Wallace Nutt and the Linen Closet Bellhop

An Old Bed, A New Guest, and Grilled Cheese

    Much to his dismay, Wallace quickly discovered three things about the bed: it smelled moldy, and like many other things in the house, it creaked softly as he sat on it. And after he threw back the top cover, he realized the yellowed sheets underneath were probably as old as the bed itself. So he made that his first order of business: he pulled out his own bed sheets from the moving box and replaced the old, antiquated ones with his own. They didn't fit very well, but he didn't care – at least they were clean and from this century. Satisfied, he looked around the rest of the room. A large dresser occupied one far corner of the room, just beside the window. Two of  the drawers had been left open, and a pad of yellowed writing paper sat on the ground nearby. To the right of the dresser was the door to the bathroom, and, pushing it open, Wallace was happy to see an old, clawed-foot bathtub inside. The gleaming black and white ceramic tiles gave the floor a chessboard appearance, and for a moment, Wallace imagined himself as the knight, moving two squares up and one to the left, and quietly whispered 'checkmate'. Then he walked over to the tub and bent over to get a better look at the clawed feet.

    Ding!

    He's come back?  Wallace thought.

    It was faint, but he could still clearly make it out. He cautiously returned to the room went out into the middle of the bedroom and listened again.

    Ding!

    This time, it was a little louder. He walked to the door and pressed his ear against it. It sounded like it was coming from out in the hallway.

At that moment a knock on the other side almost made his heart stop.

    "Hey Wall, are you coming down for something to eat?" Wendy asked from the other side. For a moment, Wallace could say nothing. His heart was suddenly beating fast.

    "Yeah, I'll be down in a few minutes. Gimme a second", he finally managed.

    "Everything OK? You sound like you've been working out" she said, laughing. Wallace managed an uneasy laugh of his own, and soon his was mom was retreating back downstairs.

    Wallace opened the door and stepped out of his room, then proceeded down the dimly lit hallway to the door where he had seen the bellhop earlier. Wallace paused and listened carefully, holding his breath.

    Hearing nothing inside, he grasped the door handle, turned it, and slowly pushed the door open. The room was just as he had left it earlier. Sunlight streamed through a narrow slit in the curtains, leaving a bright sliver of light on the floor. He stepped further inside.

Tap-tap-tap...

     Wallace quickly turned to his left and was shocked to see an older man, probably in his seventies, seated on a black leather chair (that was most definitely not there earlier) beside the linen closet door. He appeared to be lost in thought and took no notice of Wallace at first. He wore a dark, pin-stripped suit and a puffy, bright red bow tie. A black bowler hat sat neatly on his head. He continued tapping on the notepad, and just as Wallace started to back away to leave, the man cleared his throat loudly.

    "I'd offer you the chair", he said roughly, "if my legs weren't so sore. It shouldn't be long now, I imagine. Reginald is often late. He shook his head and scowled a little. "The vagaries of age, I'm afraid."

    Wallace immediately recognized the name and oddly felt a bit more at ease.

    Without intending to, Wallace lingered. Either the man or the room itself now smelled of sweet pipe smoke and was just a tiny bit hazy.

    "First time? The man continued, speaking with a faint accent. Wallace couldn't place it. After a moment, the man looked up and regarded Wallace casually. Wallace noted his thick, black eyebrows. His eyes were green and very sharp, but not unfriendly. He continued looking at Wallace, as though waiting for an answer.