“The Loving Place” (StoryADay Challenge/Day 7)

(StoryADay Challenge - Day 7)

THE PROMPT: (by Julia Elliott, who’s writing has appeared in Tin House, The Georgia Review, Conjunctions, The New York Times, Granta online, and other publications.)

Choose two very different and seemingly incompatible genres and think about how you might combine them to create an interesting piece of fiction.

Sketch out a plan for a longer story or experiment with a single scene for a story.

*

“The Loving Place”

Casey barged into the bedroom. 

"Can you hurry up and get dressed, we're going to be late. My uncle hates when family's late for dinner." She left, slamming the door close.

She was wearing her favorite black dress, the strapless one with the thigh-high slit; the one that makes her feel like the fourth member of Destiny's Child. Tonight she's wearing the red-bottom heels too. It's a fitting occasion: the world is ending. 

Me, a black tuxedo, crisp white shirt, black bowtie. Black suede loafers, no socks. A man should never be afraid to show some ankle. And if the world is ending as they say it is, I want to look good and be extremely comfortable when I go out. 

Casey's uncle, Barney Drummond is an oil tycoon. He inherited the family business, after both of Casey's parents died in a tragic boating accident off the coast of São Paulo, Brazil. Casey was only six years old at the time. Barney became her legal guardian and practically raised her as his own, along with the other Drummond children.

The funny thing about the world ending in a few hours is no one gives a damn how much money anyone has. More important things begin to crystallize, like spending time with loved ones. 

"Babe, how do I look?" I said, stepping into the living room, putting in the second cufflink.

"You look like the guy I want to be next to when the world ends," she said, tiptoeing to kiss me.

* * *

Dinner at the Drummond Estate was delicious. It always is. The spread was immaculate. The Drummonds are majority investors in a chain of three-star Michelin restaurants called El Lugar Amoroso (“The Loving Place”)They know food very well.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Mr. Drummond said, standing up holding his sixth glass of wine. “I’ve seen some of the worst things a human being should ever see with their own two eyes.”

Mr. Drummond was a trained sniper in the war. Casey told me he doesn’t like to speak about it. 

“The w-world ends tonight,” he raised his glass higher. A tear streamed down his right eye. “I don’t want to die, but the sins of a man can’t be easily washed off.”

“Oh Barney,” Mrs. Drummond said, taking the wine glass from him. “That’s enough for you. Let’s go.”

“No!” Mr. Drummond said. “I’m not done yet sweetie. Let me talk. You know I dislike when you do that.”

Mrs. Drummond rolled her eyes and went back to her seat at the table.

“Greed has led to the collapse of this country. Greed had led to wars, destruction and death. The greed for political power is why the world ends tonight. And I just want to thank everyone for being here, especially my children, Barney jr., Lisa, Harry and Casey. The new ritual will commence shortly. Cheers everyone.”

Everyone clapped, except for me.

“What ritual?” I said to Casey.

“It’s no big deal,” she said. “It’ll be fast.”

I removed my bowtie. The formality of the evening has passed. I excused myself and went to the restroom. Four glasses of wine zipped through me. I opened the bathroom door and Mr. Drummond was nose-to-nose with me.

“We look forward to you joining in our new ritual tonight Mark. It’ll be the release we all need,” he said.

I laughed awkwardly, “Thanks Mr. Drummond, for always being inviting of me.”

“A friend of Casey is a friend of ours,” he said.

He never accepted me as her boyfriend, only her friend. I smiled and slipped past him, heading back to the dining room.

“Everyone, your attention please, the time has come. Please follow me onto the patio,” Mrs. Drummond announced.

The Drummond Estate is nestled comfortably in Atherton, California. Their sprawling patio overlooked their property accompanied by a beautiful skyline. The nearest neighbor was over ten kilometers away. On the patio I stood next to Casey. Beside Casey was Mrs. Drummond, Barney jr., Lisa, Harry and Mr. Drummond. 

“Get a good look at the skyline. Beautiful isn’t it? I want all of you to hold hands, close your eyes and just be still in this moment,” Mr. Drummond said, fighting back tears.

I felt Casey’s hand reach for mine. I turned to look at the others, all their eyes closed. Mr. Drummond stepped out of line, his back to me, and quietly opened a hatch door and bent to pick something up. In his arms was a machine gun. Quickly, I turned my head forward and closed my eyes. I heard Mr. Drummond cock the machine gun. I let go of Casey’s hand and dropped to the floor. With rapid succession all of their heads were propelled with bullets. Blood splattered the patio tiles like a popped water balloon. I didn’t have to look twice, I knew they were all dead. I got off the floor and ran back inside breathing heavily.

All I could hear was Mr. Drummond’s scream. “Mark!”

 I never looked back.

The End

**This is a work of fiction. Names. characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.