Jim looked at the small silver charm he had pulled from the box at random. It was a miniature high-heeled shoe that almost looked like it could have been a Monopoly piece except for the high level of detail.
“You’re probably right Sharon,” Jim said reassuringly. “But would you mind if I added another charm to the necklace, just to make certain?”
“Of course you can!” Sharon tilted her head to the side to give him clear access to her necklace. Actually she started to tilt her head as soon as he mentioned adding a charm. Was it possible the necklace had a sort of failsafe to make sure charms could be added?
Jim shrugged to himself and made a note to check that response as soon as he was done with the current test. He attached the small high-heel charm and took a step back to look for any changes. His eyes drifted, logically, to her feet so he noticed the transformation there first.
Sharon’s white running sneakers darkened and shifted quickly. Jim blinked at what he was seeing and by the time his eye opened again his girlfriend was wearing black patent pumps with four inch heels. As his eyes traveled up he saw her socks had become dark hose of some sort. Jim was astonished by the rest of the changes. Her simple t-shirt and jeans had transformed into a stunning dark green dress. It was beautiful and elegant and set off her red hair (which was now expertly styled). She smiled happily at Jim’s obvious approval of her outfit. Then she frowned as she looked at the clothes he had hastily thrown on to reach her house.
“Jim, you will be dressed better for tonight, won’t you?” she asked.
“Um, of course I will be. But I won’t look nearly as good as you do,” Jim replied, trying to figure out what was going on and what he was supposed to be dressed up for tonight.
Sharon blushed at the comment, her pale cheeks turning a light pink. “Oh, you! I’m just so glad you got the reservations at La Suite for my birthday tonight,” her Irish accent voice said.
Jim swallowed hard. He was pretty sure he had not made reservations at La Suite, the most pricey French place around. In fact he was pretty sure he couldn’t even afford their appetizers. After a brief check of his wallet Jim was fairly certain that it was only Sharon’s perception of reality that had been altered since he wasn’t any richer. Perhaps the more charms that were added the more mental changes are made. It was time to test some more theories.
“You know me Sharon, anything to make you happy. Say, can I see your necklace for a minute?” Jim noted happily that she smiled and offered him complete access to the necklace as soon as he mentioned it. He gently took the shamrock charm off and watched as Sharon’s hair and skin tone faded back to their normal colors. What’s more, her dress changed to a deep red. The style and cut altered a bit, and the end result still looked fantastic on her.
Her smile faded a bit and she looked down. “Oh my gosh! Jim where did this dress come from? It’s gorgeous!”
Jim’s scientific mind kept churning. Now she was again aware of the changes, so his previous hypothesis seemed to be correct. And multiple charms work together and layer over each other. How to proceed from here?
Sat Feb 17 12:19:05 2007