by J B Forest
The place was called the Westin Galleria and it was very lavish. Tristen walked around his top floor penthouse and was amazed at the luxuriousness of the accommodations. It rivaled certain aspects of his home palace back in the Fae Dominion.
He decided to spend the rest of the evening enjoying his accommodations and conducting more research on the environment and the current customs and practices. After taking advantage of the over-sized tub, he donned the robe provided in the closet and went into the living area to explore more of his room. The focal point was a large screen attached to the wall. He learned that humans were addicted to these devices known as televisions. Watching the programming was a common pastime. He browsed through the different channels using the remote control device. He found the programming amusing. The news channels contained the most useful information because they seemed to report current events.
He looked through the magazines and pamphlets provided in his room to obtain more information on his surroundings. The hotel service directory also proved useful. It seemed that the business center provided access to ’computers’. This was his opportunity to find out more about the way the machines worked and the kind of information that they generated. Another magazine contained advertisements for local businesses, including automobiles near his location. An advertisement from a place called ‘Jaguar of Houston’ caught his attention, he decided that he would visit this place the next day.
Tristen took advantage of the hotel’s business center and spent several hours exploring the world of the 21st century humans using a wonderful tool called the ‘internet’. He was giddy with excitement when he found out how easy it was to obtain information on any subject with the click of a few keys on the keyboard. A few other people ventured into the business center to ‘surf the net’ as using the computer was commonly referred to, but all left well before Tristen. He was convinced that he needed a computer for himself so that he could surf the net whenever he wanted to in privacy. Obtaining access to information using 21st century technology was preferable to relying upon his amulet. He left the business center armed with a wealth of information including what he needed to know about the local currency.
He was careful to minimize the use of his amulet and glamour powers because it left a residual trail. He learned that money was maintained in banking institutions and individuals maintained accounts from which personal funds were withdrawn. Automated teller machines allowed the humans to conduct transactions at remote locations throughout the city.
There were two such machines located adjacent to the hotel’s business center. The machines were located in a corner for privacy but he noticed that security cameras were placed just inside the area. He removed the amulet from his wrist band in an inconspicuous manner and placed it palm down on the screen in a move that could not be captured on the camera.
He mimicked the motions of logging into the systems (that he observed other individuals doing), while he uttered an incantation that caused the machine to dispense currency in several denominations. He would later generate exact replicas in greater quantities of these bills using a charm and spell that he learned long ago when traveling to other worlds in Inner Space. He used the amulet to erase the memory on the internal camera within the machine, pocketed the money and returned to his room.
The first rays of sunlight awakened him the next morning. He ordered his morning meal through the hotel’s room service. He generated a substantial amount of currency for use during his time in the human world. He decided to take advantage of his surroundings and do some shopping before he secured a mode of transportation. He watched more television programming while he waited for the stores to open. He later showered, dressed and set out on his new adventure.
The woman at the hotel’s concierge desk was busy assisting another guest as he approached. She was friendly, professional, and very attractive. Tristen smiled appreciatively as he watched from a few feet away. This trip to the human world was strictly for business, but he wondered to himself if he might have time to mix in a little pleasure. He quickly chided himself, he did not need any distractions and his side venture to this city was only designed to prepare himself appropriately for meeting with his descendants. He detoured out of the hotel and into the mall area, but could not help but notice the look of disappointment on the woman’s face as he moved away.
He purchased a few items of clothing and a backpack to carry everything. Then he went in search of a computer. He purchased the latest technology toys. He acquired an iPhone (even though he had no one to place a telephone call to) and an iPad along with a data plan that would allow him to surf the net and access as much information as he wanted. He returned to his hotel room and stored the clothing. He retrieved some of the money from the safe where he stored it before leaving earlier. He personalized the settings on his new toys and placed them in the backpack along with the money.
He decided to use a common mode of transportation to get to the automobile dealership rather than folding space. The hotel’s limousine service dropped him off about a block away from his destination. There was a wide selection of vehicles and Tristen took the opportunity to walk among them to determine which fit his style. Since he had never operated such a vehicle, aesthetics were his primary decision points. He noticed no less than four sales persons hovering around. Each appeared to be trying to determine if he was a legitimate customer. Before long, one very polished gentleman approached him.
“Can I help you find anything in particular?” the salesman asked as he extended a hand in greeting to Tristen. “The name is Dale Canton.”
Tristen returned the greeting and replied. “Well I am just looking at the moment.” At the same time, he spotted a model that captured his attention. It was a sport coupe with no roof. He had read that these were called ‘convertibles’. The salesman followed his eyes to the vehicle.
