Josh, a lonely trapeze artist, thinks he’s cursed. It’s an old family superstition. He can’t have sex on a day he flies or he’ll fall. Maybe that’s why he’s never had a steady boyfriend, though sometimes he dreams of one. In his show, a strange melody plays in the background. It follows him and surfaces from time to time on the street. When Josh’s uncle hears about the music, he tells his nephew to bring the old ring, passed down from generations since the time of the curse. Steve is a realtor who always reaches his goals, in sales or otherwise, and he moonlights as a dancer in an all-male review on The Strip. All his friends his age are married, and his best friend’s wife Genie wants to see him hitched, too. He’s a little bit challenged in the relationship department, though. He has some growing up to do, or maybe it’s his problem in bed, where he’s somewhat one-sided. Steve and Josh meet one crazy night when Josh breaks all the rules used to protect him from the curse. After that, he runs. If it wasn’t for Genie’s matchmaking, Josh and Steve might never see each other again. Though not yet ready for a boyfriend, Josh does need a realtor. What a good way for he and Steve to get to know each other, while Josh works up the courage to tell Steve about the curse. Still unaware of Josh’s problem, Steve falls in love with him. When Steve finds out about the curse thing, it’s a big disappointment, but he wants Josh anyway. There’s no doubt Josh is worth the wait. Maybe the curse isn’t real after all. Can lonely Josh overcome his fear of it? Can horndog Steve handle a curse? Is the answer in the ancient ring?

The Curse of Flight

Archeologists, studied in jewelry fashions, joined the chain to date the ring. Josh scratched a tiny sample of its gold and sent it for chemical analysis. It was old. Very old. They all agreed.


While one young linguist formulated a thesis and planned a paper, a long-tenured PhD found it a threat to his publications. They quibbled back and forth. Josh didn’t understand it. He just wanted to know what the inscription meant.


The disagreement focused on one obscure word. They concurred on the rest, which gave no hint as to the meaning of the unknown term. Like a blank space in a picture puzzle of the sea, it confounded them. He who spares the -blank-, breaks the curse.


Similar words in other dialects might refer to a girl or maiden. The unknown term, in related languages, resembled words for purity and passion. The academics agreed that synonyms for these meanings already existed in the ring’s era and dialect. The blank in their puzzle might refer to something else.


Chapter 76