Mr. Wonderful: A Modern Day Parable

So one day she met this really wonderful guy who was wealthy and willing to do whatever she asked him to do. He never let her down, was always available for her 24 hours a day. Anything she wanted, he could provide. So of course she fell for him. How could she not?

Except…except she began to notice he was almost too attentive. Not content to provide her with the book she said she wanted, he started suggesting the next book she should read. Nothing wrong with that, she supposed, because the suggestions were always based on something similar to what she had just read. But damn, he was always suggesting another book the second she was done reading.

And then, one day, she noticed she didn’t see as much of her other friends as she used to. Again, it wasn’t a big deal, because her guy was giving her everything they had always given her. It’s not like he was keeping her from visiting other people, it was just that he was always there every time she needed something.

And after all he was kind to her friends. When her one friend lost her job after the bookstore closed, he was kind enough to hire her at his business. It wasn’t for as much money, and it wasn’t as enjoyable as working in a bookstore, but it was better than nothing, right?

As a matter of fact, he had given jobs to a lot of people she knew. Of course, he had worked out a deal with the town’s mayor on tax incentives, but a lot of people were now gainfully employed by her special guy who might not have a job otherwise. Not good jobs, really, but jobs.

But one day she decided to take a walk in the old neighborhood. It seemed like she hardly ever left the house nowadays. What need did she have to go out when her guy was willing to supply everything she needed? Why go anywhere when her slightest whim would bring whatever she fancied right to her doorstep? But on this day she decided to stretch her legs and see the old gang.

But when she got to the old neighborhood, she was shocked to find that most of the old haunts were boarded up. The once-bustling downtown was now more like a ghost town.

And then it occurred to her: her guy was a player. He hadn’t just been showering his affection on her, he had been doing the same with everyone else, too. She thought she was special, she thought he cared for her, but all that time he had been playing to the baser desires of all of them. And in the process, they had all become separated and the community and thriving scene they once had was now gone.

She had only wanted a book. Reading was a good thing, it made people smarter and more connected. Right? He knew that, and he played right into that feeling. And before she knew it, she was getting her music from him and her movies from him and her television shows from him and her clothes from him and her pots and pans from him and her news of the outside world from him and her food from him. He had made her completely dependent on him without her realizing it.

Well, she kind of realized it. In the back of her mind she was asking questions, wondering if there might be some downside to this. But all her needs were being met. It would be foolish to question Mr. Wonderful, right?

Right?