This Week's Prompt:
The Manor House
by 
“I can’t believe we’re here!” Clara gushed, gazing at the manor house. Its front steps were preceded by carefully-laid stone, centered around a magnificent fountain. Tourists bustled around eagerly with their cameras and visitor pamphlets as the two sisters joined them.
“It says here that tours start every hour in the Grand Gallery,” said Kelly, holding up the guidebook. Clara was too busy admiring the variety of flowers that adorned the area, from the climbing vines near the elegant windows to the lush bushes around the stone path. So Kelly went back to her reading, but with a smile. It was nice to see that the manor was already living up to Clara’s expectations.
After a brief distraction by a duck swimming in the fountain, the sisters quickly made their way inside. As they mounted the marble stairs, Clara’s excitement became tangible, an emanation of joy that merged with the curiosity of the other tourists.
My continuation:
Clara was widowed a year earlier. She got plenty in life insurance after her dear husband's death and would never have to worry about money again, but she would much rather still have Eddie in her life.
Kelly's story differed radically from her twin's. Whenever she wasn't schlepping her own four kids back and forth to practices, lessons, games, concerts, practice tests, tutoring sessions, jobs, driving lessons, college tours and the like, she was looking over prospects on dating sites. Kelly lost her husband too, but not to the grim reaper. HER hubby took off with another woman! It galled her that The Ex was having a fine old time with his chickie, and she was stuck with their rotten kids day after day. Not long ago, on a night when she had imbibed a bit too many brews and the girl group was talking about husbands, Kelly shocked them all by slurring out "No. No! It's GOOD when they DIE!"
The Ex had reluctantly agreed to deal with Kelly's and his brats for the afternoon. A bit of time in a stately manor house would either offer up some nice fantasies or leave Kelly even more anxious to replace his sorry ass. For the moment, both of the sisters were smiling and enjoying the other's company. The incident with the duck was particularly amusing and they laughed about it as they made their way up the majestic stairs and into the Grand Gallery.
"Did you see his face?!" Clara gleefully whispered to Kelly. "We were the only people who even noticed!"
"Shhh, shh, here he comes! He's cute! Watch and learn how it's done, sister." Kelly had always been the one to get the guys. Clara never dared flirt in public and was already mortified by whatever it was Kelly was about to do. Kelly confidently tucked in a few stray hairs, stopped to "tie" her shoes, then popped up into a provocative and preposterous pose, a definite Bend and Snap straight out of "Legally Blonde".
He noticed. He smiled. He was coming over. Kelly held the pose.
The Bend had gone well enough, a simple and graceful presentation of Kelly's spanxxed rump as she brushed a Manolo Blahnik pump with magenta fingernails. Then she Snapped to standing, her magenta fingernails coming to rest five in each armpit, her elbows raised like she was about to take flight. Her face and torso were turned slightly to her left on her ballerina's neck and she was looking straight at the cute guy coming her way.
Looking. And grimacing.
It wasn't until many years later, when Clara and the cute guy had been married for twenty years that Kelly could finally live down the embarrassment of that moment - she had wrenched her back with her life's last Bend and Snap and been carried off in an ambulance. The Ex would have laughed if he hadn't been responsible for the kids for the next month while Kelly recovered.
This is my entry to https://steempeak.com/wewrite/@freewritehouse/we-write-10-the-manor-house-last-week-s-winners-announced Come wewrite with us! 5 sbi for two lucky winners, and last week several entries caught some NICE upvotes!
Image: https://pixabay.com/es/photos/bienes-manor-propiedad-casa-rural-3571555/
