FIRE

FIRE

By: Terri Talley Venters

 

“You can bring the crate in here, if you don’t mind,” Barbie Butler said to the mover.

“No problem, Ma’am.” He maneuvered the wooden crate in front of the fireplace in Mrs. Butler’s home.

“Thank you so much for moving this from my husband’s office. I greatly appreciate it.” Barbie handed the man an enormous tip.

“You’re welcome, Ma’am.” He clenched the cash in his sweaty fist and then left the palatial home.

Barbie descended the stairs into the wine cellar. Her eyes scanned her soon-to-be ex-husband’s extensive wine collection. She searched for what appeared like the most expensive bottle of wine. She found a bottle of Fifty-Seven Bordeaux. She figured the oldest bottle also represented the most expensive bottle. She took the stairs back up and uncorked the dusty bottle to let it breathe. Barbie never considered herself an expert in wine, but she’d picked up a few things from Bill over the years.

She started a fire in the enormous fireplace. Tonight felt ceremonious. Tonight Barbie planned to purge Bill Butler from her life. She took a seat in the oversized wing-back chair and watched the fire roar to life. Watching the fresh logs slowly turn to ashes reminded her of her own failed marriage—beginning as a roar of flames and ending with a pile of dirty ashes.

Barbie blamed Bill for the entire mess. His constant infidelity and lies made it impossible to forgive him. She smiled knowing she’d raped him in the divorce. His seven figure paycheck provided a nice alimony payment for the next ten years.

She admired her size four frame and thought she still looked smoking’ hot for her forty-five years. Kickboxing and botox were her two best friends. With half of Bill’s wealth and a point to prove, Barbie couldn’t wait to get back into the meat market of the dating world. She took pride in her new cougar status and hoped to run into Bill with a hot twenty-eight year old on her arm. 

Barbie poured her first glass of wine and put her nose to the glass to inhale the aroma. It smelled divine. She gently swirled the glass in a clockwise motion as she watched the red wine dance along the upper inside of the glass. She stopped swirling and witnessed the legs of the wine slowly slide back down the inside of her glass.

She took her first sip and felt the flavors dance along her taste buds. Then she downed the entire contents in one gulp, just because she knew it would’ve pissed Bill off had he been here to witness such an atrocity. Then she poured herself a second glass.

She slowly flipped the pages of her wedding album and recalled how happy she’d been on her wedding day. She truly loved Bill back then. He acted like such a charmer. He still proved himself charming, but just towards other, much younger women.

Barbie slowly removed the pictures with Bill in them. She’d keep the ones with just her and her family. But she needed to see his face burn. She painstakingly tossed each one into the fire. She smiled as the flames engulfed Bill’s image right before her eyes.

Now for the highlight of tonight’s festivities. She turned her attention to the wooden crate dominating the study. She opened the lid with a crowbar and beheld the antique medieval knight of armor.

The Knight represented an important part of Bill’s family legacy and had remained in his family for generations. He loved the hunk of metal more than anything else in the world. So Barbie found it mandatory to destroy it. She knew this act would hurt him more than anything else. And she needed to hurt him as much as he’d hurt her.

She started to remove the head of the Knight. She planned to set it on the mantle so it could watch her destroy the rest of the body. She planned to take him apart piece by piece, and then throw each one into the fire. She’d drink the rest of the expensive French wine during the process.

She tugged at the Knight’s head. It felt tighter than she had expected. She braced her foot against the Knight’s chest and pulled with all of her might. She felt the helmet give way and it came off into her hands. With one swift motion, the rest of her life changed forever.

The Knight’s head wasn’t hollow. A treasure beyond her wildest dreams filled the antique helmet. Barbie stood in awe as she stared at the diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and gold.