Wednesday Writings #15 - Lunchtime

My "Wednesday Writing" posts were initially created as a writing exercise for me to try and keep myself motivated and on track by making sure that I spend at least 30-60 minutes each week (with the follow-up goal to turn it into a daily writing practice).

Over the past few weeks, I've been continuing the same story with a single post each week. To help you catch up with this serialized story, you can use the following table of contents:

1. Morning Machinations
2. Communication Between Friends
3. Daydreaming Decisions
4. Off to the Park
5. Driven
6. Coming Home
7. Revealing Photographs
8. Just a Dream?
9. At the Tower
10. Caught
11. Revelations

A short one this morning with (hopefully) a follow up this afternoon.

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Lunchtime

The girls scanned the oversized hallway as they followed Walter from the library to the dining room. The mansion seemed like something out of a movie. Regal looking portraits hung high up on the walls. Strategically placed tables stood midway between doorways, meticulously and precisely lined with books, plants and other innocuous objects that suggested the kind of subdued lifestyle of the home. The hallway was long and most of the doorways were closed. Through a partially opened one, Gabby caught a glimpse of a room set in pastel green with a small white upright piano in a corner and elegant windows overlooking a patio.

Gabby counted four closed doors and one open door as they walked the long hall towards the rear of the house. Then the hall turned to the right and they continued on. With each additional step they took, the immensity overwhelmed Gabby and pulled her deeper into thought. Walter stopped in front of the second door in the rear hallway and gestured the girls through.

The scene before Gabby was much more casual than she had anticipated, given the impressions gathered from the rest of the house. James and the two thugs sat around a simple oak table in a very average dining room. A single window overlooked an orchard, the leaves on the trees fighting between greens, yellows and orange. An elderly woman appeared from a door at the side of the room, carrying a large platter piled with sandwiches which she set in the middle of the table. She glanced at Gabby and opened her mouth as if to say something, then seemed to think better of it and disappeared back through the door.

"I hope you don't mind eating in this less formal dining room. The cleaners are in there and I saw no reason to disturb them. Besides, this provides us a more casual environment to formalize our plans."

Walter walked to an empty chair at the head of the table and stood, waiting until Julie and Gabby slowly sat before he took his own seat. Seeing the sandwiches quickly reminded Gabby how hungry she was. She'd had a banana when she woke up but she wasn't sure how long it had been since then. It didn't feel like it had been terribly long, but the way her stomach complained, she couldn't be sure.

"What time is it?"

She glanced around the room for a clock but didn't find one. The men at the table stared at her. Julie glanced at her watch then turned to Gabby and held out her arm then glared across the table at Walter. Gabby looked down at the watch, then looked up at Julie, confused.

"I couldn't tell you Gabby. It looks like these guys broke my watch when they 'invited' us her to join them. It's stopped at ten minutes to nine."

Gabby looked back at the watch. The second hand continued to flutter each second but remained in place. The other hands marked out the time. 8:51. Julie unclasped the watch and threw it forcibly at Walter. He flinched slightly as it bounced off his chest and landed in his lap.

"Your bodyguards broke my watch!" She stood and started to shout. "That was my father's watch! His father gave it to him and he gave it to me! That…That…it's all I have…you….you."

Gabby stood and wrapped her arm around Julie's shoulder and pulled her close. Julie turned and buried her head in Gabby's shoulder and started to sob. Gabby stared at Walter, waiting to see what he would do. He just returned her gaze, then a small grin crept across his face. He pulled the watch from his lap and looked at it for a moment then handed it across to James who took a small case from his inside jacket pocket and removed a tiny magnifying glass.

Julie turned her head and glanced back at the scene. She saw James carefully looking at her watch and her breathing grew shallow. Gabby could feel her friend's muscles begin to tense. James pulled out what looked like a screwdriver and brought it close to the watch face. As he did so, a long blue arc of electricity shot from the end of his tool and zapped against the watch, surrounding it with brilliant yellow-white light.