Gerald stepped out of the oak door frame into the fresh seaside morning. He pulled the fragrant air in with a deep breath and smiled as he began his descent into the town. As Gerald approached the market, the tangy aroma of the coastal produce and flowers rushed out to greet him. The market bustled with activity as the community members hustled to make their livings. Gerald dodged and weaved his way through the crowd, collecting the ingredients he needed with every stop. He was stopped at the final booth, by a woman selling flowers. He eyed her interesting clothes, and her colorful display laid out across the front and back of her pop-up shop. 

“Is today a special occasion?” She asked hopefully as she eyed his basket of food and treats. 

“Funny you should ask, It’s my wedding anniversary today!” Gerald replied gleefully, “every year I make my wife a special breakfast and we celebrate with a walk on the beach.” 

The woman smiled and began her pitch, showing him all the flowers she assured him his wife would love. Gerald entertained her salesmanship but looked over the flowers with general disinterest. She finished her pitch and asked if Gerald would buy one of the options in front of him. 

“I’m not really the kind of guy to spend money on flowers,” Gerald said, “but I appreciate your time.”

Before he could leave the woman made one final plea. “You are a handsome man, so I assume your wife is a spectacular woman?” She asked. When Gerald nodded she gave him a fateful choice, “I have a special bouquet, only meant for the most frugal of men. It would befit you and your pocketbook very well. It is free if you are willing to take it.” 

Gerald looked the bouquet over, and with a shrug took it and thanked the woman. With a chuckle she replied, “I wish you a happy anniversary, may you get all that you deserve.”

She went back to tending her shop, and Gerald began his trek home. He passed Marco’s house, Fiona’s father, and Gerald gave a wave. Marco raised a hand lazily and went back to sunning on the balcony. Marco felt a shiver of cold run down his back, “strange,” he thought, “what a chill to have on such a beautiful morning as this.” He looked back to see the woman at the shop still watching him, and waved to her as well. He shook the cold feeling and began to walk home. 

Gerald hadn’t taken even ten more steps when a tile slid from the rooftop and smashed into the ground at his feet. He stumbled backward and looked up at the roof with alarm, as he exclaimed “That almost put a quick end to my anniversary, what an unusual occurrence!” He realigned himself, and without another thought, he tried to continue on his way.  Unknown to him, the ordeal had only just begun. 

Just up ahead there was a clashing of wood and steel as  a wagon overturned, blocking his path. Gerald ran over to make sure that no one was injured, but as he reached out to steady the destroyed cart the donkey that was still attached to the debris lashed out and bit him with the ferocity of a desert cobra. Gerald fell over in a mad scramble to escape, the owner of the cart and angry steed apologizing profusely the entire time.

  “He has never bitten anyone, I’m so sorry!” He cried, “he must have panicked from the crash.”

Gerald rubbed his red arm as he backtracked to find a new way home. As he continued through the town his suspicions began to rise that something strange was afoot. Donkeys brayed as he passed, street cats hissed as they streaked past his feet, and babies cried. He walked past Marcos house once again and turned down the alternate path, it would be a longer walk but it was the quiet side of town, a welcome change after the chorus of angry noises he was now  experiencing. 

Thoughts of malocchio, the evil eye, entered his mind as his chipper attitude was slowly replaced with anxiety when another roof tile fell off and smashed into his shoulder.  Gerald tried to shrug off both the pain in his shoulder and the superstitious fears. He didn’t believe in those wives’ tales. How could someone curse you with nothing more than an angry look, who would have wanted to do such a cruel thing, everyone loved him! 

He continued his hurried walk home, but when he rounded the next corner what he saw and heard confirmed his mounting fears, he had surely been cursed!

There in front of a café, his wife Fiona, the love of his life, sat with another man. The words he heard from her mouth rang in his ears like a gunshot, “He can’t know, this is between you and me until I am ready.” In shock, Gerald staggered until he was able to brace himself against the wall. 

Gerald’s mind raced, there had to be an explanation for this curse, who could have cast it on him? The fog of oblivion lifted from his mind and with dismay, he remembered the flowers. 

The woman at the flower stand must have held some supernatural power, and just my luck, I angered her with my penny-pinching! 

At that moment, he made eye contact with Fiona, and in a fit of pain and panic, Gerald turned without a word and sprinted back towards the market to make things right with the witch. 

——————————————————————–

Fiona stretched as and smiled as she awoke and watched Gerald leave for the market. She would have some time this morning to sneak away to see Giovi before her husband returned. They had been meeting at the house previously, but she preferred to meet at the café on the quiet side of  town to not risk Gerald catching them. 

