Andy sold his soul to the devil for the woman he loved.  But she wasn’t just any woman.  She was Charlene—beautiful, wonderful, vibrant Charlene, his ideal perfection.  No other woman would suffice, no other woman could match her beauty, her charm, even her laugh that sent little tingles of pleasure down his spine; so Andy had made a particular effort to be funny every time she was near, earning the moniker of class clown when they were in school.

He had known Charlene all his life. She was a friend of his sister Cathy. Growing up, Andy would listen through the bedroom wall to their chatter, their laughter, their gossip of the other girls at school— “she’s such a bitch!  Who does she think she is?  I could do better than that without trying.”

Andy found any excuse to burst through Cathy’s bedroom door just so he could catch a glimpse of Charlene, sitting cross-legged on the bed with her homework scattered around her and an opened bottle of nail polish at her side.

“Time for supper,” he informed Cathy without taking his eyes off Charlene who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

“Charlene, your mom called. You have to go home now.” Each time he muttered those words, they tasted like poison in his mouth.  He would do anything to have Charlene stay near him forever and ever.

His feelings for Charlene surpassed the usual boyhood crush.  By the time he and Cathy and Charlene had graduated high school, he became so enamored with Charlene he could barely function.  He rarely slept and when he did, he dreamed of her; he barely ate and when he did, he ate only the foods he knew she loved, subsisting on a diet of ice cream, sushi and French fries.  He enrolled in the same college as Charlene and took the same classes just so he could be near her.  All the while, Charlene remained oblivious to the feelings he was too shy to express.  She suspected he liked her, but she found his unwanted attention smothering and tried to avoid him as often as she could.

“Your brother is such a dork!”  Andy overheard Charlene mutter those words to Cathy when his sister came to visit them on campus.  They were at a party at the end of their second semester and Andy had been lingering near Charlene, doting on her and offering to fetch her drinks.  

A dork.  The love of his life thought him a dork.  All the years he’d been pining and obsessing and groveling, yet she still thought him a dork.  He handed Charlene her drink and pushed through the crowd, devastated yet still determined to win her heart at any cost.  The crowd of partiers felt as though they were closing in on him, suffocating him and laughing at him.  The music boomed loud and wild in his ears, throbbing in his head like a bad migraine.  He needed to get some air before he fainted.

Andy stepped out the back door of the dorm house where a few couples were making out in the dark corners of the porch.  The night air was cool and sultry, an odd combination for that time of year.  He stepped off the porch and headed across the courtyard to the parking lot where he hoped the loud music wouldn’t reach him.

By the time he reached his car, he became aware of footsteps behind him, following him in perfect step.   A shadow appeared on the driver’s side window, just over the left shoulder of his own reflection.  Someone breathed behind him.

He pivoted, fists raised.  The man who had been following him smiled, his perfect teeth so white they glowed under the streetlamps.

“Hello.”

. “What do you want?” Andy demanded.

“Sorry I startled you,” the man said. “You can put your fists down.  I’m not here to rob you or attack you.  You just looked like you needed some help.”

The man wore a simple dark jacket over a plain white shirt.  His hair was straight and cut short, parted in the middle.  He carried a leather attaché case in one hand.  He could have passed as wealthy businessman on his way home from the office, but he was so good looking Andy thought he might be a movie star.

“I’m fine.” Andy lowered his fists and turned to unlock his car.

“You’re having a rough evening,” the man said.  “I noticed it right away.  Charlene doesn’t share your feelings.”

Andy stopped cold, his key still in the lock.  How could this stranger possibly know that? He had never disclosed his feelings for Charlene to another living soul, not even Cathy.  

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” he said and turned to face the stranger.

“I can help you if you let me make it my business, Andy,” said the man.

“How do you know my name?”

“That’s not important right now,” said the man.  “What’s important is getting Charlene to be with you for the rest of your life.  Interested?”

Andy had to laugh.

“I’ve been trying for years,” he said.  “I don’t think there’s anything we can do to make her change her mind about me.”

“You underestimate me, Andy.” The man extended his hand and Andy instinctively shook it.  His hand was ice cold and the fingers smooth as icicles.  “I should introduce myself.  I go by many monikers, but you can just call me Luke.”

“Luke?”

“Short for Lucifer.” The man raised his briefcase.  “Now, shall we get down to business?”

Andy and Cathy had been raised in a secular household.  Not even holidays such as Christmas or Easter held much significance to them.  Surely this man was joking, perhaps even part of some elaborate prank Andy’s roommates liked to play on him.  Still, the temptation of winning Charlene’s heart was worth whatever Luke had to offer.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“Your greatest wish come true.” Luke smiled with that movie star grin and gestured to the car. “Let’s sit down while we go over the paperwork.”

