A man drawn into the wiles of an opportunistic woman resorts to drastic measures to break free.
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Prescription for Pain
AS the son of a physician, Andre was encouraged to pursue a career in medicine, even if a scholarship was not available. The boy was good at drawing, but his father convinced him that art was not a lucrative option. Fortunately, Andre’s excellent grades earned him several scholarship offers. With hard work, he persevered until becoming a pharmacist.
Without student loan debt, he reached the lofty goal of dispensing medicine. His first job in a chain-store pharmacy was tedious and, in his opinion, thankless. There were long hours of validating prescriptions and consulting over dosages with possible drug reactions.
A More Colorful Life
While waiting on patients, he notices a large number of them donning tattoos. After several months, he begins making brief inquiries about the level of pain during tattooing. From these descriptions, it seems tolerable.
So on his day off, he decides to get his shoulder inked with a simple Rod of Asclepius, representing medicine. However, the tattoo artist convinces him that a caduceus with wings would be more satisfying.
Over time, Andre returns, adding more ink to his left arm. During these sessions, he realizes that his background in sterile environments and needles could be an advantage in this profession. So after much research, he decides to disappoint his father and become a tattoo artist.
He works alongside others until gaining the confidence to open his own shop. When customers learn he studied medicine, they feel much more at ease and share the news with their friends. Before long, his business is booming. There is no way of knowing that his background would lead to a chance encounter with dangerous repercussions.
High Maintenance
With a body giving evidence of daily fitness workouts, Norman decides to treat himself to a five-hundred-dollar sleeve tattoo, inspired by those he admires in sports. A recommendation leads him to Andre, who exceeds his expectations.
As always, Andre suggests, “If you’re happy, tell your friends.”
At a club with flashing lights and loud music, an alluring, shapely woman named Rita takes notice of Norman’s physique. They begin dancing and later sit down for drinks.
“I shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach. Can we order appetizers?”
“Sure. I’ve already had dinner, though. Tell the waitress what you want.”
They sit at a small round table in a crowded bar where Rita proceeds to order a platter of oysters on the half shell. After slurping down the first order with a squeeze of lemon, she tells the server to keep them coming, until she eventually consumes seventy of them!
Sometimes young women try to test men on dates to see if they complain about spending money. So Norman pays the unexpectedly large bill, feeling it should at least earn him a phone number from her.
He asks, “What types of things do you enjoy for recreation?”
“I do Zumba. What about you?”
“I lift weights at the gym and play basketball.”
“I can tell. Which gym?”
“The large one at the mall.”
“Really? That’s where I do Zumba!”
“Well then, I don’t know how we missed each other. Perhaps we should exchange numbers and meet up.”
They leave the club separately and begin texting each other during the week until meeting up at the gym. There, they make arrangements for a formal dinner date at a steakhouse. Rita orders a large Tomahawk steak with lobster that she can’t finish. With large food bills, Norman can’t afford to go out every week, so they get together a couple of times a month.
During a conversation in his plush apartment overlooking the cityscape, Rita complains that she can’t afford to get her 18-year-old car out of the shop. Norman offers to transport her around in the interim. All the errands lead him to helping her out with a down payment on a newer vehicle. Months later, she needs help paying her rent. She also expects expensive jewelry on holidays.
When Norman realizes that more than twenty percent of his income is going toward Rita, he tries to end their relationship. His lack of success is due to her beguiling beauty and persistence. She continues to phone him and visit his apartment.
On one romantic evening, they recline on the sofa to watch a movie. She expresses admiration for the tattoos on his arm, so he removes his shirt to provide a better view.
With wide eyes of excitement, she exclaims, “I want one!”
“Of course you do. What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, something small to begin with. Maybe a heart with our names in it.”
“There are far more creative options than a retro sailor tattoo. Let me look into it.”
The Proposition
Norman visits Andre to get some inking ideas. While flipping through his portfolio, Norman inquires about the price of full-back tattoos.
“Those take a long time over many sessions. You can expect to spend upwards of five thousand dollars.”
“Can we step into the back for some privacy? How’d you like to earn twice that for a tat that you normally spend about one hour on?”
“I’m listening. There must be some catch.”
“Tell me, is there any way to mix something with the ink that will have adverse reactions that aren’t traceable to the tattoo?”
“There are all sorts of drugs, but I don’t follow what you’re asking.”
“What types of reactions other than rashes are possible?”
“Anything from nausea to a full-blown cardiac event. Why would you pay me to harm you?”
“It’s not me. It’s an opportunistic friend who’s bleeding me dry. With your pharmaceutical background, you should be able to make it stop undetectably.”
“Why would I do that when business is going so well?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps as a favor to a good customer, or maybe you can think of some way to make an easy ten thousand dollars, can improve your life.”
“As a prior pharmacist and now as a tattoo artist, I’ve built a reputation on not harming anyone.”
“I’m not asking you to tarnish your reputation. Maybe there’s a drug that interacts with something she normally consumes. That way, no one would ever trace it back to you. For example, she eats a lot of raw oysters, which can be toxic, right?”
“About eighty thousand people per year get vibriosis from raw oysters. There are over 200 drugs known to interact with them. Ten thousand dollars, you say? I’m not saying I’ll do it, but let me look into it.”
“Yeah, of course. Think about it. I’ll send you a simple text message a week from now that says ‘light color?’ Just reply ‘green’ if it’s a go.”
A week later, Andre confirms. Norman then visits with half the money, promising the other half upon completion. But when the cash exchanges hands, the police are waiting to arrest Norman.
Andre admits to his former customer, “I’m sorry. You asked the wrong pharmacist.”
Days later, when the attractive Rita visits for the scheduled tattoo, her deceptively innocent appearance captivates Andre. She then lures him into her wiles. For his part, Andre gets a man off the streets for attempting to order a dangerous hit, while himself becoming a victim of Rita’s opportunistic cunning.
The End
Return twice weekly for miniseries. Any relation to actual persons or events is coincidental. Login provides the most immersive experience. About 1200 total words. Educational review questions are available for ClinicalNovellas Scholar members. Cinematic materials are available with ClinicalNovellas Cinematic membership.