She gave her husband enough time that he wouldn’t see her leave the house before she got out of bed, dressed up for the day, and set off to town without a second thought. It was a beautiful morning, and she admired the seemingly endless view of the deep blue ocean as she descended into town. Her excitement grew with every quickening step until she almost broke into a run. She paused for a moment as she passed her dad’s house, and called up a hello to him. Marco and his dog both perked up at hearing their favorite girl’s voice. Marco shouted a hello and  Brutus barked excitedly and jumped up on the railing. Fiona smiled and waved as she turned away from the road to the market, headed down a path less traveled to her secret meeting. 

The café was off the beaten path, on the quiet side of town where the retirees seemed to settle in, keeping anyone younger than 60 far from their long-winded stories,  perfect for her needs. Fiona sat down and sipped on her espresso as she waited for Giovi, her heart racing all the while. Giovi approached and Fiona squeaked with excitement as she gave him a warm embrace. He ordered a drink, sat down, and smiled at Fiona as she settled into her seat, her passion barely contained.  

  “Let’s get to business Giovi,” she said, “thank you for all you have done for me, I am so excited to give Gerald such a special gift!” Giovi grinned as he withdrew an ornate box from his satchel. When he placed it on the table and propped the lid open Fiona’s eyes lit up.

“It’s perfect!” She squealed as she took it in her hands, “It’s exactly how I imagined it would be, he is going to be so happy. Oh thank you Giovi, thank you so much!” 

“One last thing,” Giovi said, “I need to size the band, I would love to meet him, or can we find some way to get the sizing?” 

As Fiona replied, “He can’t know, this is between you and me until I am ready.” They were both startled by a crash in the street. She looked over and saw the love of her life, his eyes wild with panic. He stumbled off down the street, regaining his balance and breaking into a sprint. Unsure of what just occurred, but frightened by what she saw, Fiona took chase. She called his name over and over again, terrified and confused as to why her husband now fled from her. He was running back towards the market and was creating quite a commotion, crashing into carts and seemingly leading a chorus of braying donkeys, shrieking cats, and moaning babies that only began as he ran by. The cacophony of noises was almost unbearable, and there was no way he would hear her over it so she continued her chase hoping he would slow soon as her lungs started to burn and her side ached with pain. 

———————————————————————– 

Giovi was startled, then confused, and then when he realized that Fiona had used the commotion to take off with the watch he had spent the last two weeks building he was furious. He jumped up and sprinted after the thief, shouting her name as they darted through the streets toward the market. He couldn’t understand why she ran, but he wasn’t about to lose some of the finest work he had ever produced. 

—————————————————————————-

Marco jumped from his seat as he heard a racket of screams, barks, and brays below. He looked over the rail of his balcony in time to see his daughter, Fiona, streak by in a sprint, followed by an angry man shouting and waving a fist. With no thought other than protecting his daughter from her apparent attacker, Marco jumped over the railing with a shout of rage and gave chase to the unlucky man who was in pursuit of his sweet little girl. 

—————————————————————————

Brutus was startled from his nap in the sun by his master’s shout, he jumped up in time to see Marco leap over the railing, and like the faithful servant he was Brutus followed his master over the balcony and down to the street, hitting the ground in a dead sprint with his tail wagging furiously in anticipation of what was to come. 

————————————————————————-

Gerald ran with the conviction of a man running from death, he rounded the last corner before the market and sprinted towards the flower booth. Blinded by tears of pain and rage he barreled through the crowd in a feverish effort to get to the flower stand. He had to find the woman, her curse must have been the reason for all of this. 

When Gerald pushed through the last group of people his heart began to drown in despair. The booth was empty, a few stray flowers the only evidence of his bitter antagonist’s existence. He frantically looked in every direction, and quickly realized that the entire marketplace was staring at him. He looked over the sea of concerned faces, but did not see the woman and in desperation shouted, “WHERE IS THE FLOWER WOMAN?” The crowd continued to stare as Gerald searched with wild eyes until one old man slowly pointed towards the beach. 

Gerald didn’t know what he would do once he found the woman, how he would get her to lift her curse, but he knew that if he didn’t try he would never get Fiona’s love back. What a fool he was, taking free flowers from a woman trying to make a living. 

When he saw her his heart skipped a beat. There she was, he could make things right and life could go back to the way it was before. He grabbed the witch’s arm in excitement and she let out a shriek of terror, pulling away from his grip and spilling her flowers across the path. 

Her terror turned to confusion as Gerald babbled on, begging her to lift her curse, offering her money, and profusely apologizing. “You’re the man from earlier right?” She asked cautiously, “what are you talking about, lifting a curse?” 

