"What's that?"
"What's what?"
He points. "There, under the end table."
"Oh, that. It's nothing."
He gets up from his recliner and picks up the object.
It is rectangular, black and about the size of a two-slice toaster. He turns it over looking for a way to open it. There are no latches, locks or screws visible on any of the surfaces. All sides are solid; even the edges are seamless.
No matter which way he turns it, there appears to be no way to open it.
He turns it over and reads the label on the bottom. "The Happiness Machine?"
The guilt she feels over having spent money is evident in her weak smile. "I know I shouldn't have but things have been bad lately. I just thought...".
His response is swift and loud, cutting her off in mid-sentence. "That's just it! You didn't think!"
He shakes the machine. It makes no sound. "I don't even have money for beer and you go and buy this! I can't believe it!"
She tries to gather enough breath to tell him that she bought it for him - to make him happy - but the words won't come. The tears gather in her eyes as she watches him lift the machine above his head.
His motion is a blur through her tears. The machine suddenly a broken mass of springs and wires. A battery rolls across the wooden floor.
She finds her voice. "Look what you've done. Are you hap..." The words fade away as she realizes that he is; he really is.
Nice ironic twist to this trilogy of stories about the "Happiness Machine." This is the best one, in my opinion.
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