A chair.

   He walked in the trift shop among the clothes, the linen, the drapes and the books, he veered to he right half-way down one aisle heading to the furniture section.  He was was here looking for a small bookcase on top of which he could also put a plant or two.  He was the master decorator of his tiny apartment.
   It caught his eyes.  
   A simple chair.  A seat . A back. Four legs. Functional. It was originally crafted by a dedicated worker in his atelier.  Fabricated with care, sanded down, polished and varnished.  As it was part of a set of four and the accompanying table, it was not for him. This mahogany set was later purchased by a young couple starting in life.
   Well, starting, but with a step ahead.  Their first home after their difficult year or so after university.  Then their first child and big hopes. By profession, she was a lawyer, he was an architect.  Their house was in the polluted city but still, they were no different from a lot of city dwellers and  they each needed a car to get around.
   But the city got on their nerves.  So on week-ends they hit the road and ventured an hour or two in different directions and finally found the spot of their dreams.  Ten acres of grounds near  forested area.  Perfect place to build their residence designed by Lisa's husband James himself.  As for the decoration of the interior, Lisa took care of that herself.  Pale blue here, egg white there.  This superb texture for the drapes and the perfect butterfly afghan tapestry for the far wall.
   Everything was new except for the kitchen set of table and chairs of their former residence.  This was placed in a small alcove adjacent to the main kitchen area which was equipped with the most expensive and most recent innovations.
   True, the outside needed a bit of care as well as it pretty much looked like jungle.  They were in the middle of nowhere so a small garden was needed.  A small project for the near future.  More importantly, what is a residence in the country without a swimming pool?  After all, one must have something to entertain friends and visitors.
   After Marcus, their son now seven, came Lisbeth.  Today was her third birthday.  birthdays and holydays were always joyous affairs with plenty of gourmet good , catered for neither of them had  knowledge, talent, or dexterity to produce such marvels as those prepared by their friend the five-star chef Jean-Michel who was always at hand to design and create wonders.
   This day was even more fantastic, if possible.
   Dozens of friends and colleagues on hand, tons of gifts for Lisbeth, including a huge doll house.
   Don Orwell, also an architect and friend, was there to say good-bye as he'd recently obtained a contract to build a new museum in Dubai.  A freind of Lisa was proud to say she's successfully defended
a very wealthy fellow and would now have to consult a banker in view of placements.
   Suddenly there was a  scream from Rosalie, the lady who lived in the nearby village and sometimes served as baby-sitter as well as helper to Jean-Michel at times.  She was nort baby-sitting on this day.  She was helping with the trays of hors-d'oeuvres and difficult to say if it was the scream or the cling-clang noisee of the fancy plate of delicacies as it hit the side of the pool which came first.
   Defeaning sounds as the people gathered and as Rosalie's husband jumped in, all dressed up and fancy shoes, hurrying to get to the small body and get it out of there, rthen trying to get Lisbeth to breathe.
   Too late.
   Shock.  Cries.  Disbelief.  Denials.  And after days and days, after the burrial, then recriminations.
   ''You just HAD to have a pool, didn't you?'' Lisa screamed across the living-room, throwing a lovley porcelain vase at the afghan  butterflies on the wall, ''social status demanding,''
   ''Don't put it all on me, darling.  You were glad to have a place to bask in the sun and get an enviable tan'',
   Such tragedies as the death of a child sometimes create an even stronger bond between a couple.
   Not this couple.  Lisa packed her pags and her jewelry, made legal arrangements to have Marcus stay with her.  James obtained visiting rights.   She moved back to the city, left her broken dreams behind and settled in an area where the was no swimming pool in sight.  James had auction people come over. They made an offer on everything  in the house, offer which James readily accepted, no squabble and the kitchen table and chairs in the alcove were packed away.
   james sold the house, moved to  a Bed and Breakfast for a brief duration while he looked for another
parcel of land where he could buils a ''shack'' of  futuristic design.
 
   It was a year later  that a young couple entered the huge auction house in the same town where Lisa  opted to reside.  The  auction house occupied two floors and a basement. The most expensive  items, from marble statues to paintings , XVIIth  and XVIIIth century desks and assorted furniture as well as displays of  jewelry occupied the two main floors. In the basement was found mainly furniture in various state of dissaray and often under a small  layer of dust.
    Jim and Paula were looking for an antique set of table  and chairs.   No doubt some of the items offered belonged more to the junk yard but a man's waste is another man's treasure. But this particular set with its exquisitely crafted chairs caught Paula's attention.  ''I love it'' she said, looking to jim for approval.  he thought  that the set was rather big for their apartment but it was her choice and that was that.  Besides, they had big plans and would  certainly move to something more spacious eventually.
  It took them two years  actually as they kept dreaming and working, Paula in the pottery shop, gaining experience and creating.  as for Jim, he worked on computer programming.
   Then, one day, Success. He sold one of his programs for ten million bucks.
   Champagne.  Caviar.
   And the purchase of a sprawling estate near a wooded area.
   Pool included.
   Two years later Jessica was born.  Her fifth birtday was also a special one for Lisa as she achieved a milestone with Internet sales of her pottery products.
   Big party with family and  friends.  Lots of foods, drinks and laughter.
   By the pool.