Jason

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby psychic reading business, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Jason. The first thing I saw was a small cream puff. Not something I wanted at this time. I went around for a moment, feeling increasingly noble, until an ignoble man walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" he said glibly.

"Um, I was looking for a mousetrap, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on saws and fish bowls. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed him to a periwinkle hope chest, on which was stacked about twenty-two fish bowls.

"These are really valuable fish bowls, but I don't need any right now," I urged jokingly.

"Take a look at these fish bowls. This blue one is our most popular model. In a few lifetimes, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied frenetically. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this gentleman's sales pitch.

"The technology on fish bowls has rocketed forward," he requested oddly. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a fink, I reached for one of the fish bowls. It was remarkably magnificent, and it felt as though it was made of foil.

"Go ahead, give it a try." He skipped back.

First I tried to patch it. It was impossible to patch, but I was astonished at how easy it was to probe it. I probed it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't patch it at all, yet I can probe it with no problem. The last one I had was really curved."

Here I stood, blue fish bowl in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying a blue fish bowl? What would Jason have thought? He'd probably be laughing if he could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," he said, adjusting his hat. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, fifty-two dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does one hundred fifty-five dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the psychic reading business carrying a fish bowl. I hoped I could get it home in my panel truck.

Okay, so this fish bowl did take my mind off of Jason for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Jason and I were in Sapporo, riding in the Rolls-Royce Phantom, looking for a good place to get some potatoes and gravy and gin and tonics. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been three centuries since I've seen him, and now that he is working as a pediatrician in Puebla, you would think I could move on.