Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in September, and I'd intended on getting up early for a drive into the country. A few small communities within reasonable driving distance were sponsoring craft and antique fairs, and I wanted to surprise my wife with a unique present for her birthday. She expected a gift card to one of favorite stores, since that was my modus operando, but I was bound and determined to exceed her expectations.

But I'd overslept. No Maggie to wake me for my outing. She was visiting her sister for the weekend. And our daughter Felice was visiting a college within Amtrak train distance for a whirlwind three-day tour. I couldn't believe my baby girl was eighteen and a woman. Actually, I had to keep those thoughts out of my head or I'd end up with an unfortunate erection. No matter how many times I warned her, she'd still prance around in her underwear or, lately, lingerie that left nothing to the imagination. Not that I'd ever lay a hand on her, but sometimes the temptation was awfully strong.

It was already ten o'clock, and by the time I got to the nearest event, it would be noon. I took a flash shower, skipped shaving, and drove faster than traffic but no so fast as to be obvious ticket fodder. I drove under a street-wide banner in front of the high school that Felice attended, announcing their state basketball championship. An article in the local paper made a big deal of how the crowd's support, incited by the cheerleaders, made all the difference in close games.

All of the close-up parking had been taken, and the crowds had settled in for their lunch. I parked in the only available lot, close to half a mile from the shops and booths. The temporary stands had identical items imported from overseas. Nothing original or unique. The permanent antique shops were more interesting and held the promise of a wow present. Maggie deserved the best, and putting in the effort to find just the right thing would make me her hero. I needed the Brownie points for too many late nights at the office and too many guy nights out.

Around the next corner at garden level, there was a weather-beaten sign, ANTIQUIES, and wooden door that matched. I crept down the stone steps. A bell jostled by the opening door announced my arrival. An older woman approached. A few decades earlier, she would have been attractive. As a young woman, probably a knockout. "How can I help - oh, it's you. I've been expecting you."

I started to speak. She put two fingers on my lips. "You want something special." She examined me, from head to toe. "I have just the item. Follow me."

There was too much sway in her hips for a woman of that age. My imagination, fueled daily by Felice, kicked into gear and I was half erect by the time she'd stopped. She gave me another once-over, and I hoped she wouldn't notice my condition. "Yes, you're exactly the right man." She opened a cabinet, blew off lingering dust, and extracted a silver alarm clock from the cupboard. "Hand-made. One of a kind." She put it in my hand.

It was pretty with an abstract design on the face and oddly shaped hands. "Thanks, but I don't think my wife would like-"

Those two fingers silenced me again. "This is for you. You were meant to possess it." 'Possess' sounded like the hiss of a snake.

I looked closer. The face wasn't an abstract design after all. It was a woman's face inside another woman's face, each one getting smaller. And the hands of the clock. Thick with rounded tips. Shit, they looked like penises! "I really can't afford-"

She touched my arm. "How much change do you have in your pocket?"

I reached in, my hand alone-side my erection. I retrieved the coins and counted. "Seventy-two cents."

"Sold!" She clasped my hands around the clock and surrounded them with her own. "It keeps perfect time, but the alarm is broken. So, please don't set the alarm. Promise me."

What would be the harm in setting the alarm, if it wasn't working? But I humored her. "Fine, I won't set the alarm."

She relaxed and smiled. "Good. I will get you a receipt." She waddled off. My cock twitched. If she were younger, I'd have been tempted to make a pass. She returned with a generic sales slip on which she'd written the price - seventy-two. AS she handed me the slip of paper, she rubbed my back. She was feeling something, too.

"Thanks." I wondered if there was another bargain to be had, this time for Maggie. "Maybe you can help me find something just as nice for my wife?"

She looked stern, as if I'd insulted her. "There is nothing more here for you. Today." She crossed her arms.

Was that an invitation to return? Because I'd want a refund on an old clock? Not for seventy-two cents I wouldn't. She'd made it clear that I was no longer welcome. "I'll find my way out."

I walked to the door. Looking back, the woman was no longer visible. Perhaps she'd gone off to put my seventy-two cents in her cigar box register. I smiled at the image.

Outside, dark clouds had moved in, and moisture was in the air. I ran for my car and got the door open just as the heavens dumped buckets. Leaving the area was less of a problem because I was already past the congested parking. Finding Maggie a gift would have to wait for the next day.

I used the home alone opportunity to sneak one of my porn tapes out from hiding behind the encyclopedia set that no one in the house ever touched. Even though I'd seen it before, it got me erect. That, my wife's soon-to-be return, the memories of Felice and the sexy ass of the shopkeeper all worked to get me hard. I could have easily masturbated myself, but I wanted to save myself for Maggie's homecoming.

I dressed for bed by stripping nude. Although I wouldn't do that when Maggie or Felice were around, I liked the feeling of my naked body on the cool sheets. I didn't remember putting my antique alarm clock on the nightstand, but there it was, shining silver. I wound the back and saw the ALARM lever and time control. What harm would it do if I tried setting it, so that I didn't oversleep again? In the worst case, I'd just wake up naturally, late or not. I set the alarm hand, another smaller penis, for seven A.M., so I could get a better start for my search. I flicked the ALARM lever to ON, curled up under the covers and dozed off.

I awoke to the bells of my alarm clock. What did that old woman know, anyway? The alarm feature worked fine. I reached to turn it off and felt my naked body against something - someone. There was a woman in bed writhing against me.