Once they were settled in the car, Luke opened the briefcase in his lap.

“I’ve been watching you for some time,” he said.  “I know your heart’s most urgent desire.  I followed you here this evening, hoping we could make a deal.  Parties like this are good for business.  People’s resolves are down, they’re inebriated, they don’t know what they’re doing.  But I can see that you’re different.”

Luke pulled a manila folder thick with papers out of his briefcase and handed it to Andy to read under the dashboard light.  Andy squinted; the writing was small and written in an elaborate cursive style that looked more like the print in a medieval textbook. 

“Allow me.” Luke leaned over and pointed at the lines of print. “It’s a basic contract I offer to everyone.  The first clause states that I, Lucifer, AKA the devil, AKA Satan, shall make Charlene McGrath, your beloved, marry and stay with you, Andrew Handler, for the remainder of your natural life.  In exchange, when your life ends, either by fault or default, I shall collect your soul and keep it for eternity.  If, for any reason, Charlene fails to stay with you until the end of your life, this contract is null and void.  Any questions?”

“Are you kidding!” Andy laughed.  “You really think I’m going to fall for this?  I’m an agnostic.  I don’t believe in any of this stuff.  Tell Gruber and the rest of the guys that I’m on to them.”

“If you’re so skeptical, then sign the contract,” said Luke. “In your mind, you have nothing to lose.  And you may actually get Charlene.”

“Sure, I’ll sign it.  What the hell?” Andy fished through the garbage in the cup holder for a pen.

“No, you can’t sign it with ink,” Luke said and grabbed Andy’s hand. “Only blood will do.”

A single gleaming drop of blood bloomed on the tip of Andy’s index finger.  He didn’t remember cutting himself.

“No signatures,” Luke said and pressed Andy’s finger to the bottom of the contract.  “Only fingerprints.”

Andy’s fingertip left a dark crimson smudge on the bottom of the page.  Luke smiled and folded the paperwork back into the briefcase.

“That’s it?” Andy asked.

“All done,” Luke replied. “I will come to collect my restitution when the time comes.”

“When will that be?”

“At the hour of your death, of course.” Luke grinned that sheepish handsome smile and rubbed his hands across the briefcase. “I will keep the contract in here for the time being.  Beautiful, isn’t it?  Come on, touch it.”

Andy placed his fingers on the case.  The leather was cool and supple, the finest he’d ever touched.

“It’s made from human skin,” Luke said.  “I took it from my last collection.  She was reluctant to give me her soul, so I skinned her alive and took it anyway.  Feel the clasp? That was her nipple.”

A small tremor rippled Andy’s gut.  Gruber’s prank was going too far.

“Tell Gruber I’m not impressed,” he said as Luke opened the door and stepped out of the car.

Luke laughed and called over his shoulder as he walked across the parking lot to the street, “Go back to the party.  Charlene wants to dance with you.”

Andy did go back to the party, as much to confront Gruber on his poor taste in jokes as well as to see Charlene again.  She was waiting for him by the buffet table.  And she wanted to dance.

Andy and Charlene were married exactly a year later in a small private ceremony and it was the most glorious day of Andy’s life.  Four years later, Andy and Charlene graduated with honors from dental college and he suggested they open a practice together, just so he could stay near her for as many hours in the day as possible.  Charlene was reluctant but agreed even though it went against her better judgement.

Andy was a good husband to Charlene.  They bought a fine house in the country and spent holidays in the Caribbean. He brought her flowers every Friday evening when Charlene saw her last patient at noon and went home early to prepare for their usual Friday date night.  The ritual continued for several years until the evening Andy came home early and found Charlene hiding in a nest of wrinkled sheets while his best friend Seth hopped across the floor while pulling on his pants.

Devastated, Andy left and didn’t return until Charlene begged, cried, pleaded, cajoled him to forgive this one-time indiscretion.  She promised to be faithful from then on and even agreed to go to marriage counseling if that’s what he wanted.  It was so refreshing for Charlene to come for him after all the years pursuing her, Andy conceded and suggested they start a family.

Charlene vehemently disagreed.  She didn’t want to have children, claiming a pregnancy would destroy her figure; and Andy admitted that ruining her perfect body would be a shame.  He suggested they adopt, but again Charlene declined and said she already had her hands full taking care of him and their practice.

The years passed; childless and middle-aged they continued their life together.  Charlene often went on trips without him, claiming she needed time away with her friends.  Andy suspected she was being unfaithful again but the fear of upsetting their idyllic life kept him mum.  She was home with him most nights, and that was sufficient.

They retired happily and bought a vacation home in Florida as they continued to travel.  As the years passed, Andy’s health deteriorated.  Soon he was walking with a cane, unable to climb stairs on his own.  The doctors diagnosed a congenital heart condition but the surgery was unsuccessful and by his eightieth year, his liver and kidneys began to fail.  He spent his sixtieth anniversary in intensive care, tethered to numerous life support machines.

