don’t exactly know what to order?” “And if I do decide to order, what about payments, and a tip? There has to be a cost. Right?”
The flood continued to stream out of Ben’s mouth as thoughts and questions spawned even more concerns.
“Besides, I’m still not even sure you’re real,” Ben continued, “and supposing that you are, I know enough from my share of childhood fables to know that genies or waiters, or whatever you might be, are not to be trusted,” Ben exclaimed. “If I do ask for something, I imagine you’ll find a way to twist it around and make me regret ever having wished for it in the first place.”
“To be honest, I don’t appreciate you breaking into my home, and I really don’t need a life-lesson about being thankful for what I already have, or to be careful what I wish for” Ben concluded.
“As I said Ben,” Dador said as calmly and measured as he could, “there’s legend and then there’s reality. I understand your trepidation. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere. You should know that I’m a waiter, not a demon. I am here to serve you. If you want something, and it’s available in the restaurant, I’d be happy to get it for you. It’s as simple as that. No tricks. No lessons.” Dador replied.
“So I’ve somehow met a genie and I somehow get three wishes, why me, and why three exactly I don’t get, and you’re just going to wait around until I finish making my wishes? That sounds pretty far-fetched if you don’t mind my saying so,” Ben responded.
“Well again Ben, I said I’m more of a waiter and not so much a genie. Three wishes is just a number we tend to go by. If we wanted it to be more or less, we certainly could adjust things, but we’ve found that it is a pretty fair amount. We can make most people happy with three wishes,” Dador explained.
“Those needing more than three wishes to get their lives in order probably wouldn’t be happy with four wishes or even a million. But again, for most people, three wishes usually does the trick. Few enough to make people stop and think about what they really want, and more than enough to make it happen.”
“We’d like to believe the gifts we give are thoughtful and worthwhile. Using my powers for every little odd and end one could possibly fancy would get old and a bit demeaning after a while.”
Dador removed his fedora and placed it on the table before continuing.
“And as for waiting for you to make your wishes, yes Ben, I will wait around. But not forever. This deal has a term limit, which I should mention to you…It only lasts for the duration of your life. If you don’t use your wishes by then, they will disappear. At best though, your human life only will last 100 years, give or take a decade or two. I guess from your perspective as a human that might seem like a decent chunk of time, but it’s not all that very long of a wait from where I’m coming from. So if you need to take a while, don’t rush on my account.”
“You may not always see me, but I’ll be close by, close enough to hear your requests. So don’t worry about that,” Dador said.
“So I can take my time and think things over then?” Ben asked still somewhat incredulous of it all.
“Yes. Yes. Absolutely. In any event there are a few more ground rules that you need to be aware of before you start making any wishes anyway,” Dador cautioned.
“First, I’m just a waiter and the restaurant is just the universe. I can’t grant you anything I’m not capable of fulfilling, or that the universe doesn’t have in stock. Immortality, eternal life, invincibility, any sort of creating life or stopping death, are all things beyond our control, so let’s avoid those areas, if you would,” Dador stipulated.
“Also, requesting more wishes is out of the question. It’s not impossible for us to accommodate, we just don’t. As I said, three is a pretty fair amount, considering we ask for nothing in return.”
“But why me, why anyone? And what’s in it for you?” Ben wondered.
“Why did you buy the lamp, Ben?” Dador questioned back. Pausing for a moment before continuing.
“You see, I’m simply a waiter. Just doing my job.” Dador explained. “I can help you with your menu selections and tell you whether or not what you want is in stock, but if you want to know all the inner workings of the universe, you are unfortunately asking the wrong guy.”
“Well most waiters I know just bring out overcooked entrees and refill water,” Ben retorted. “This is not exactly the same thing here. I mean we’re sort of talking apples and apple orchards aren’t we? And I imagine if I don’t like what you serve me, there isn’t much chance you’ll take it back for a refire?”
