"I, ah Me, I want to be in the act!" shouted a soft voice from the far right.
Stephen looked out past the footlights to spot the person who offered."Come please come up on stage!" called Stephen as he turned and offered a grin to Madame'.
Down the isle came a tall and husky man. Stephen looked at him and then turned to Madame as if to show the questions in his thoughts. Up the steps to the wooden stage came this man.
Six foot six inches and although balding and pudgy about the belly he struck an athletic figure.
"Kevin Rooste, at your pleasure!" he announced with a bow to Madame.
"Stand by me Kevin, a fine form of a man you are!" said Madame as she had to look up at his face.
"Do you have a deep and dire desire that Madame' can invoke?" asked Stephen as he wavied for the audience to applaude.
"I have been unlucky for what seems like forever. I want someone to love me, to have a home again and to have a job again without the worry of wondering where my next my paycheck will come from. I wish that my life didn’t feel like it was going to the dogs." said the man forlornly.
The Madame smiled a friendly face, making the man lift his head up in hope.
"Stephan, go off stage and bring me my good luck charm!" Madame asked him.
"A life without worries is what you want, but how do you want luck to fancy you?" She asked Kevin as she walked around her latest volunteer.
"I would love to find a job right now that would satisfy me. And with that job, I would like to find a home and have someone fall in love with me." Kevin replied, showing more confidence, the longer he stood on the stage.
Stephan returned with a finely wrought necklace made of what appeared to be silver intertwined with gold, and gave it to Madame. Kevin looked at the necklace and then into the dark eyes of Madame.
"Kneel before me, Kevin, so I may place this good luck charm around your neck and grant you an end to your cruel twist of fate." Madame suggested as the audience became quiet and even Stephan looked on admiringly.
Kevin kneeled before her and looked at the necklace.
"This will bring me some luck and a life without worries?"
A friendly smile from Madame and she came over to him. And like a queen anointing a knight, she gently laid the necklace around his neck.
With the necklace about his neck, Kevin’s eyes suddenly went wide as he felt a warm, tingling rush of power flow from it and into the rest of his body. The sensation began to grow and grow as he felt his senses come alive, bringing every sound and scent closer to him like never before.
"I, I, I,......" a pause as if Kevin's thoughts were being scrambled.
"My poor boy, luck is how you make it in this world. And it seldom makes life worry-free. But I shall grant you your wish to make your life not go to the dogs. For how can your life go to the dogs if you become one?" She told him before looking out into the audience. "Does anyone here have a suggestion as to what dog breed I should make him into?"