Bonfire and Vanity Part 2

Olivia takes a deep breath and walks out of the wardrobe then into the corridor and back down the stairs turning right to a grand living room with a small grand piano, 2 cream sofas and a large wooden coffee table her husband is standing at a very big Hidden bar. 

The doors push back into it so it can be hidden.

 He grabs a glass and pulls the ice bucket close to him. He takes the lid off to put ice in his glass grabbing hold of a large bottle of brandy and  pours it into the glass to where it's just beneath half a glass. Olivia stands there with her hands in her pockets staring at him  "hard day?” Jake to Olivia “you could say that!” 

Olivia's husband turns around and stares at her. Where have you been all day? ok someone's in a crabby mood! Olivia ignores him and just carries on doing what she is doing. She walks over and grabs her magazines and sits down on one of the sofas moving some of the pillows.

Her husband yells at her. I asked you a question: Where have you been all day?  Olivia looks up at him staring at him  “what is your problem?”   

Olivia's husband Jake looks back at her “well for starters, I thought you were coming up to see me today?  Olivia looked at him again with a blank stare

“I told you if my meeting ran over I won't be able to make it! Jake looks furious  “what?!”  Olivia doesn't understand.So we'll just play this game shall we?  Olivia starts looking angry "for Christ's sake Jake, grow up! Jake walks towards her “what did you say?" Olivia looks at him not backing down “you heard me!” Jake backs off and Olivia knows he'looking for a fight “What's for dinner?”   Olivia is confused about what just happened. Olivia stands up “So you bark at me because I didn't come up to see you today and now

all you ask me is what's for dinner? “What do you want for dinner, Jake?”

Olivia has become angry at the fact that her husband hasn't even asked her how her day was. Olivia sits back down, as she sits she knows there's always about Jake never about Olivia. Olivia looks at Jake "we are having chicken!" "Is chicken alright for you Jake?" She is now being facetious in her manner and tone of her voice.  Jake swung around and looked at her “I've had a hard day! Olivia gives him a dirty look “well I think I knew that as you walked through the door?”  "I think everyday when you come through the door you've had a bad day!" Olivia had enough "Why don't you take a couple of days off?" He walks back up to the drinks cabinet and pours himself another large drink. “So you gonna tell me how much I'm drinking?” Olivia looks at Jake with a grin “I don't give a shit, what you do! If you want to get drunk, so be it! you're going to be the one, who will have to go to

work with a headache and hangover. Olivia looks

back at Jake again. Is there anything you would like to talk to me about? Maybe I can help? Jake replied sarcastically "No!, not really!" "Olivia rolls her eyes at him “Ok I'll go check on dinner!"”  Olivia is fuming, she's sick and tired of Jake coming home like this. Never “Hello, how was your day?” He never kisses her anymore? Olivia walks through the door and goes back to ask Jake a question but he is no longer in the room.  Olivia turns back to go towards the kitchen. The kitchen is in disarray at the moment one end of the kitchen has plastic all around it.  As she walks

into the kitchen one of the servants can hear her walk in “Ms Anderson “The roast chicken is almost done”  I've done some vegetables and mashed potatoes, “what would you like any dessert?” “ Is there any lemon meringue still in the fridge?” “ Yes ma’am” Olivia turns to walk back to the living room. “She stops “Maybe I'll have some of that”. “Do you know if Mr Anderson

is going to be eating in the dining room?” “I don’t know?” Olivia stops and turns around to speak to martha” I think I will have mine in the living room and I'll put some TV on and then I have a nice hot bath. After dinner, you can  have yourself an early night! Thank you Ms olivia! Martha is excited to go home early.

Olivia turns around and walks out of the kitchen back into the living room, she grabs hold of the remote to the TV to try and find something to watch. As she does most nights. She decides to go back upstairs to change so she takes off her shoes and then carries them up the stairs with her. She walks back into her bedroom of the big bed there is a huge big chest of drawers she opens one of the drawers and finds a pair of jogging bottoms and v -neck top, she grabbed her slippers on the side of the bed as she goes to walk out of the room she opens a cupboard door pressing it to reveal dressing gowns behind it  As she puts her hand in she grabs hold her favorite cardigan. Olivia looks at it. She really must get a new one but she has had it for years. It's just long enough to snuggle up in and watch TV when it's a little bit cold. She closes her bedroom door and puts all the things on her bed as she sits there she starts to cry.  Olivia wiped her tears and stood up, finished getting undressed. She puts her slippers on, she grabs her book from the side of the bed, she opens the door and starts walking back down. She can hear Jake in his office screaming down his phone as normal. She ignores him and carries on back to her living room as she walks in, Martha is just walking in with a tray for the food. "Thank you Martha!"  "Would you like me to take Mr Anderson dinner to him?” "Yes! please Martha!" Martha smiles at Olivia, "of course Ms Anderson I will let him know." Martha grabs hold of the blanket and puts it across Ms Olivia's legs. "Thank you, Martha!" "Will that'll be all for tonight?" “Yes Martha, you get home” Martha returns to the kitchen. Martha walks towards or the plastic sheeting of the other side of the kitchen down a corridor towards a large room at the front of the house and marks on the glass pane of the door where new glass has been put in. Martha Knocks on the door "come in" Martha opens the door "good evening Mr Anderson "I was wondering if you would like your dinner now."  "I just have to finish this call and then I'll sort it out!" “very well Mr Anderson, I've left it in the oven for you sir!”  “Mrs ANDERSON said I could go early, is there anything else you would like before I leave?” “That will be all, thank you Martha!” Jake doesn't even look at Martha. Martha turns around and walks towards the doors, she turns around and closes them as she faces the doors. She looks at Jake staring out of the window. She walks back towards the kitchen disappearing around the corner.

she smiles at the TV, when the character trips and falls over and giggles to herself. As she sits and eats watching TV she hears the front door open and shut. She looks up and sees Jake’s headlights turn on and he drives off. An email comes through on her phone making her jump. She picks up her phone 

Priority To Olivia  

From Frank Robinson

Need to see you asap!!

