Author Anon

Gavin lifts his hand to caress Belle’s face. She turns towards him and he lowers his head to kiss her. He deepens his kiss as he gathers her in his arms. Losing himself, he feels as if he is falling, when suddenly, he lands with a thud on the floor and awakes. He picks himself up grumbling. Remembering the dream, he walks quietly to her door and looks in. With the moon shining on her sleeping face, she reminds him of a lovely angelic child. An overpowering protective urge assails him. Too bad, he thought, that when she’s awake, she can be so stubborn and exasperating.

——————————————————————————————–

“We’re here,” says Michael. “Tonight, we can just soak in the hot tub. Let all the stress and tension melt away. Then, tomorrow we’ll decide what we want to do with the day.”

“I can’t wait to kick my shoes off,” says Amanda.

Michael opens the door and finds Paul and Chloe curled up by the fireplace. “Oh,” he says, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t know you were coming up here.”

Paul gets up. “I had no idea you were thinking of doing the same.” They look at each other and an awkward silence ensues.

“I suppose there’s room for all of us?” asks Amanda, breaking the silence.

“Uhh. Yeah. There’s plenty of room,” says Paul. “This is the family condo, so it accommodated all of us.”

Amanda takes Michael’s arm. “I don’t mind sharing for the weekend, if you don’t.” She turns to Paul and Chloe. “Unless you two were wanting more privacy. I guess you have first rights.”

“Not at all,” says Chloe, standing up next to Paul. “It might be fun having another couple.”

The door opens and admits Ashley and David. “Well. Hello, everyone,” says Ashley, beaming. “Hope you don’t mind if we join you.”

“Ashley?!” they cry, in unison.

“What are you doing here?” asks Michael, with controlled anger.

“I heard everyone was going skiing, so I thought it was about time I learned to do it right.”

Although clearly upset, none of the quartet say anything.

——————————————————————————————–

“Mom, we’re moving out,” says Leslie.

“Why?” asks Melanie.

“You’re right,” says Carrie. “This place is haunted.”

“We’re having enough trouble with the shop. We don’t need to come home to see Julia coming after us.”

“You saw Julia, too?” asks Melanie. “Where?”

“In the attic,” says Carrie. “She was accusing us of-”

“Carrie!”

“Of what?” asks Melanie. “Tell me. If someone is playing a joke, we need to know who it is.”

“I don’t think it’s a joke,” says Carrie. “No one but Julia would have known.”

“Known what?” asks Melanie.

“We, uh, took, uh, a ring off her finger,” says Leslie.

“What? When?”

“At the memorial service,” says Carrie. “No one could have known about it.”

“What if she wants it back?” asks Melanie.

“She does,” says Leslie. “She asked for it.”

“Maybe if we return it, she’ll leave us alone.”

“Mom, how are we to do that?”

“I don’t know. I suppose we can bury it in the ground.”

“What if that’s not enough?” asks Leslie. “I think I’d rather go back to our little home.”

“Me, too,” says Carrie.

“And leave me alone?” asks Melanie.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

——————————————————————————————–

“Miss Silverman, I came to see you again because I believe you made a mistake when you gave me my gem.”

“Oh, I couldn’t have, Mr. Black.”

“Come, Miss Silverman. I’m generally patient, but that was a fake you gave me. My gem was quite valuable.”

“I thought you told me it was just glass.”

“You misunderstood me. Now, please don’t play dumb. You have my original gem and I would like it back. I’m sure you wouldn’t like me to resort to drastic measures.”

“Is that a threat, Mr. Black? If so, I’ll have you know that this place is under video surveillance and has been since my apartment was broken into.”

“Look, if you want a ‘reward’, I’m willing to give you five thousand dollars for it.”

Belle smiles and considers it. “That’s a lot of money. But I want more than that.”

“More money?”

“No. Five thousand is adequate. But, I also want your daughters to close their shop.”

“Deal.”

“Okay. You bring me the money, your daughters shut down, and I’ll give you the gem.”

Carl leaves and Gavin comes out of his hiding spot. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I have to give him his gem, Gavin. Otherwise, you’ll never find out what happens in the next phase.”

“Do you think he’d hand over the money and take the gem? He’ll kill you first.”

“He can’t kill me unless he has his gem. He won’t open the gem in front of me or I’ll know his secret. He’ll take it away and break it.”

“He might break it in front of you to be sure, then kill you on the spot. If not, he’ll kill you later.”

“He won’t risk it if he thinks he’s being monitored.”

“Is this place secured?”

“Of course.”

“But he could still go after you outside this apartment.”

“I thought you’ll be shadowing me.”

“Not if I’m following the next phase.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right.”

“Your stubbornness is not going to endear you to anyone. You’ll never get any friends.”

“I have plenty.”

“Boyfriends?”

“I’ve got two at the moment. I don’t think I can handle any more.”

——————————————————————————————–

Filed under: All That Glitters