A Vacation Fit for a Rock Star
Exploring the study
“Will you open the damn door already?” Adrienne asked impatiently. Billie had been standing there before the room with a rather cowardly look upon his face, his hand steadily wrapped around the glass door handle. He couldn’t help but feel slightly afraid; someone had died in that room after all.
Adrienne on the other hand wasn’t the least bit superstitious or frightened. She had a well known reputation in the family of being the strong, fearless, orderly one. She could make family crisis’s seem like no big deal, kiss away bad dreams and make sure everyone was happy, fed, and clean. The history of this place was no threat to her.
“Oh, get out of the way!” she demanded, hastily shoving Billie away once again and opening the door.
The study door was heavy to push open and its hinges creaked loudly, its screeching echoing down the hallway. Billie followed closely behind his dutiful wife, peeking over her shoulder with his wandering eyes as they tip-toed into the room.
Besides the brewing snow storm outside, the room was so quiet that it felt as if they could actually feel the silence pounding against their ear drums. Perhaps it was just the heavy clouding of the stale air, or maybe the gloom given off from the curtained window. And for such a closed off room, it was intensely chilly inside.
What a Scooby-Doo scenario, Adrienne thought to herself, aggravated as she felt her husband cling on to the back of her robe. She assumed Billie had been accompanying their sons during cartoon watching too often and all of the random fiction was pulling his imagination’s leg. She turned around to look at him and chuckled to herself.
“What?” Billie asked, letting go of her garments and erasing any signs of nervousness in his body language. Adrienne simply straightened out her robe and cleared her throat.
“Oh,” he said. Trying to man up, he stood taller and puffed his chest out while backing up to view the room with an approving look on his face, nodding slowly. He reminded Adrienne of a male peacock showing off his vivid and flashy feathers to a female he fancied. He guessed she knew he was putting on an act with the odd face she gave him, but to impress her he continued to admire the more obvious things about the room instead of the mysteriousness of the place.
A large crystal candelabrum hung above them, giving the room a sophisticated ambience while below their feet laid an intricately designed rug with colors of crimson red and rich gold. Dusty shelves lined the olive walls with rows of thick books cramped together, and beside those shelves hung old deteriorating paintings of important men they couldn’t name. In front of the rooms massive window stood a great oak desk occupied with rolls of scribble-ridden parched paper, and behind the mess was a lofty chair that beckoned Billie and Adrienne’s derrière’s to fill it.
Billie continued to back up taking in the entire room, until he suddenly ran into something hard and sharp that seemed to be protruding out of the wall. Nearly jumping out of his skin and gasping from the unexpected collision that scratched the top of his head, he turned around swiftly and expectant of something paranormal, completely losing his cool and receiving a laugh from his wife.
“Shit,” he sighed, catching his breath and ignoring Adrienne’s snickering. “I forgot how giant this fire place was.”
There sat their only source of warmth situated in the western corner of the study, bare and unused. It should’ve been known as the grandest fire place known to man. It stood six feet tall and was carved out of pure white marble with gold lining along its detailed moldings. To complete the magnificent piece, two life-size lions stood at either side of it, baring their sharp teeth and claws, their fierce eyes real rubies.
Billie, still spooked and unsure about the room, decided he was tired of playing the tough man role and downsized himself to his apprehensive mode again, sitting down on the edge of the fire place and biting his nails. Adrienne was still jeering at him with her smile, snorts escaping it, but was interrupted when she abruptly sneezed.
The room was disgustingly filthy after years of vacancy. Spiders had taken over the joint, weaving webs of silk in every single corner, nook and cranny. Dust had followed the arachnids, trailing along its powdery substance on all of the reachable surfaces. Cleaning this place would be a hefty job, as well as warming it up.
Knowing that they would have to get a move on with fixing up the study so it was actually bearable to stay in, away from the cold and the dustiness, Adrienne began issuing orders.
“Alright, you go out and gather the fire wood outside while I start cleaning up. And please put on something warmer before you get a cold,” she told him, noticing he was shivering in his thin clothing, goose-bumps lining his tattooed arms and short legs.
“I don’t understand why you dress like that in the middle of winter. If you get a cold, you’re not sleeping with me!” she warned him, getting bitchy again. It wouldn’t be the first time she kicked him out of bed due to something he did that she thought was stupid. It actually happened on numerous occasions now for a reason he was unaware of.
Rolling his eyes the way his sons did when they were to do chores, he strode off to tend to his duties, thankful to get out of the eerie study. As soon as he walked out and into the hallway though, an immediate feeling of comfort washed over him. Weird, he thought. He stopped in his tracks and stared back at the half open door that showed the dark study that now withheld his secluded wife. Adrienne was busying herself amongst the book shelves, already dusting away and humming the tune of one of her favorite songs. Billie shrugged and continued, his toes becoming numb.
After about 15 minutes of his absence, he appeared at the doorway of the study dressed in attire unfit for a male.
“I guess I wasn’t really paying attention when I packed,” he said to the floor, shuffling his feet that were now stuffed inside a pair of high heeled and pointed ankle boots. “I packed summer clothing instead,” he admitted, sounding blatantly embarrassed.
Adrienne turned away from her cleaning and blinked at her currently girlish husband, not exactly knowing what to say. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she looked at him wearing her violet sweater, Kelly green scarf, leopard print cloak and hot pink beanie. She was really surprised he actually managed to fit himself in all this.
