The Red Room

It is time once again for Theme Thursday.  This week the theme is RED.  When I read that it was RED this story came to mind.  It is what I think of evertime I see RED.  Well that and the RED room from Twin Peaks.  What?  You don't remember Twin Peaks?  Go Hulu or Netflix it.  Anyway when you finish my take on RED then go over to Theme Thursday and read the other writers take on the color RED.

He was handsome and mysterious looking. He leaned over the counter to show her the heart shaped charm on the long gold chain. “Is this what you were looking for” he asked as he laid the chain over her hand. She picked it up and ran the chain through her fingers and looked up at him. “This is perfect. She will love it” she stated as she looked through her eyelashes at him.

He turned to get a box from the other counter. She took in the length of the man. He was tall, dark and handsome. He wore a silky white shirt open just enough to reveal a gold chain with some type of symbol on it. His black silk trousers formed to him as he gracefully moved across the room. He spoke in a low whisper “I’ll wrap it up for you. Do you have dinner plans?”

She blushed and looked down at her hands and back up into his mesmerizing onyx eyes “I don’t think so.” Where had that come from? She was certain she had told her roommate they would go somewhere but for the life of her she couldn’t remember where. “I guess I’m free.” She was thrilled at the invitation. Each time he had accidently touched her it was if he were electric charged. “What time would you like me to meet you” she asked.

He tied the bow on the package and placed the box in the bag “how about now?” He crossed the small space of the jewelry shop and turned the sign to “CLOSED”. He turned off the lights and finished locking the cabinets. “You will need to go out this way with me” he whispered as he guided her through the back of the store.

Once again she felt the charge travel up her back. She stopped at her car and started to put the key in the lock when his hand covered hers “No,” he urged “you ride with me.” He walked her to the passenger side of his big black Mercedes and opened the door. She hesitated a moment but he urged her into the crimson red leather interior. Once she was settled in he closed the door and slid in behind the wheel. “You don’t mind if we make one stop” he queried with a smile.

She did mind, this didn’t feel right, but that smile just melted her resolve. “No that will be fine.” He patted her hand and maneuvered the vehicle onto the highway and accelerated heavily. She watched the city fly past her window and she became uneasy. This felt wrong. She did not know this man. She had walked into his shop just an hour earlier and now she was in his car hurtling swiftly through the city. This went against everything she believed. She had been brought up to not talk to strangers. Her daddy had preached to her against getting into a stranger’s car. She could hear his voice in the back of her head “what do you know about this man? Who is he? Where is he from?” She shook her head and turned to look at him. He smiled and everything melted away.

He drove deftly and efficiently taking moments to glance over at her. He exited the freeway and turned onto the country road. “I hope you don’t mind but where I need to go is a little ways out of the city.” Then he turned off onto another country road taking her farther from safety.

She looked out the window and realized that they were in a little town just far enough away from the city that she could not call a taxi. She watched as he confidently turned down a residential street and pulled into a driveway in front of a Victorian house. “Here we are” he announced. She looked around and thought, where? He opened her door and helped her from the vehicle. He guided her up the steps and unlocked the door. “Why are we here” she asked as he guided her into the foyer.

“I would like to change my clothes and grab a jacket” he could tell she was a bit nervous. “Let me make us some drinks and then I’ll get changed” he told her in a reassuring tone. He walked her over to the big red velvet sofa and she sat down. He kissed her on the cheek and said “lovely, simply lovely.”

She watched as he glided out of the room. She looked around at the crimson red curtains that surrounded the room. She looked at the gargoyles perched on top of a heavy mahogany armoire in the corner of the room. This didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel comfortable. “Oh, stop being silly” she told herself. “He’s just a nice guy with a really gaudy living room. It’s probably his grandmother’s house or something.”

He appeared from what seemed thin air and handed her a tall glass with crimson liquid. “Wow, you must really like red” she said as she took the glass. “What is this?” He smiled and said “it’s my own concoction. It is cherry vodka, in cherry juice with a splash of lime. I find it refreshing.” He sat his glass on the table and turned towards a heavy carved door “now, if you will excuse me I will go get changed. Drink up and I’ll be back momentarily to join you.”

She picked up the glass and took a sip. It was good and it was refreshing. She was a little nervous and thought that maybe what she needed was just a sip or two of liquid courage. She sat the glass down and began to look at the magazines on the table but her eyes couldn’t and wouldn’t focus. She looked toward the carved door; it seemed to be made of water. She looked at the lamp and it seemed to be dancing across the table and then she saw nothing. She felt nothing.

Her eyes fluttered and her head was swimming. She heard some type of singing or praying. “Oh my GOD! I’m dead! Those are angels singing” she thought as she struggled to open her eyes. She realized it was more chanting than singing. She felt cold “maybe I’m not dead. Maybe I fell asleep at church.” She concentrated on opening her eyes. She saw a sliver of light and then she tried to focus. There were demons and cherubs battling all around her. There were serpents and angels wrapped in passionate embraces. She tried to turn over and realized her hands and feet were bound. She struggled to get free and all the while she heard that damnable chanting. She tried to lift her head but it weighed a ton. She finally managed to turn it to the side. She tried to scream but nothing came out.

Standing around the ornately carved bed were robed figures. There on the wall was a pentagram and sitting at the end of the bed in a crimson red robe was the handsome jeweler.


You know I'm hungry for pie now.