CUPIDITY
A story about the tv show, Cupid
by Steve 0yervidez
gumtuu@hotmail.com


            It was daylight as the cars sped by the busy Chicago street. Bill and Karen were walking down the sidewalk next to an expensive clothing store. Bill looked over. He was a handsome man, with attractive features but by no means striking. An expensive camera hung around his neck. His gaze moved over one of the large pictures hung in the store front window, his eyes melting.
            "There she is..."
            Karen looked over. She was young and attractive, red hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing a pretty face that looked sort of girl next door, but still attractive. She groaned when she saw what Bill was looking at. "Oh, not HER again," she teased, smiling.
            Bill didn't notice, eyes smitten. "Isn't she gorgeous? She's the woman of my dreams. I've got to meet her."
            Karen shook her head as they continued to walk. "Find a woman with a pretty face and she'll lead you anywhere."
            Bill noticed her lack of enthusiasm. He playfully punched her shoulder. "Oh come on. You have to admit she's..."
            Karen searched for the word. "Stunning?"
            "Yeah," Bill said absently already absorbed in the next picture of the same model as they walked down the sidewalk.
            "Voluptuous?" Karen continued.
            Bill nodded. "More yeah."
            "Distant?"
            That took Bill by surprise. "Distant?"
            "Sure." Karen waved her hands in the air. "Distant. Unattainable. You've created the perfect woman. Or at least Madison avenue did. But you know nothing about her except how..." Karen looked over at the next picture, and was finally forced to admit it. "How great she looks."
            Bill didn't think that described his feelings. "That's not true. I can tell a lot from a picture. I'm a photographer. I've got an eye for these sort of things."
            Karen turned and walked backwards, facing him. "Well, you've got something for it." She smiled and turned away.
            Bill shook his head, hurrying to catch up. "It's not like that. I can feel her essence in those photographs. The photographer in me can see her soul."
            Karen considered the next picture. "In which pose? The one in the teddy or the one in the g-string?"
            Bill acknowledged it. "Ok, I'll admit she's attractive-"
            Karen interrupted him. "And you couldn't 'see' her soul if she looked like Bea Arthur?"(sorry, Bea. )
            Bill ignored that. "I've got to meet her. I've got to talk to her. If only someone could just help me do it."
            Karen sighed. "Someone with connections like that doesn't just fall out of the heavens and into your-"
            They both crashed into Trevor as he quickly walked out of a door and onto the sidewalk.
            "Whoa!" Trevor said. "You should really keep your eyes on the road when your actually moving. Saves a lot of money on dental bills."
            Bill held Trevor up, having almost knocked him over. "I'm so sorry. We were just talking and didn't notice you coming out. I'm Bill... we didn't mean to bump you. You are?"
            Trevor nodded. "No damage done. I'm Trevor Hale, god of love." He smiled amiably off their shocked expressions.
            Without another word Trevor started to walk off, not embarrassed in the slightest. Bill called out to him. "Excuse me... god of what?"
            Trevor stopped, looking over his shoulder. "God of love. Cupid sans bow now a days. I hook people up. You know. True love, great sex, all that." He turned and started to walk back to them, motioning between the two of them. "I'd offer my services but I think you two have that covered."
            Karen laughed. "Us two?"
            Trevor nodded. "You two. Right."
            Bill tried to correct him. "No, we're not a-"
            Trevor didn't listen, patting them on the shoulder, one hand on either side of them. "I wish you the best." He began to leave again.
            Bill called out as he left. "But we're not a couple!"
            That caught Trevor's attention, stopping him in his tracks. Slowly he turned and walked back up to them, sensing a bead itching to slide over. "You're not a couple?"
            Bill and Karen answered in unison. "No."
            Trevor smiled. They answered like a couple. "So. Who can you do you for."
            Bill pressed further. "Do you really set people up with the woman of their dreams?"
            Trevor nodded. "Sure. That's what it says on the job description. I'd show it to you, but I lost it in Apollo's jacuzzi. Don't... don't ask. I was drunk, there was this nymph I was trying to impress-"
            Bill turned to face him. The store front was behind Trevor's back. "But it can be anyone, right?"
            Trevor nodded. "Sometimes..." He glanced at Karen. "Sometimes it's someone right under your nose. This perfect woman. Tell me what she's like."
            Bill looked up at the picture behind Trevor. "Well she's blond. She's beautiful. She's got curves that-"
            Karen interrupted. "She's two dimensional."
            Bill didn't stop. "In short, she's... her." He waved behind Trevor at the picture.
            Trevor turned and nodded. "Not bad. I'll see what I can do..." He looked at Karen. "We'll find her somewhere."


TO BE CONTINUED....