“That is one fine specimen,” smiled Dale. “Let’s walk over and have a closer look.”
Tristen followed while admiring the vehicle. The salesman launched into a litany describing the features and attributes of the vehicle. Most of the details were lost on Tristen.
“I’ll go inside and get the keys so you can take it out for a test drive. I will only take a minute.” Tristen barely noticed the salesman leave. He definitely liked the look of this vehicle. While he was admiring the interior of the vehicle, he heard a very loud engine roar. He looked up to find the source of the noise.
A rider approached on a very sleek but powerful looking two-wheeled vehicle. He was immediately impressed with the way the vehicle announced itself. It appeared to be capable of high speed as well. Suddenly the appeal of the sports coupe that he was admiring moments before lost its sparkle. He watched as the rider dismounted. He realized it was a woman dressed in form fitting black. Her outfit along with a black helmet and darkened visor made her look mysterious, daring, and sensuous all at the same time. It was exactly what he was looking for.
He caught the woman’s eye as she placed her helmet on the seat of the vehicle and shook out her hair. He gave her an imperceptible nod, raised his eyebrows, and waited for her response. She looked around to see if his actions were meant for someone else, then turned towards Tristen and approached him with a mischievous smile.
“So, is it my bike that you were admiring or something else?” she queried.
Tristen returned her smile and responded, “That is a very impressive vehicle but I must say that the entire package is equally impressive.”
“Oh, it’s just a little something that I use to get around town,” she replied.
“I need a mode of transportation and was considering this vehicle,” he pointed in the direction of the coupe, “but a vehicle like yours, is much more my style. Could you tell me more about it?”
She looked at her watch and then in the direction of the dealership showroom. She hesitated a moment before replying. “I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but I would be happy to spend a few moments chatting abou
t my ‘baby’”, she said cheerfully nodding in the direction of her vehicle.
“Thank you, I appreciate the time. Forgive my manners, my name is Tristen,” he extended his hand to the woman. “I do not want to cause you to miss your appointment.”
“Not a problem, I would much rather talk about my favorite ‘toy’ with a handsome and mysterious looking man than doing the same thing I do almost every day,” she replied. “My name is Jennifer. Tristen…mysterious and handsome.” She covered his hands with both of hers and held them for several moments before letting go.
“Give me a minute to tell my friend Pattie that I’ve had a change of plans and I’m all yours.”
Tristen smiled at her choice of words. He was beginning to wish he had more time to spend in the human world. He had a feeling that things could get interesting, especially if all the women were like this one. He turned to admire the vehicle and give her a bit of privacy while she made a telephone call to her friend.
The completely forgotten salesman, Dale, returned while he was waiting for Jennifer to finish her telephone call. “I have the keys to the JK coupe, are you ready to take a test drive?”
Tristen frowned slightly, “Dale, I apologize for taking your time, however, I have changed my mind about the vehicle. Thank you for your time, but I no longer require your services.” He then turned and faced the woman as she completed her call.
The salesman was stunned, he was certain that he had a sure sale. He couldn’t figure out what changed in the few minutes that it took to retrieve the car keys. He suspected however that it had something to do with the beautiful woman on the motorcycle. He shook his head and went back to the showroom. The man’s tone and body language left no room to question that his decision was final.
Jennifer quickly finished her phone call to her friend. She promised to fill her in on all the details whenever she could. She thought that her luck was finally changing. Could this be the one…he certainly had the right surface attributes. She just hoped he had the personality to match them. His speech was a little strange, it was much more formal than most people. Maybe he was European, who knew.
Everything about him was perfect. His skin was perfectly smooth and almost seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. She smiled inwardly as that thought reminded her of the famous “Twilight” movie characters. His clothes fit perfectly on his trim but firmly muscled body. His eyes seemed to become iridescent when he smiled. She knew that her imagination was running wild at that thought.
“So, Jennifer, tell me about this impressive vehicle,” Tristen said as she returned her attention towards him.
“Well it’s made by Ducati the Italian motorcycle manufacturer and it is the Monster 1200R model. This model is a couple of years old but I still love it. It has a lot of power, but it isn’t as bulky as the larger motorcycles like the Harleys. How much do you know about bikes?”
“To be truthful, I know absolutely nothing about motorcycles. However, I am eager to find out more. You will find that I am a fast learner.”
“Amazing, you are ready to switch from considering a Jaguar coupe and opt for a motorcycle just based on looks and sound?”
