Prompt: Connoisseur of Emotions

Beth-Ann stood in front of the brownstone steps and looked up and down the street. This early on a Sunday morning, there was no one out on this quiet street on Beacon Hill, but the sun had risen, and the guy who’d written down the address had been very clear with his instructions, however reluctantly given.

She shrugged and tucked the paper in her jeans pocket as she climbed the steps and rang the doorbell. Hard to believe this whole brownstone was a single home. She’d never been in one that wasn’t divvied up into apartments, at least one to a floor. She looked up the face of the four story brick façade and noticed a purple pane of glass. She smiled, remembering the walking tour group she’d pickpocketed awhile back. The guide had been explaining about that old glass from England having, what was it? Too much manganese that changed color in the sun. Her grin broadened, thinking that was more chemistry than she remembered from her high school class.

The sound of locks clicking open startled her back to the brownstone door, and she fought a surprising nervousness as the door slowly opened. An old lady, dressed in a long sleeved white blouse and floor length plain back skirt, stood in the door and regarded Beth-Ann for a long moment, saying nothing. Suddenly unsure of what to say, Beth-Ann swallowed once, twice, opened her mouth to introduce herself, then shut it, confused. The old lady raised her eyebrows. With neither a smile nor frown, she said, “Oh, yes, you’ll do. Come in, then.”

Beth-Ann stepped through the door, wondering if she should introduce herself. The lady didn’t seem concerned about her name or why she was here. She thought of the guy who’d given her this address. “You sure?” He’d asked with his face screwed up. She thought he was questioning her, but with a sense of alarm, she wondered if he’d been warning her…

“Come this way,” the old lady said, walking across the foyer without a backward glance. Beth-Ann followed her, her curiosity pushing away her concerns. She’d never been in such a nice place. It looked like something out of a fancy movie, with a chandelier hanging from the two story ceiling, and a curved staircase along two-thirds of the wall. There was an open door to the right, but the lady led Beth-Ann to a hallway opposite the front door, under the stairs. As she reached the stairwell, she saw there were shelves on the back of the steps, filled with different small bottles. A curious display…

They walked into the hall, and Beth-Ann thought she’d never seen anything so wonderful. Both walls seemed recessed, and lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. The old lady walked too quickly for her to read any titles, but she wished she could just stand there and look at every one.

Continued in Part 2...

Dogs in House	Houdini
Time writing	Too damn long
May word count	2,087