Fiction On The Odyssey, 'Cherry Red'
Miriam takes a seat next to Bridget who offers her a soft smile with her cherry red lips, but something about her eyes makes Miriam shiver.
Miriam's heels click on the bricks that lay in front of the Davis mansion as she presses a finger into the gold doorbell button. Moments later the wooden doors swing open revealing the Davis' butler, Alfred Belvedere.
"Mrs. DuBois, how do you do? May I take your coat?" Alfred asks, holding his clothed hand out to Miriam.
"Thank you, Alfred." Miriam slips the heavy fur off of her shoulders and passes it over to Alfred's waiting hand. Alfred then leads Miriam into the parlor where Bridget Davis is explaining the days' activities.
"Miriam just in time! Ladies, we're going to change into our spa clothes. Then we'll go straight into manicures and pedicures. Alfred will start the endless mimosas shortly after that. Then we'll have our hair wraps while we get our facials done. After facials, we'll have the massages for our finale." Once Bridget is done explaining the details of the day, she leads everyone upstairs where they can change. Miriam is pulling on her satin dress when she overhears Bridget confiding in Cynthia Butler.
"Can you believe that Rosemary Wilson had the audacity to say that my Barry is dead? I overheard her at Miriam's Easter party last weekend, and I was so shocked! How could she spread such rumors? And about one of her closest friends!" Bridget's voice becomes shrill the more she speaks. Miriam shakes her head at the story Bridget is spewing out because it's almost as if she can't find anything else to talk about. The rumors of Barry Davis have been circulating the upper-class friend groups for about two weeks now.
The high-class friend group consists of Charles and Rosemary Wilson, Miriam and Alexandre DuBois, Barry and Bridget Davis, and Glenn and Cynthia Butler. All of the men work together in a corporate office that was once owned by Barry's father. Since all of the men work together, all of their wives slowly became friends, and now they're inseparable. And it's also how the rumors spread so quickly.
It started when Charles Wilson confided in his wife, Rosemary, that Barry Davis hadn't been to work in two days. Rosemary confronted Bridget about her missing husband, but Bridget only said that Barry had been terribly ill and she had no idea how long it would take for him to recover. Then three days later at Cynthia and Glenn Butler's brunch, Cynthia slipped up and mentioned Lynn Bell. Lynn is the gorgeous receptionist from the men's office, who was rumored to be having an affair. This caused Bridget to lose her cool and storm home. The ladies hadn't met again until Miriam's Easter soiree two weeks ago.
Miriam finishes with dressing so she decides to wander about the home. Since the Davis' were the richest of everyone in their small community, the home is massive. Many of the rooms have never been seen before by much of the friend group. Miriam walks into the master bedroom out of curiosity. The room is massive. A cherry wood dresser sits to the left of the door. In the middle of the room is a massive, plush bed draped in a velvet red duvet. In the middle of the bed a shiny, Colt Commander is sitting in it's carrying case. Miriam takes a step closer, blinking, completely unsure if her eyes have played a trick on her. Upon a closer look, she sees that her eyes were right. The gun sparkles in the light from the crystal chandelier.
"Miriam! It's time for manicures!" Bridget's shrill voice rings through the house. Miriam jumps at Bridget's voice, scared that she's been caught in the act of invading Bridget's privacy. Miriam shakes her head and scurries down the stairs to join the ladies in the parlor where they are all sipping on fresh mimosas. Miriam takes a seat next to Bridget who offers her a soft smile with her cherry red lips, but something about her eyes makes Miriam shiver.
"So Bridget, where's Barry?" Rosemary asks, causing everyone to sneak a glance at Bridget. She just smiles as she takes a slow sip of her mimosa, red lipstick staining the clear glass.
"Barry is on a work trip. Didn't Charles tell you, Rosemary?" Miriam stifles a chuckle at Bridget's condescending tone. Rosemary doesn't speak again, but Bridget's tone doesn't stop more prying from the other women.
"Glenn never told me anything about a company trip." Cynthia chimes in, "I mean Barry is their partner. Wouldn't he have mentioned it to his partners?"
"Ladies, Barry is a successful businessman. He doesn't have to tell his partners everything he does." Bridget dodges the subject of her husband once more as she motions with her cherry red nails for Alfred to bring her another mimosa. Time passes and the women immerse themselves in the spa treatment being provided to them. While they're getting their facials, Rosemary pipes up once more.
"Charles told me the other day that there are new rumors about that Lynn Bell girl."
"Glenn told me the same thing! They're saying she's pregnant, but the father is nowhere to be found." Cynthia adds.
"Oh for heaven's sake ladies! Have you no class? You've become such gossips!" Bridget shouts. Bridget's shrill voice causes everyone to digress, however lips are pursed and eyes roll. Miriam takes a sip of her mimosa, sneaking a glance at Bridget's face. She's tense, but her eyes exude worry. Could it be that Bridget is covering something up? Does it have something to do with the gun on the bed? It's no secret that Barry Davis collects guns, but he has always been notorious for keeping them in his safe, it's very unlike him to leave his guns laying around.
Just then a loud banging pulls Miriam from her thoughts and echoes through the house causing the ladies to jump. Everyone falls silent as Bridget pulls on her extravagant cherry red robe, adorned with fur at the trim and scurries from the parlor. The ladies begin to gossip.
"I bet you it has something to do with her missing husband," Cynthia states, her voice callous. Rosemary laughs heartily, nearly choking on her mimosa.
"I'm sure it is. The police are probably on his case for not being there for his pregnant mistress." Bridget lets out a blood-curdling scream from the foyer causing all of the ladies to run to her aid.
"Bridget! What's the news?" Miriam asks, kneeling beside Bridget who is on her knees, clutching an official looking envelope. Bridget cries, passing the envelope to Miriam. Miriam takes the envelope and reads the contents inside. It's a police report describing a crime scene in which Barry Davis was found at a shabby hotel, forty-five minutes from town, with a bullet hole through his head. Next to the wound was cherry red lipstick in the shape of a kiss.
