The Dice Woman?
The mind works in a mysterious way sometimes. I say ‘the’ mind, but perhaps it's just mine.
The mind works in a mysterious way sometimes. I say ‘the’ mind, but perhaps it's just mine.
I was sorting through some old suitcases full of clothes and came across a dress I’d bought perhaps fifteen years ago. I’d worn it a couple of times but my then husband didn’t like it, so I consigned it to the back of the wardrobe and, subsequently when I left him, to the suitcase I was currently going through
I’m not sure why I had particularly liked it when I bought it, but now with my current ‘hobby’ it had great appeal.
It is quite military in a way but was the sort of dress I caan get away with wearing to the office as well as socially. Its appeal now was that it buttoned all the way down the front, from neckline to hem.
I was contemplating the buttons and how many I should or could leave undone when I suddenly recalled a book I’d read many years ago called The Dice Man. The character lived his life by chance, making decisions, from having cereal or toast for breakfast to molesting or not a particular woman, by the roll of a dice; odds or evens, and follow that course of action.
It was a work of fiction and a totally insane way to live one’s life in the real world.
But.
The excitement of the uncertainty appealed.
I haven’t a clue why it had come to mind, but I decided to invoke the idea and try it with this dress. Here’s how. The part below the waist has five buttons. I’d roll a dice (once I’d found one) every time I wore it and leave it with the number the dice instructed undone, come what may. If I rolled a six, I’d undo the buttons above the waist too.
I had to make some rules. Rules I’d make myself stick to.
Where would I wear it? Socially, I’d not have a problem going out with any of my friends, even with it totally unbuttoned, so it had to be more than that. The office? One day a month perhaps. Say the second Tuesday. Rain or shine. Meetings, conferences, or just in my office. No exceptions. Could I? Yes! Should I? No! A thousand times no! I’m no statistician, but common sense told me that the more I wore it, the greater the chance of throwing a six. Wearing it totally unbuttoned to the office! What were the ramifications? Easy. Disciplinary action if not the sack. Undone up to the waist, I reckoned I could get away with. It would be difficult, but I tried the dress on and if I moved carefully and slowly, I only gave glimpses of that which should not be glimpsed. Totally insane! But even the challenge of making myself contemplate it made me damp. So I compromised. If I was wearing it socially, the six meant all buttons adrift. To the office, no buttons undone.
Yes! Still insane and a challenge. Exciting in the extreme.
Watch this space.
