Desired

As in:

Beatrix didn’t have a banana on her. But she did have a purple Pez dispenser with a Sarah Palin animated-head figure that she’d picked up at a hot noodle and curiosity shop on East Main.

So she calmly pulled it from her jacket pocket and presented the figure, and its ridiculously-coloured, sugary tableted offering to the emotionally labored lawyer.

It had the desired effect, to a surprising extent. Duncans looked at it as though she’d presented him with the Hope diamond. His breathing eased, and a look of wonder, then a small smile, came to his face.

“Where the hell did you get that?”