(part 3)
"Wow, wee..." said Irving, just to himself. The 'Dream Wedding Night' was a wild as he had hoped it would be.
It was so wild, and seemingly 'Real' - in the Dream Machine I-God experience - that he was sore and red, in 'places'.
The next week, he received his substantial, huge bonus from his one very generous and wealthy client. A billionaire...
So, he decided to go back to that store... In the garment district... and buy the newest, latest model... of the 'I-god'. Yes!
Stupidly, being so excited at the prospect of a future life-time of exciting and sexy dream-time experiences, with his very own
'I-god' at his beck and call, forever... He had forgotten to bring the rented one with him. And the monthly payment was due very soon.
"Oh, heck... I'll put a deposit on a new, deluxe model... Then go back and bring the rented version back. I have just enough time. Uh-huh."
# # #
But, when Irving got to the area where he had first found that unusual-looking store, in such an unusual place (next to an imported dress shop),
there was an empty lot. About the same area, in size, as he recalled that store as being. He walked into the dress shop. A young Korean woman was
there behind the counter. She had been reading, on her break - an old issue of 'Wonder Stories'. A blonde and an alien were on the cover. She looked up.
"Hello, Sir... How may I help you?" the lady asked. She smiled a clipped and vapid expression. Clearly, she was upset that her break had been interrupted.
"I was here a few weeks ago... On this street. I'm looking for that new store that sells New Tech... Devices that make you live in a dream. Is it nearby, please?"
Irving's question met with a very blank look, from the Korean woman. "Sir, I have worked in the fashion district for 5 years. I know it quite well, and a store
like you describe... I have never seen or heard of such a place ever being here. Maybe in the computer, phone & Hi-Tech part of town, a half mile East of here?"
Irving looked dumbfounded: "No... That store was definitely here. I'd bet my life on that... Oh, by the way, what was in that empty lot, adjacent to your shop?"
The Korean woman looked like Irving had spoken a dirty word, or three. Her face took on an eerie expression: "The empty lot... Sir, why do you ask?"
Irving: "Well, miss... It's just that, as I remember it... The store I am looking for... Was possibly located near your shop. Was that shop next door ever
abandoned... and the place torn down? This sounds crazy, but I just know that store I am looking for was there. At least, I think it was there... Once!"
(To be continued... We Hope!)