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A Readers Dream: The Shopping Trip

Chapter 5

By Amber LeBlancPublished 2 years ago 10 min read
1
A Readers Dream: The Shopping Trip
Photo by Alexander Kovacs on Unsplash

Alyssa wasn’t sure how long she had spent in the bathtub. She got out to find her toes were as wrinkly as her fingers. It was worth it, she felt better than she had all week. She towel dried and was surprised when her hair didn’t frizz up like normal, it stayed straight and smooth, just the way he fixed it. Alyssa wrapped her towel around her and opened the door. The first sight that greeted her was Gene laying on the bed staring at her, Alyssa jumped nearly losing her towel, she had forgotten he was there. She looked at him, then her dresser, she may have spent the night in his arms but she wasn’t ready to let him see her naked.

“Could you go in the other room so I can get dressed?” Alyssa asked.

“As you wish,” He replied. No sooner were the words out of his mouth and he was gone. That was disconcerting, she was used to his vanishing act. She looked around making sure he wasn’t anywhere in the room before she felt easy enough to get dressed.

Alyssa tried to plan her day as she was getting dressed. It was Sunday, she really didn’t have any plans. She could stay home but there was nothing to do but read. Reading was out of the question, in case she pulled something else out and lost Gene. She would miss her books, but as long as she had Gene it was worth it.

She went into the living room expecting to see Gene, he was nowhere in sight. She started her coffee, and looked at the time. She had been in the tub for over an hour, but it was still early. Maybe she could take Gene out, first she would have to get him some clothes, the puffy pants and the small vest would not work in public.

Alyssa stood in the kitchen considering all the possibilities with Gene. A nice car, a bigger house, she didn’t have to go to work anymore. At the same time she couldn’t all of a sudden get a new house. People would ask questions, she had to be smart about it. She didn’t want her family snooping into her personal life.

“Gene.” Alyssa called, not knowing how else to get his attention. Alyssa jumped when he appeared right in front of her.

“Yes my lady.” Gene addressed her.

“Let’s get one thing clear, you can’t be doing that. You scared the heck out of me. Give me some warning next time!” Alyssa yelled.

“Yes my lady.” Gene stood without any change of emotion. His stance alone was enough to make people think he was a terrorist. His arms crossed, his wide leg stance, it was the picture of a genie. Since they didn’t exist in real life there wasn’t a good explanation for him. He just needed a little bit of smoothing out the edges. A new outfit and perhaps a modern haircut, plus getting rid of that hideous mustache.

“We are going out in public and I need you to relax, try and look normal.” Alyssa said, Gene stood there looking at her, he didn’t seem to understand this concept. Alyssa took his arms and put them at his side. He still looked awkward, Alyssa tried to push his legs together and he didn’t move against her weight.

“Put your legs together.” Alyssa frustrated still trying to push them together. He moved his leg and Alyssa nearly fell over. He grabbed her before she hit the floor and put her back on her feet with one hand. She looked at Gene and felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She had never seen such a display of strength before. The encounter left her flushed, she stood there for a moment before remembering what she needed to do.

“Clothes!” She held her finger up to remind her. A magazine with mens clothes is what she needed. She browsed through the junk mail on her table, there had to be an advertisement for a clothing store. She could wish out an outfit that would fit him perfectly. She found the clothing ad and looked through it. The choices were cowboy or preppy and neither one seemed to fit him. She didn’t have much other option at this time.

She found an outfit that looked fairly normal and brought the paper over to Gene. “I wish you had this outfit and it fits you perfectly.” Alyssa said carefully.

“Your wish is my command.” The clothes switch was instantaneous, he looked like a normal person. He could still use a bit of grooming.

“I wish you didn’t have a mustache.”

“Your wish is my command.” The mustache disappeared before her eyes, without it he looked normal. Alyssa smiled, things were working out so far. The hair she could with for now, but she did want to see if he could change one more thing. He was tall, abnormally tall, perhaps he could drop a few inches.

“I wish you were three inches shorter.” Alyssa crossed her fingers hoping it would work.

“Your wish is my command.” Gene said as he shrunk 3 inches, now his height wasn’t so glaringly obvious.

“Just one more thing, when we are out in public you can’t say your wish is my command. People will look at us weird.”

“As you wish.” Gene said, Alyssa rolled her eyes, that wasn’t much better but it would have to do.

“All right let’s go.” Alyssa grabbed her purse and headed to the door with Gene right behind her. She opened the door and a business card fell to the ground. She would have missed it if it hadn’t stuck to her shoe. The backside of the card was plain when she picked it up. She turned it and fear rushed through her, it was the police department. What did they want? Had they found out about Gene? Had the neighbor said something?

Alyssa glanced around suspiciously, none of the neighbors were out. She made sure Gene stayed in the house and she walked out to her car. She didn’t want to draw extra attention to herself. She sat in the car and surveyed the neighbors on all sides, there was no one peering out their blinds, no one in their front yards.