“Tre would be so turned on,” she finally said.
Adrienne on the other hand wasn’t the least bit superstitious or frightened. She had a well known reputation in the family of being the strong, fearless, orderly one. She could make family crisis’s seem like no big deal, kiss away bad dreams and make sure everyone was happy, fed, and clean. The history of this place was no threat to her.
“Oh, get out of the way!” she demanded, hastily shoving Billie away once again and opening the door.
The study door was heavy to push open and its hinges creaked loudly, its screeching echoing down the hallway. Billie followed closely behind his dutiful wife, peeking over her shoulder with his wandering eyes as they tip-toed into the room.
Besides the brewing snow storm outside, the room was so quiet that it felt as if they could actually feel the silence pounding against their ear drums. Perhaps it was just the heavy clouding of the stale air, or maybe the gloom given off from the curtained window. And for such a closed off room, it was intensely chilly inside.
What a Scooby-Doo scenario, Adrienne thought to herself, aggravated as she felt her husband cling on to the back of her robe. She assumed Billie had been accompanying their sons during cartoon watching too often and all of the random fiction was pulling his imagination’s leg. She turned around to look at him and chuckled to herself.
“What?” Billie asked, letting go of her garments and erasing any signs of nervousness in his body language. Adrienne simply straightened out her robe and cleared her throat.
“Oh,” he said. Trying to man up, he stood taller and puffed his chest out while backing up to view the room with an approving look on his face, nodding slowly. He reminded Adrienne of a male peacock showing off his vivid and flashy feathers to a female he fancied. He guessed she knew he was putting on an act with the odd face she gave him, but to impress her he continued to admire the more obvious things about the room instead of the mysteriousness of the place.
A large crystal candelabrum hung above them, giving the room a sophisticated ambience while below their feet laid an intricately designed rug with colors of crimson red and rich gold. Dusty shelves lined the olive walls with rows of thick books cramped together, and beside those shelves hung old deteriorating paintings of important men they couldn’t name. In front of the rooms massive window stood a great oak desk occupied with rolls of scribble-ridden parched paper, and behind the mess was a lofty chair that beckoned Billie and Adrienne’s derrière’s to fill it.
Billie continued to back up taking in the entire room, until he suddenly ran into something hard and sharp that seemed to be protruding out of the wall. Nearly jumping out of his skin and gasping from the unexpected collision that scratched the top of his head, he turned around swiftly and expectant of something paranormal, completely losing his cool and receiving a laugh from his wife.
“Shit,” he sighed, catching his breath and ignoring Adrienne’s snickering. “I forgot how giant this fire place was.”
There sat their only source of warmth situated in the western corner of the study, bare and unused. It should’ve been known as the grandest fire place known to man. It stood six feet tall and was carved out of pure white marble with gold lining along its detailed moldings. To complete the magnificent piece, two life-size lions stood at either side of it, baring their sharp teeth and claws, their fierce eyes real rubies.
Billie, still spooked and unsure about the room, decided he was tired of playing the tough man role and downsized himself to his apprehensive mode again, sitting down on the edge of the fire place and biting his nails. Adrienne was still jeering at him with her smile, snorts escaping it, but was interrupted when she abruptly sneezed.
The room was disgustingly filthy after years of vacancy. Spiders had taken over the joint, weaving webs of silk in every single corner, nook and cranny. Dust had followed the arachnids, trailing along its powdery substance on all of the reachable surfaces. Cleaning this place would be a hefty job, as well as warming it up.
Knowing that they would have to get a move on with fixing up the study so it was actually bearable to stay in, away from the cold and the dustiness, Adrienne began issuing orders.
“Alright, you go out and gather the fire wood outside while I start cleaning up. And please put on something warmer before you get a cold,” she told him, noticing he was shivering in his thin clothing, goose-bumps lining his tattooed arms and short legs.
“I don’t understand why you dress like that in the middle of winter. If you get a cold, you’re not sleeping with me!” she warned him, getting bitchy again. It wouldn’t be the first time she kicked him out of bed due to something he did that she thought was stupid. It actually happened on numerous occasions now for a reason he was unaware of.
Rolling his eyes the way his sons did when they were to do chores, he strode off to tend to his duties, thankful to get out of the eerie study. As soon as he walked out and into the hallway though, an immediate feeling of comfort washed over him. Weird, he thought. He stopped in his tracks and stared back at the half open door that showed the dark study that now withheld his secluded wife. Adrienne was busying herself amongst the book shelves, already dusting away and humming the tune of one of her favorite songs. Billie shrugged and continued, his toes becoming numb.
After about 15 minutes of his absence, he appeared at the doorway of the study dressed in attire unfit for a male.
“I guess I wasn’t really paying attention when I packed,” he said to the floor, shuffling his feet that were now stuffed inside a pair of high heeled and pointed ankle boots. “I packed summer clothing instead,” he admitted, sounding blatantly embarrassed.
Adrienne turned away from her cleaning and blinked at her currently girlish husband, not exactly knowing what to say. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she looked at him wearing her violet sweater, Kelly green scarf, leopard print cloak and hot pink beanie. She was really surprised he actually managed to fit himself in all this.
“Tre would be so turned on,” she finally said.