The Eraser

Jenny whipped her Honda into the first row of parking spots by the mall entrance-just edging out a big gas guzzling SUV. "Princess parking," she muttered to herself with satisfaction as she pulled down the rearview mirror to put on some lip gloss. The small lines around her eyes and forehead, she first noticed in her late twenties, had deepened over the years. At forty-nine, there was no denying they were here to stay.

I bet Amanda doesn't have any wrinkles, Jenny thought. Amanda was the 29-year-old blonde her husband had met at the gym and left her for. She was proficient in Pilates and had an ass you could bounce a quarter off of. Or so Jenny had heard.

She smiled at herself in the mirror-which only made the wrinkles look worse. "I've got to quit smiling at people so dam much," she muttered as she slammed the rearview mirror.  She felt as far from a princess as she could possibly be.

Jenny hurried through the glass double-doors of the store as a polite young man held them open for her. She smiled back. "Thanks."

Dam, I've got to stop doing that, she silently scolded herself.

Jenny looked around for the cosmetics department. It was located in the center of the store and beckoned to her like a lighthouse in a dark storm of men's ties, jewelry, and designer purses. An overwhemling array of products sparkled behind glass cases where rows of pots and jars in various sizes and shapes promised to brighten her eyes, smooth her skin, and make her lips glow. A young model with perfect skin in a huge photo behind the counter smiled at her and seemed to say - you too can look like me.

"There must be something for wrinkles among all this stuff," Jenny grumbled to herself while peering through the glass at some pink packages. "There's too many choices. It's so confusing."

A tall, young blonde with huge blues eyes behind the counter overheard Jenny and smiled revealing teeth as white and dazzling as the overhead light. She looked a little like Amanda. God, they're everywhere, Jenny thought.

"Can I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Well," Jenny stammered. "I'm looking for something for my wrinkles."

"We have many products that can help reduce wrinkles," she purred. "It all depends on how fast you want results and how much you're willing to spend."

Jenny peered into the small round mirror on the counter. The bright overhead light only enhanced the wrinkles around her hazel eyes. Her brown hair appeared mousy compared to the golden locks of the clerk.

The clerk seemed to sense her desperation and leaned in like she was her best friend telling her the cute boy in second period had a crush on her. "I have just what you're looking for," she whispered.

She reached under the counter and pulled out a plain unmarked box tied with a gold ribbon. "We don't show this product to everyone," she said in a low voice as she set it on the counter. With one pull, the gold ribbon and brown wrapper slipped off revealing a pretty crystal bottle labeled "The Eraser". As the clerk uncorked the bottle, Jenny could see a shimmering green glow smoldering at the bottom.

The clerk smiled at Jenny again, her white teeth almost blinding her for a moment. "You'll love this product," she gushed as she poured a tiny amount onto the end of a Q-Tip. "It does have some side affects though. But many women are willing to put up with them to achieve the end results."

Jenny thought she had practiced this line many times like an actor getting ready for opening night.

She held the Q-Tip up to Jenny's face. "Now, let's just try a little bit."

Jenny jerked her head back as she saw the Q-Tip closing in. "What side affects?"

The clerk paused for a second. "Well," she replied in an even lower voice while leaning all the way over the counter. "For every wrinkle erased, a memory is erased along with it."

Jenny was stunned. "Does it really work?"

"Yes, I'll show you."  The clerk pulled her purse out from under the counter. "Here, look at my driver's license."

Jenny took the license from her. The clerk's smiling picture stared up at her. "I don't understand," Jenny questioned.

"Look at my age," she urged.

Jenny looked at the license again scanning it for the date-of-birth. She couldn't believe her eyes. According to the state of California, the clerk was over seventy years old! She was speechless. How could this be?

"I was shocked when I first heard about it," she said as she took her license from Jenny and put it back in her purse. "But as you can see, the results are definitely worth it!"

"I'm not sure," Jenny hesitated.

"Let's just give it a try on one little wrinkle. You'll change your mind when you see how well it works."

Jenny stared at her face in the mirror. A small wrinkle around the corner of her mouth caught her eye. "How about this one?" she asked.

"Great choice," the clerk agreed as she dabbed a small amount of the serum onto Jenny's face.

At first, Jenny didn't feel a thing. Then her face began to tingle. As the tingling got stronger, a memory flashed before her. It was her childhood dog, Buddy. They were sitting together on the floor of her bedroom. She was hugging him and crying into his soft fur because she had been teased at school. The tingling became unbearable until, with a loud pop, the feeling and Buddy were gone.

Jenny peaked into the mirror. She couldn't believe it. "It's gone," she cried. The wrinkle has disappeared leaving smooth, flawless skin in its place.

"I told you!" the clerk replied flashing another smile. "Now, would you like to put this on your credit card?"

"Yes!" Jenny ripped open her purse and pulled out her wallet.

When the clerk finished ringing up her purchase, Jenny pointed to the crow's feet around her eyes. "Let's do these next!"

The clerk continued to apply the lotion zapping Jenny's memories of childhood friends, her first date, the day she started college, and her husband's smiling face on their wedding day (she was secretly pleased when his memory flashed by and was obliterated from her mind).

Jenny was dizzy from the lotion and the excitement of her reflection as her face grew younger and younger with every application. She now looked like she was in her early twenties.

One wrinkle was left on Jenny's face. It was the largest and biggest wrinkle spanning the width of her forehead. The clerk started to dab the lotion on Jenny's forehead. The familiar tingling kicked in, and Jenny waited for the final transformation.

As the tingling increased, memories of her son flashed across her mind. She saw him laying on her chest only hours after he was born-his trusting blue eyes locked on hers. She saw him the first time he got out of bed on his own and found his way down the hall to her. She saw him on his first day of school waving goodbye over his shoulder as she cried in the parking lot. She saw him the day he graduated as he looked down at her and beamed while receiving his diploma.

Jenny started to panic. She seized the tissues from the counter and dabbed at her face like a mad woman. "Make it stop!" she yelled.

The clerk was puzzled. "I don't understand," she stammered. "We're almost done."

Jenny began to cry. She grabbed more tissues and the make-up remover fom the counter. As she frantically scrubbed her face, the lotion began to fade and her memories came flooding back. She didn't even mind it when her husband's face reappeared as she realized without him, she wouldn't have her son.

The baffled clerk shook her head as she put the half-empty crystal bottle back behind the counter. Jenny wondered what or who she had sacrificed for her flawless face-perhaps a family pet, a cherished relative, or even a beloved son.

She left the cosmetics department with almost all her wrinkles and memories restored. (After that day, she could never place why she had a picture of a big, sweet looking lab on her mantle.)

As Jenny walked towards the glass double-doors, an attractive man with gray hair smiled and winked as he held open the door. Jenny smiled back-wider than she ever had. Her Honda loomed in the near distance. Maybe she deserved princess parking after all.