Free Write - Lamp Shades

 

The café across from the French 13th century church was in the sun, but a breeze kept it from being too hot. Today's prompt came from Julia, who sent the photo from Geneva where she did her Free Write. D-L turned the prompt upside down just because.

Julia's Free Write

It was a holiday weekend, the sun was shining and when good friends called, lunch was suggested. 

Meeting in a local restaurant they had the back-behind-the-bar space to themselves.

Conversation and water flowed, the laughter light and frequent.

Topics of discussion were varied with emphasis on the depth of knowledge one of the group possessed.

The noise – not of fellow diners but of the barista and the coffee machine behind them almost became too much – the waitress on the other hand attentive and smiling.

As they all stood after four hours of pure enjoyment, the men in the party decided to “look up skirts”.  Another good laugh when we realized that indeed all the lamps on the ceiling had been turned into a pair of white legs with a red skirt!

 Julia has written and taken photos and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/

Rick's Free Write 

I had never been in a brothel before.

That I know of.

There was a time when my older brother dragged me into a house that had a ‘reputation.’ But I never saw any woman in a state of undress.

But this place is what I would expect a brothel to look like. Lots of red decoration, the colour of passion. Soft lighting. Moody music. People talking in hushed tones. The occasional giggle or laughter. Heavy on perfume aromas.

And yet, there was no one around. No one I could see. No hostess. No bouncer.

I decided not to call out, but rather to explore. I wandered from what seemed to be the lounge into a small kitchen. No one.

Took the stairs up to the next floor. Several rooms, the doors all shut.

What was that smell?

I tried the handle of one room. Locked.

Tried another. Also locked.

The third handle turned. I slowly opened the door. It was a bedroom. The smell was stronger now.

There were clothes on the floor. The duvet was crumpled on the end of the bed.

And a body sprawled across the width of the mattress.

The blood mattress.

Rick Adams is an aviation journalist and publisher of www.aviationvoices.com, a weekly newsletter reporting the top stories about the airline industry. He is the author of The Robot in the Simulator. AI in Aviation Training.  

D-L's Free Write

Who would have thought that lamps like that were practical. Fran knew the restaurant owner, who had in her opinion, screwy ideas on not just decor but food.

Granted some of the vegetarian meals were good with ingredients -- well who would have thought when the owner went into the woods to collect what appeared on the menu, would work?

Okay. Wild asparagus or bear garlic were not that strange but what the hell was that leaf? She hoped it wasn't poison ivy. 

The only reason she'd agreed to eat at Try Me -- a funny name for a restaurant -- was Sybil, her best friend and the owner's girl friend.

The leaf tasted good. She reached out to touch the upside down red lamp shade, taking up too much space on the table.

"I think you should have Ted cater your anniversary party," Sybil said.

Shit, she thought. What can I do to wiggle out of this tactfully.

D-L,  https://dlnelsonwriter.com, is the author of 15 fiction and three non fiction books. Her 300 Unsung Women, bios of women who battled gender limitations, can be purchased  at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504