“I wish Gene would come to the car.” Alyssa said knowing that Gene could hear her even with the door closed. She watched him open the door and walk over to the car. He stood in front of the car, Alyssa looked at him for a moment before realizing he didn’t know what to do. She rolled down the window, “Get in the car.” She ordered pointing to the passenger side. Once he got there he fumbled with the door but was able to open it. He sat in the car and looked like a statue. Alyssa realized there would be a few things she would need to educate him on. Basic modern day mechanics, or she could wish he had the knowledge. She thought about it for a second, that could come in handy, then she wouldn’t have to teach him how to drive.

“I wish you knew everything there is to know about cars.” Alyssa said. Gene looked at her, a puzzled look ran across his face. Gene then turned and put his seat belt on without any further instruction. There was no way to know if he understood since he no longer acknowledged her every wish, but that was a sign.

Alyssa drove to the mall cautiously obeying the speed limit and making sure not to break any traffic laws. The card for the PD was burning a hole in her pocket. They were trying to reach her, but for what reason? She hadn’t done anything that she was aware of.

Alyssa parked the car, Gene got out and looked normal, almost like he belonged in this century. “Hold on.” Alyssa said, stopping before they walked into the mall. She had to call before it drove her crazy. She dialed the number on the card for Officer Stone.

“Police, do you have an emergency?” A woman answered the phone.

“No, I…”

“Please hold.” The woman interrupted. The hold music played, fortunately it wasn’t long before someone picked up.

“Thank you for holding how can I help you?”

“I got a card placed on my door by Officer Stone. I”m not sure what it was about.” Alyssa replied honestly.

“Did you have a call for service?”


“No.” Alyssa was puzzled.

“Officer Stone is not currently on duty, can I get your name and number and I will send him a message.”


“Okay.” Alyssa gave her information and hung up the phone. It didn’t seem like anything urgent, otherwise they would have sent someone out right away.

“Let’s go shopping.” Alyssa turned to Gene who had been waiting patiently by the car. Gene started walking and Alyssa soon realized his long legs outpaced hers even at a slow walk.

“Gene, slow down, stay next to me.” His first shopping trip they needed to stick together. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, or did he?

“Have you ever been to a mall before?” She asked him as his pace brought them closer. He looked at her with a blank stare.

“Mall?” He questioned.

“It’s a place to shop, to buy clothes and other things.” Alyssa tried to explain. How could you explain housewares and movies to someone who didn’t know what a mall was.

“A market place? I have been to shops in the market.”


“It’s kind of like that but it’s all indoors and you need money to buy stuff.” Alyssa explained. Gene nodded as if he understood, she hoped he did. She took his hand and they entered the mall. Alyssa was not expecting his reaction, he looked awestruck by the three story mall. Alyssa watched his face, she would have thought a genie would have seen more extravagant things than this. She squeezed his hand hoping to reassure him. He looked at her with his eyes wide.

“This is a large market!” His booming voice seemed to echo through the place. People turned and stared, Alyssa’s face turned crimson. She tried to hide but there was no where to go.

“Not so loud.” Alyssa whispered angrily. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and led him away from the conspicuous spot at the entrance. She turned to him, apparently this would take more work than she realized.

“You have to watch your volume. There’s this thing called an inside voice. You need to tone it down a bit.” Alyssa spoke in just over a whisper. He nodded his head, she wasn’t sure he understood but hoped he did.

“Now, let’s go shopping for real.” Alyssa said with a big grin on her face. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pay for everything, but she had a genie. They browsed some stores and Alyssa saw all the things she wanted but could never afford.

The possibilities were endless, the thing is she had to do more than wish for a million dollars. That large of an amount would be noticed. There had to be a way to get just the amount she needed when she needed it. The light bulb flew over her head, she turned to Gene with a mischievous grin on her face. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one could hear them. She stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.

“I wish I always had enough cash in my purse for anything I buy.” Gene nodded in acknowledgement. Alyssa kissed him on the check and took his hand, leading him to the closest store. It wasn’t anything grand, but she wasn’t going to be a spend thrift anymore.

She looked around the store, she didn’t want to buy just anything, she wanted something she liked. Her eyes hit on a pair of boots, they were beautiful, tan with a bit of lace on the outside. It was just what she wanted but the price was a little high, this would be the first test. She took the boots to the counter, her heart pounding. She didn’t bring any cash with her only her debit card.

“That will be $126.84.” The cashier said barely looking at her. Alyssa nodded and opened her purse. The cash was there, she could hardly believe it. She pulled it out and counted it, the total was $127. It was just what she needed.

“Here’s your change.” The cashier handed her a few coins. Alyssa smiled and put the coins in her purse and took the boots. She took Gene by the hand and walked out of the store. She was elated, things were coming together well. They went to store after store, Alyssa brought herself a whole new wardrobe. Dresses, blouses, shirts, pants and shoes, every kind of shoe she ever wanted. Now she would have to find a place to fit them all. Maybe it was time to buy a new house.

Series
1

About the Creator

Amber LeBlanc

A writer with a passion for life. I enjoy tech but have a Masters in English, Bachelors in Communication, and a Certificate in Nutrition. Fiction to non-fiction, I write it all.

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