“Again, most of what you’re saying comes from legends. Just rumors and half-truths,” Dador responded. “If word got around that we really do grant wishes without catches, if we really do make your wildest dreams come true, then that wouldn’t exactly be all that beneficial to us. We’d be hunted down relentlessly. People would spend all their time trying to find us, and nothing else would ever get done. We’re looking to help out a bit here and there, not be the cause of a complete breakdown of society.”
“So again, Ben, what is it that you wish for?” Dador asked in a stilted and deliberately lingering manner.
“I don’t know. I need to think,” was all Ben was able to manage.
“I understand, take your time. When you need me, just say my name,” Dador said before dissolving into nothingness from his seat at the kitchen table.
And once more Ben was alone in his house.
Ben spent the remainder of the day examining the lamp, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing, just the same four animals riding a canoe and smoking pipes. He also performed a more thorough inspection of his house, searching for cameras and hidden microphones. Either they were too small or too cleverly hidden for Ben’s novice eyes to find, or they simply didn’t exist.
Ben thought about Dador’s visit and offer for most of the following week. He penciled lists of prioritized wishes, and then threw those lists away. And then made more. Ben tried to focus on the essentials.
Most nights that week were spent sleeplessly debating the merits of different choices. Accounting for contingencies. Thinking of the various riders and qualifiers he would have to run by Dador to ensure that if he did make a wish request for something, he wouldn’t simply be “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” or otherwise digging himself into a ditch.
By the end of the week Ben had narrowed down a plan of action. He would make one wish. A test wish. A trial run of sorts. If the wish was fulfilled and Dador wasn’t tricking him, then he’d have little present need for the other two wishes and would keep them in reserve.
One extra wish should anything else arise in his life that needed a bit of supernatural aid.
As for the final wish, Ben would keep it as an emergency stop gap to undo the effects of the first two wishes, should their results go down the way most fables of genies seemed to end.
As he processed his plan of action, Ben knew he had a stop to make. He needed to return to the farmers’ market and speak with Morgan once more.
The “Lawetlat’la’s Treasure” sign and store was no longer there when Ben returned the following Saturday. At least not in the same place. Roll call and lot assignment had moved Morgan’s booth inside next to a cheese vendor.
Ben approached her without speaking, stopping several feet away from her booth. Her reaction to seeing him, he figured, might shed some light on what she knew about her lamp or Dador, if anything.
Keeping silent, just waiting for her reaction, paid off. When Morgan turned toward where Ben was standing she smiled at him. From that look Ben determined Morgan had a perfect smile. He didn’t know whether or not she had anything to do with Dador Geschenk or not, but he knew he liked her smile.
“Back for another lamp already?” Morgan questioned playfully as she went about rearranging some of her merchandise.
“Well the first one was certainly interesting,” Ben said pushin
g the subject while also trying not to give too much away.
“Something wrong with it?” Morgan questioned in a concerned voice.
Ben thought for a moment. Might as well get to the point. “No it’s fine, I was just hoping to find another one with a genie inside.”
“So what you’re saying is my craftsmanship alone isn’t good enough for you?” Morgan said jokingly.
Carefully thinking of something to say next without having to put his foot in his mouth, Ben managed to tell Morgan he enjoyed the first one and was back for more, and would be willing to pay extra, provided she could conjure up a genie or two.
“Oh shucks, I make all of my lamps 100% genie free. It’s my store policy,” Morgan stated with a half-smile.
“Well I had my heart set on one with a genie, but I guess I can do without,” Ben said. He thought for a moment before adding, “This might sound a little strange…but supposing one did sneak into one of your lamps, and let you make a wish, what would you wish for?”
“You’re right, it does sound strange,” Morgan shot back. “I’m honestly not sure what I’d wish for. If it ever happens I guess I’d have to think about it a bit,” Morgan offered.
“Well, maybe we could talk about it more if you’re up for coffee later on?” Ben suggested.
“Wow. I’ve never had a genie-in-a-magic-lamp pickup line used on me before. Does this approach