“That is correct. I will only be here for a short period, so my needs are a bit fluid. A vehicle such as this one would provide me with flexibility and satisfy my vanity at the same time. I maintain certain self-perceptions and my weakness is to indulge myself by living up to those perceptions. I realize that it is a bit shallow, but as the saying goes, ‘you only live once’…”
They moved to a shaded area just outside the showroom and Jennifer shared more information with Tristen about the motorcycle. By the end of their conversation, Tristen had convinced Jennifer to transport him to the motorcycle dealership. This gave him an opportunity to ride on the bike and spend a little more time with her as well. Jennifer was happy to oblige since she was hoping to spend more time with the mysterious stranger.
Jennifer introduced Tristen to the sales manager at the motorcycle dealership. He was the same person who helped her two years previous.
She turned to Tristen, “Tristen, it was really great meeting you, but I really need to get back to work. I have a meeting that I can’t miss; however, I would love to get together with you later if you’re available.” This was a bold move on her part. She really wanted to see this guy again, and she thought that he felt the same way about her, but his mannerisms were so different from other guys that she couldn’t be sure.
Tristen knew that he should not encourage further contact, but he needed to become more familiar with the environment and 21st century customs. Spending the time with this woman might be beneficial and reduce the amount of time that he would need to acclimate himself.
“I would enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with you,” Tristen replied. “How may I get in touch with you?”
“Let me have your phone, I’ll enter my number for you,” she said holding out her hand.
He hesitated slightly before remembering his recent purchase of the iPhone. This would be his first telephone number. Tristen was happy that the woman offered to enter the number. He did not want her to know that he had never actually used the phone. He reached into his backpack, retrieved the telephone and watched closely as she manipulated the tiny screen.
“I’ll be available any time after 7:00 pm tonight. I’ll wait for your call.” Jennifer said as she started her motorcycle. She smiled and waved as she rode out of the parking lot.
Tristen returned the wave and then turned to the awaiting sales manager. “I would like to purchase a vehicle just like the one the woman has.”
“Sure, we have a few on hand, the only difference is the color scheme. Follow me,” replied the sales manager. “One of them has a few more miles on it than the others. One of my sales persons used it as a ‘demo’. I can take a couple of thousand dollars off the price of that one if you’re interested.”
Tristen followed the man and looked at the three motorcycles available. Two were primarily red with black trim while the third one was mostly black with some areas of gold trim. His eyes were drawn to the black machine.
He walked over and sat astride the black motorcycles and asked, “How much for this machine?”
The sales manager stalled, “Don’t you want to test drive it first?”
“No, I am familiar with the way it operates,” he responded. He did not want to waste any additional time. The woman, Jennifer, had allowed him to operate her motorcycle, with a little coaching, while in route to their destination. He was ready to test it for himself without interference from a sales person or anyone else.
“Well the sticker price is $20,000. But as I said before, I’m willing to sell it to you for $18,000 since this is the one that has some mileage on it.” When Tristen didn’t react to his response, the sales manager became a little nervous.
“Follow me and we can go back to the finance office to get your paperwork started,” he added.
“Finance office?” Tristen asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be able to get you a good interest rate to keep your payments low,” he chuckled.
Tristen was not sure if he understood what the sales manager was talking about. Interest rates and payments were terms that he came across during his internet search but he did not think that they were applicable to him. He planned to pay directly for the vehicle and use the identification that he generated the previous evening.
“I believe you misunderstand. I do not require assistance from your finance office. I plan to pay the agreed upon price in full with local currency.” He was not sure if his terminology was correct because the man looked confused. The humans incorporated a lot of slang and colloquialism into their speech patterns.
The manager sputtered, “You want to pay cash for the bike?”
“That is correct.”
“Oh.” The manager took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and mopped is brow. “Well then, that changes things a little.”
“How d
oes it change things?” Tristen asked.
“It’s just that in fifteen years selling motorcycles, I don’t believe that anyone has offered to pay cash for a bike in this price range. Most people want to string out the payments for as long as possible.” Thinking that Tristen was holding out for an even better price, he added. “Why don’t you have a seat in our lounge while I have a chat with our general manager.
Tristen had a more than sufficient amount of currency to cover the price of the vehicle. But he was savvy enough in the way of the universe not to question a better deal. The sales managers returned and offered to reduce the price by an additional $2000. He agreed and informed them that he wanted to complete the transaction in the most expeditious manner possible.
He donned his newly acquired helmet (provided free of charge by the dealership), and was driving out of the parking lot in less than an hour on his new Ducati Monster 1200R. Even though he provided the same basic contact information that he had given the sales clerk at the computer store when acquiring the telephone service, he used his glamour to ensure that the information entered into the computer system by the cashier was slightly different from what he had written on the sales contract. He was being careful not to leave a trail of evidence that could later be followed.
