right there.
“Whatever he wants, on my tab,” I smiled at Greg.
“Do you have a hearty red wine?” he turned to Greg and asked politely. Raj just sat and looked me over while he waited for his wine,” I hope I am not making you uncomfortable,” he finally said.
“Um, no. I’m actually enjoying the way you are looking at me,” I admitted.
“You are strikingly beautiful, “he smiled, the way his eyes lit up was more intoxicating than the large amount of whiskey I had already consumed,” especially, if it is not inappropriate for me to say so, for a man,” he took a sip of his wine but his eyes never left me.
I didn’t know what to say, no one had ever so blatantly outed me like that before, most of my partners let me keep my fantasy while we had sex, and those that didn’t never got further than perhaps a blow job in the parking lot; I knew I was a bit of a slut, that was why I was here, but the way Raj said it, he was different. I looked down at the floor.
“I am sorry, I have upset you. It is not a problem, you know, as I said, you are strikingly beautiful, and I have served many kinds of masters before you.”
“‘Served’, ‘Masters,’ what are we talking about here?” I emptied my glass and waved at Greg to bring me another.
“You do not know,” he cocked his head to the side as he looked at me,” the pendant, you hold the pendant, so I serve you. Whatever it is you wish; I shall make happen.”
“So, if I take you home with me right now, you will fuck me until I beg for you to stop, because that’s what I came in here for tonight?” I was horny and not in the mood for games.
“If that is what you wish, I will be more than happy to oblige, it will not be the first time my master has requested sexual favors.”
“Master, pendant, Raj, what the hell are you talking about, and don’t bullshit me, I’ve taught college for twenty-five years, I know bullshit when I smell it and I’m not in the mood for games or practical jokes. So, who put you up to this?” I shot Greg an evil glance. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“May I?” he reached out to touch my face.
“Sure, what the hell, this can’t get any weirder,” when his fingers caressed my cheek, I felt it, an energy running through my body, a warmth, something I had never felt before, I was covered in a warm blanket on a cold night, I was sitting by a fire under the Colorado sky, cooking S’mores, I was back at the beach basking in the sun, and then it was gone, and so was my anger and frustration,” what did you just do to me?” I gasped.
“I need your mind to be still so you can understand,” he took another sip of his wine,” I need you to listen, and to believe.”
“OK, go,” I said,” you and this pendant I found on the beach earlier today are connected, and for some reason, you think I am now your master, is that about it?”
“That is correct. It has been a long time since anyone has held the pendant. That happens sometime, but almost always, those that have found it have been searching for it and have known what it is. That is not the case with you, so I will try to explain. I am Djinn and my essence lies in the jewel of the pendant. When you touched the pendant, you called me forth to serve you.”
“Wait a minute, you’re talking about ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Arabian Nights’, three wishes, that kind of Djinn?” I asked incredulously.
“I am not familiar with this ‘Aladdin,’ but yes, that kind of Djinn , except there are no three wishes, I am here to serve you, to grant you whatever it is you desire; wealth, long life, partners that will ‘fuck you until you beg them to stop,’ as you said, all you must do is ask.”
“Raj, Djinn don’t exist, they’re fantasy, fairy tale, myth. Do you really expect me to believe you,” everything in my rational mind told me he was full of it, but there was something about him, a sincerity I just couldn’t ignore,” and if you’re a real Djinn , you’re from the middle east, how did your pendant end up in the Texas gulf?”
“My last master was named Ponce De Leon, he acquired the pendant in battle, the chest he hid the pendant in was washed from his vessel in a storm.”
“You have been inside this,” I held up the pendant,” for over five hundred years,” I dropped the pendant, “you expect me to believe this? Seriously, who put you up to this?”
“Yes, and no one put me up to this, you called me when you touched the pendant, it is that simple,” he just looked at me as he sipped his wine.
I shook my head,” I’m sorry, but this is crazy,” I still couldn’t get his sincerity out of my mind,” so you’re telling me, if I asked for a million dollars, right now, you’d just make it appear on the bar in front of me?”
“Something like that, yes,” he nodded,” is that what you want?”
“It can’t be that easy, there has to be a catch, I mean, if all of a sudden a million dollars appeared on the bar, I’d have to fight off everybody in the bar, and then there’s taxes, and explaining where it came from to the government, who’d probably just confiscate it anyway, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I laughed,” as if it could really happen anyway.”
“Perhaps a smaller gesture,” he raised his eyebrow and grinned,” an amount less obvious, “Open your bag,” he pointed at my purse,” what do you see?”
“Keys, wallet, lipstick, mascara, compact, three condoms, and some lube.” I looked at him.
“Look again.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered, pulling the bundle of hundreds from my purse,” ten thousand dollars, you, you’re not kidding,” I fanned the bills, brand new, sequential numbers,” wait a minute, you either made perfect American hundred dollar bills out of nothing having spent the last five hundred years in an pendant in the ocean, or these came from somewhere else.”
“Very astute,” another sip of his wine.
“So, where did you get them?”
“I believe it is called a Federal Reserve, in a place called Ft. Worth.”
“So, when they do an audit, some poor guy is going to get accused of stealing this, shit, no, put it back,” I tossed the money at him. It disappeared before it landed in his lap.
“You are very interesting, I must admit, you come here to engage in a totally immoral act with someone you do not know, yet refuse to take that money because it will harm someone else. I do not understand.”
I took a big sip of my whiskey,” It’s easy, immoral or not, one is a consensual act between two people making a decision of their own free will. The other is theft and hurts someone that had no say in the matter. There’s a big difference,” I could see the confusion in his face,” but, you don’t have free will, do you, you’re bound to that pendant and ‘have’ to serve whoever holds it so you can’t see the difference.”