Charlene would be coming to visit soon, bringing a treat to celebrate the occasion.  He couldn’t wait to see her one last time.  Though she had not been the perfect wife, she was still the epitome of perfection in his eyes and he was grateful for every minute they had spent together.  He thought of her as he dozed, how beautiful and sensuous she had been and still was to him.

“Hello, Andy.”

Luke stood at the foot of his bed, looking no older than he had sixty years ago.  He wore the same simple suit and white shirt and carried his attaché case tucked under his arm.  He smiled handsomely, like a man about to receive an anticipated reward.  

Andy thought he must be dreaming, or perhaps hallucinating from all the drugs the nurses pumped into him.  Shortly after his first dance with Charlene, he dismissed his encounter with Luke as a prank, even though Gruber and the rest of the gang denied having anything to do with it.  He was just so deliriously happy to finally be with Charlene.

But Luke—or whoever this man was, surely must have aged as much as Andy.  

“Remember me?” Luke asked.

“You’re not real,” Andy said.

“Oh, I’m very real,” Luke chuckled.  “Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember me.  Most of them don’t when I come to claim my payment.  Sometimes I wonder if they deny contracting thinking they can get out of their obligation.”

“What are you talking about?” Andy asked.

“On the evening of April 26, 1969, you signed a contract with me in the parking lot of your dorm.  I have all the paperwork right here.” Luke patted the briefcase under his arm.

“That was a joke,” Andy said.  “And a poor one at that.”

“I assure you that it was no joke,” Luke said.  “And now I have come to collect.”

“Who’s this?” Charlene asked from the doorway, cradling an enormous bouquet of chrysanthemums in her arms.

“Charlene,” Luke said. “So nice to see you again. Come in, you’re just in time.”

“Have we met?” Charlene inched into the room and lay the bouquet on the bedside table.

“Many years ago, yes, and may I say, dear lady, the years have been kind to you.  I whispered something in your ear, but I’m sure by now you must have forgotten what I said.” Luke said. “But now I’m afraid your beloved husband is near the end of his life.  I have come to collect an outstanding debt.”

“If you contact our attorney, you will see that all our affairs are in order,” Charlene said.

“Oh, dear lady, I have no use for money,” chuckled Luke.  “Andy owes me his soul.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Andy said through his ebbing strength. “He’s some kind of con artist.”

“Absolutely not,” Luke said and opened his briefcase on the bed. “I have the original contract right here.  With your original fingerprint.”

Luke tossed the pages across the bed.  Andy lifted his head as page after page fluttered down around him.  The last page held his fingerprint, now rusty brown with age. Charlene picked it up and squinted through her failing eyesight at the words.

“Is this true?” she asked.  “Did you sell your soul to the devil so you could have me?”

“I thought it was a joke!” Andy said. “I never believed this kind of stuff could be real.”

“It’s real,” Luke said straight into Charlene’s eyes. “I have fulfilled my obligation.  It is time for Andy to fulfil his.”

“I can’t believe you did this!” Charlene shouted.  “For sixty years my life hasn’t been my own.  I’ve been so miserable, so unhappy, wondering what was wrong with me. I thought I was losing my mind.  And it was you the whole time.  You did this to me.”

“Charlene…” Andy began gasping for breath.  “Don’t say that.  We had a good life together.  A happy life, full of love…”

“Love?” Charlene said.  “I was always compelled to be with you and I didn’t understand why.  But I never loved you.  Sometimes, I couldn’t stand you.  I tried to find any excuse to get away from you but I couldn’t go. You’ve ruined my life.”

“She’s right,” Luke said. “She never loved you.”

“Then that’s the end of the deal,” Andy said.  “She was supposed to love me.”

“No, she wasn’t.” Luke lifted one of the pages of the contract and held it out for Andy to see.  “There is nothing here that stipulates she must love you.  It only stipulates that she remain with you for life.”

“You should have made her love me,” Andy said.

“I don’t make people love each other.  That’s his job, not mine.” Luke flicked his eyes to the ceiling to indicate who he was speaking about.

“Charlene, please…” Andy raised his arms toward his wife, “you must understand how much I loved you.  You were my world, my life.”

“What about my life?” Charlene demanded. “You took it from me.”

“Are you ready?” Luke asked and tucked the papers back into the briefcase.

“No…I can’t do this,” Andy whimpered.  For months he had known he was dying, and he accepted it with grace and gratitude for having lived a good life. Until now.

Charlene rounded the bed and wheeled some of the life support equipment aside.  She turned to Luke and said, “Take him.”

And she pulled the plug.