Gerald stopped is his tracks, “you cursed me, I refused to pay for flowers and for my miserly attitude you cursed me with bad fortune didn’t you? 

The woman stared at the broken man for a moment and then began to laugh hysterically, when she finally composed herself she said, “I sure wish I could curse cheap men that only want free flowers for their wives and girlfriends, but your misfortune is not a product of the evil eye from me, I’m sorry.” 

Gerald stared in disbelief as he felt  his strength pour from his body. His sweet wife had another love, and it wasn’t the result of a curse, it couldn’t be remedied.  

The broken man fell to the ground, and as he did he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, Fiona’s arms. He turned to face his unfaithful wife, but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry, his heart was broken but his love kept him from anger.

“My love!” Fiona exclaimed, “what is the matter with you? I saw you with the look of a madman and had to chase you across the entire town, and now I find you on the ground weeping in front of another woman? What is the meaning of this?” 

Gerald stared at her in disbelief. “You develop a secret relationship with another man, and can’t understand my despair when I discover it? I heard you tell him it was your secret, you must be planning to run away with him.” Gerald cried.

Fiona stared for a moment, and began to chuckle. She reached down to take Gerald’s hand, but as she did a cry echoed out through the air. 

“Thief!” Giovi shouted, “return my work this instant you thief!” As he sprinted to retrieve his masterpiece. 

“Oh Giovi I’m so sorry.” Fiona said, “this is my husband Gerald. I saw him in distress and got so frightened I ran to him without a second thought about the watch in my hand. I would never rob you, can you forgive me for the confusion?” 

Giovi palmed his face with embarrassment, “I’ve overreacted Fiona, I will forgive you only if you will forgive me for calling you a thief.” 

Gerald stared up from the ground in utter confusion. “Fiona what are you two talking about, this is the man you conspired to leave me with and now he has come to flaunt your secret in my face?” 

Fiona rolled her eyes, and pulled the watch from her pocket, handing it to Gerald as he rose to his feet. “What a dramatic man you are Gerald, Giovi and my secret was that he has been making this watch for our anniversary, and needed to get a measurement for the band to complete it.” 

It was Gerald’s turn for embarrassment, his face turned red as he sheepishly took the watch. Before he could thank them both, Giovi disappeared in a blur of muscle fabric and rage. Marco shouted as he readied a fist over Giovi, “you’ll not find an easy target in my daughter you brigand!” 

Fiona dove into her father, restraining his arm. “Daddy he isn’t a brigand, what are you talking about? Let him go this instant!” 

Marco stopped, and removed himself from the unsuspecting artist as rational thought  returned to his mind and the final throes of a father’s rage died. “I saw you running and shouting, with this man waving his fist and chasing you. I was sure you were being robbed and no one was coming to help you.” 

Giovi brushed himself off and tried to regain his wind, “this has got to be the strangest day that has ever occurred,” he breathlessly exclaimed. 

Fiona proceeded to catch her father up on the debacle that had just unfolded, and as she finished she turned ti Gerald. “Does that cover it?” She asked slyly.

“Almost.” Gerald said, this all began after I took those free flowers from you.” He said as he pointed at the woman he just moments before he had called a witch. “I thought I was cursed for sure, please forgive me for accusing you of such an evil act” 

The woman shrugged. “you’re welcome to pay for the flowers if you think it would help,” she said, only half joking. Gerald pulled out his wallet after a sharp nudge from Fiona and paid the woman, thanking her for the beautiful bouquet. 

Marco put his arm around Giovi and smiled “no hard feelings right? Let’s go get a drink!” 

Giovi nodded slowly, wondering what he just got himself into and they all began to walk back to town. They were met by Brutus, who stopped at the head of the path and gave a confused look, head cocked and ears alert. He had come ready for a fight, but found his master laughing.

“Good dog Brutus!” Marco exclaimed, “that’s man’s best friend right there, always ready to follow me into the fray!” 

Clearly disappointed that the conflict had resolved, Brutus fell in step with his master. He looked over and saw Gerald catching up to the group, holding hands with Fiona. There’s that oaf that married my Fiona, Brutus thought. He glared at the clumsy man, and as he did another tile fell from the passing roof, smashing at Gerald’s feet. 

Gerald fell over backwards to avoid being hit, and shook his head with dismay. “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all!” He laughed as they stepped over the debris and headed home.

Brutus smiled at the thought of the tile hitting the man who took his favorite girl, and who had  just last night stepped on his tail. He had given him a glare then, as well as this morning when he saw him lumbering back from the market, but that was all he could do. He was just a dog after all.