He spots her sitting on a bench near some fake palm trees. She noticed him and jumped to attention. “Where were you?”
“What do you mean?” He looked back. “I was in this...”
“Shop...”
The shop was gone. The two clothing stores had somehow filled the space. He looked away then back again to make sure he wasn’t crazy. Before he could say anything about it, Beth asked about the box in his hands.
Still in disbelief, he muttered, “uh... It’s a game...”
She took it from his hands and read the cover. “e-Transformations? Hmm... We should call Frank and Abby this evening and see if they want to try it out.”
“... Sure...” Jeff replied as they began to walk towards the exit.
He reasoned that he must have imagined the shop being between the boutiques. Maybe he just wasn’t paying enough attention when he left the store. Surely it was there, just around the corner.
As Jeff drove, Beth called Abby. After a short conversation she proposed a game night. From the sound of their conversation, he guessed that she had accepted and it wasn't they were back home. While Beth deposited her bags in the bedroom, Jeff cleaned up the living room and moved a few folding chairs around a card table. About 15 minutes later, Frank and Abby arrived. By then, Beth had set out a pitcher of tea and left to get snacks.
Jeff retrieved the game and carefully pulled open the box. A round device, about ten inches in diameter, slid free. The device couldn’t have been more than an inch deep. A screen covered most of the surface and a glossy bezel decorated the edge. It looked like some sort of sleek black Frisbee and didn’t appear to have any place for batteries. He set it on the table and peeked into the box to see if there were instructions. There was a folded sheet tucked inside. He tipped the box and shook the instructions free just as Beth returned with a large bowl of chips and some salsa.
“Alright folks, lets see how this thing works.” Jeff said as he unfolded the paper.
Frank took the box and read the cover, “e-Transformations huh... What sort of game is this?”
“The lady I bought it from didn’t tell me much...” Jeff grinned, “but supposedly it’s only for adults.”
“Ooh, spicy.” Abby laughed.
“Maybe...” Jeff replied. “If it sucks we can always do something else.”
Jeff and Beth had maintained a relationship with Abby and Frank after meeting them at a swingers club. The two couples didn’t attend anymore, but had no significant reservations among each other. None of them expected that sort of night, but they would soon find out that the mysterious game wasn’t going to give them a choice.
Jeff unfolded the instruction sheet and began to read...