unfolding before me. A shifting of reality. A new future.
Uh-oh. I think I did it again.
They’re not going to get divorced in a year. Or at all, for that matter. Instead, the wife is finally going to get to give in to her desire to be taken care of, to have all of her decisions made for her, to be relieved of the burden of responsibility. Eventually, their new dynamic will lead to a dominant/submissive relationship that will develop into a full-blown journey into the world of BDSM. This time next year, she’ll be wearing a ball gag and a leather mono-glove while confined to a custom-built cage complete with tethers and restraints.
Maybe not as noble as joining a monastery, but it’s still an improvement on their assigned fates.
Although Carla Baer is unhappy about not getting the condo, she’s so shocked by her husband’s sudden decisiveness and authority that she barely musters a cursory rebuttal. By the time they leave, the husband’s new take-charge demeanor has given him the confidence to make dinner reservations at his favorite restaurant and to tell his wife they’ll be vacationing in Mexico this year. And I’m wondering if I’ve inadvertently made things better or worse.
Maybe it wasn’t my subliminally shouted suggestion.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
Maybe he changed their fate all on his own.
Right. And maybe Destiny will become a nun.
CHAPTER 18
I’ve never been a big fan of change. I like my routines and the way my furniture is arranged and how my pillows are fluffed. I’m a Taurus, after all. But this is a little more significant than what side of the bed I sleep on.
Changing the fates of humans isn’t like changing a lightbulb. It can create serious repercussions, not only for the human whose fate you changed but for every other human that person comes into contact with. It’s the whole six-degrees-of-separation concept, only instead of just being a number of steps away from knowing someone, each human is a number of steps away from impacting the fate of every other human on the planet.
A kind word from one person to another can lead to another kind word, paying the kindness forward in a series of beneficent words or deeds that can change the paths of everyone involved. Similarly, disparaging words or acts of violence can end up affecting more than just the initial recipient. Just look at Ed Gein or Ted Bundy or any number of abusers or molesters or serial killers throughout history. The number of lives they impacted is immeasurable.
Not that I’m expecting Nicolas Jansen to hack up his newfound monastic brothers or George and Carla Baer to start stocking their refrigerator with human body parts, but I have to consider the consequences of my actions.
All the people who would have fallen victim to Nicolas Jansen’s life of crime and drugs will no longer have that experience as a factor in their lives. All of his would-be cell mates and dealers and street family won’t know his negative influence. And all of those who would have tried to help Nicolas will not have to face the disappointment of his failures.
His parents finally have hope for his future. The other monks at the Orthodox Monastery of Saint-Nicolas will be affected by their new brother. And the humans Nicolas comes into contact with will be inspired by his words and deeds.
Similarly, George and Carla Baer won’t inflict their insecurities or neuroses upon anyone else. They’ll be happier people and will spread that happiness to the other people in their lives, and those people will in turn be affected in a positive manner and will pass those vibes along to the people they know and meet. And so on, and so on, and so on.
So without meaning to, I’ve affected several million humans. Some more than others. But they’re all better off to some extent today than they were yesterday. And most of them don’t even know it. They’re oblivious to their fate. To me. To the changing circumstances of their lives.
And I’m
Lawrence Block
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Dirk Patton
Nicole Cushing
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