The Daughters of Men

Chapter 4

Samuel Cutler awoke and sat up in bed. He was wearing all white pajamas, a shirt and pants, made entirely of silk. His bed was a little stiff for his liking, but the hotel he had decided to stay in was not the highest quality establishment in Grand Rapids. Stripping out of his pajamas, Samuel stepped into the hotel's ordinary bathtub and took a long, warm shower, using four separate products in his hair, brushing his teeth twice, and shaving his chest, armpits, arms, and legs. Finally, he stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with his own embroidered towel, he grabbed a straight razor from the counter in the bathroom. Wiping the mirror of with his towel, he applied some shaving cream to his face before taking the razor and giving himself a close shave. Wiping his face off, he then grabbed a small case he had been keeping underneath the kitchen sink. Opening it up, he pulled out first a comb and hairspray; he combed his golden hair back, continually spraying it until it was stiff enough for him to consider it done. Returning his tools to their box, he then pulled out three bottles of cologne. The first, which was the color of honey, he took a bit of and rubbed it all over himself, from his lips to his ankles. The second cologne was a dark shade of amber; he sprayed it into the air and walked into the cloud of vanilla-scented perfume. Ignoring the third bottle, he took out a small make-up kit and began to apply an excessive amount of blush, turning his already white face even paler, giving him an appearance of porcelain. Exiting the bathroom, he opened one of the drawers of the room, and pulled out his pre-planned outfit for the day. Silk boxers, followed by his ordinary undershirt. Then came his white dress shirt, which he buttoned up slowly. Pulling on his crème-colored dress pants, he tucked his shirt in before throwing on a white leather belt, complete with a belt buckle made entirely of pearls. Grabbing the vest that matched his pants, he threw it on quickly, making sure to straighten it after getting it buttoned. He then took his bowtie, an eggshell-colored gift from last Christmas, and he fumbled with it slightly before managing to get the knot just right. Snatching the jacket to the suit, he swung it over his shoulders, buttoning the top two of three buttons before walking back over to the dresser. Opening the second drawer, he pulled out a golden watch, and threw it backwards onto his left wrist. Lastly he put on pearl cufflinks onto the sleeves of his jacket. Taking the few short steps back into his bathroom, he took the third bottle and sprayed a large cloud in front of him, walking throw it and back again. Throwing the cologne back into its case, he returned the case to beneath the bathroom sink before making his way out of his room. Stopping at the door of the hotel room, he grabbed his hotel key from the edge of the table that sat next to the door before slipping into his white loafers. Opening the door, he made his way out of the hotel.

Outside of the hotel was Samuel's car, a white Alfa Romeo, complete with a fine leather interior, everything smelling like vanilla. Starting his car with the push of a button, he threw in his favorite Hall & Oates CD before driving out of the parking lot of the hotel. Driving west, he passed by a few small, grubby looking restaurants, before turning right at the light. Continuing on about a quarter mile and taking a left, Samuel took only one more turn before he parked in front of a two-story house. Getting out of his vehicle, Samuel took a few steps towards the door, throwing his hands in his pockets before stepping onto the porch. Clearing his throat, he knocked several times on the door.

The man who answered the door was a middle-aged, with bouncy black hair and tan skin. "Hello?" he asked.

"Are you Jesse Howl?" Samuel asked, mustering as much charisma as he could.

"I am," the man replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Samuel Cutler," he replied. "Is your niece here? I need to talk to the two of you about something extremely important."

"Yeah, she's upstairs," Jesse answered quickly. "But, you didn't really answer my question. Who are you?"

Samuel gave a weak smile. Then, suddenly, he heard a soft voice go Who is this guy?