Let know when you can make it

Thanks Frank

Olivia looks at the message she has had a long day. She will sort it out tomorrow. She finishes eating her meal and watching TV. Olivia sits on the sofa for an hour. She looks at her tray and gets up, takes her tray into the kitchen, puts the leftovers in the bin.  She grabs a fork out of the draw. She grabs the pie and reheats it in the microwave. As she waits she puts the dishes in the dishwasher, she turns the kettle on to make a pot of tea to take to bed. 

She puts everything on a tray and takes it to the dumbwaiter, pushing the button to turn the lights off. She walks towards the stairs grabbing her phone and her book from the living room, she stops and grabs her work bags. She starts climbing the stairs. She's so tired she feels heavy and drained from the long day.  She takes her things to her bedroom and turns on the TV to the news. She walks out of her room, turns right where the dumb waiter and pushes the button waiting for the food and her tea. As she stands there she still goes over tonight with Jake. He is becoming a lot more distant lately, she puts it down to work as they are both very busy at the moment. Olivia walks back to her room, closing her door.

Bonfire And Vanity

 

I got the idea for this story set in New York from a mini series called The Bonfire of Destiny on netflix.

Bonfire And Vanity 

In a nice area of the city the sun is shining, a row of homes is shown in the distance, The lawns manicured and trimmed to perfection. As Olivia drives down the road, she looks down at each of the houses, she is dressed in a white blouse, expensive sunglasses. She has an expensive watch on her left arm with 2 gold bracelets on each side of her watch. As she holds onto the steering wheel,she turns and pulls up to a gated home. Olivia drives up putting a code into the machine and the gates start swinging open. She drives down the long drive towards a white mansion, It’s one the biggest homes on the street. As she drives up to the house she parks the car in front of 2 very big doors to the front of the house.She turns the car off,takes a long look at the house, holds her head and just stares. She takes her seatbelt off and grabs her keys pushing the button to open the trunk. She grabs her designer handbag. She steps out of the car wearing brown wide leg trousers and brown boots. She walks to the back of the car taking some bags from the trunk with designer names on them. She pushes a button and walks up the steps to the front door. The trunk in the distance is slowly closing.  

Her housekeeper sees her on the camera, walks to the door and opens it for her to go through. Thank you Martha, could you get some tea sent to my room please! Yes Mrs Anderson! She walks the other way. Olivia walks up the White and black stairs, she holds on to the wrought iron banister as gets to the top of stairs she turns left down a long cream corridor there is a room with a very large wooden bed with matching furniture, ornate rug with oriental design, the plain carpet to make the rug stand out even more. The two double doors leading out to a terrace turn left to a very large bathroom turning left again into a walk-in wardrobe. All her handbags and clothes are neatly hung up in color order. Olivia puts her bags on a long gray marble vanity with a large gold antique mirror, all her makeup lined up on decorative mirrored storage with her perfume bottles arranged on it. It gives a 1920's feel. A large silver hand mirror laying on a wooden tray with a 3 glass section tray with rings and earrings in it. 

Olivia walks to the back of the walk-in wardrobe. She pushes the bookcase, it opens as a door and she turns the light on. Behind the door there is another section of her wardrobe, long items, winter coats and evening dresses. She moves to the back of the room. Where there are quite a few pieces of designer luggage on the back shelving unit lined up in size order.  Olivia grabs hold of the largest luggage case she has on the floor and as she walks back into the main wardrobe she opens it. she starts going through her clothes taking out jackets, trousers, blouses and hanging them on a rail that is next to her. She starts looking at all her clothes individually. She grabs piece by piece looking at them hanging them then back on the rail of the wardrobe after she has finished organizing them.  She moves down pulling the rail with her and starts again. she moves further down going through all her coats she can't decide between the two that she has so she hangs them both on the hanging rail. She starts grabbing hold of some of the clothes that are on the hanging rail and starts packing them in the suitcase as soon as she sees that she has enough space to put some more clothes on. She carries on going through the rest of her clothes. She comes across a couple of dresses that she doesn't want and throws them over an armchair in the walk-in wardrobe. She carries on all the way to the back to where the door is still open. She walks back into that room and grabs the next available piece of luggage she sets it on the floor and goes and grabs some of the coats from the back and hangs them on the empty Rail.  Olivia stares at all the clothes that she has. She has her hands on her hips not understanding why one person would need so many clothes. She starts packing the other suitcase and turns and goes and grabs another one as she goes to walk by she sees an old coat that she no longer wants, as she walks to the front of the window when a car door is heard slamming.  She looks out of the window to see her husband walking up to the front door. Olivia stands there for a moment looking to grab hold of the suitcases and put some back into the other side of the walk-in wardrobe and closes the door.

Olivia looks in the mirror at herself. She grabs a tissue and wipes off the lipstick that she has on. She grabs one of her lip balms and reapplies it. She moves her lips together, puts her hand through her hair and then grabs the brush to brush it. She stares for a moment in the mirror at herself. She's thinking to herself that she is older and could have something done with the Wrinkles but she likes the way she looks.