Chapter (7) ROOM 2-13

ROOM 2-13

 

Frank Sinclair parked his car and took a small suitcase from the trunk. He stood for a few seconds looking up and down the street. He noted that the small brick built apartment building, in front of him, was in sharp contrast to the rest of the  the street’s old wooden buildings. He looked up at the sign hanging above the sidewalk. The New Carpenter Hotel.

Frank had been travelling across the Midwest for several weeks. In New York, his apartment was silent. One door of the wardrobe was open showing a row of empty coat hangers. In the bathroom Frank’s toothbrush stood alone in the glass. Frank had decided to take some time off work and leave New York, and his sadness, behind. He hadn’t wanted to be there when Emily returned to collect her things.

Frank pushed open the door and walked over to the reception desk. He put his suitcase down. The man behind the desk stood up.

“Good evening. My name’s Frank Sinclair. I’d like a room.” The man opened a large brown book and pushed it towards Frank.

“Please fill in your name and address sir.” The man turned his back for a moment and took a key from a board on the wall behind him. Frank finished writing and turned the book around.

“How long will you be staying sir?” Frank smiled.

“A week possibly more. Is there a good Diner here?”

“Yes sir just down the street on the other side.” The man passed Frank the key.

 “Room 2-10, second floor.”

“Thank you.” Said Frank as he picked up his suitcase.

“Elevator’s bust, the stairs are over there.” Said the man pointing the way. Of course it is, thought Frank as walked towards the stairway. Once on the second floor Frank noted the worn carpet as he walked down the dimly lit hallway, noting the lack of windows. Room 2-10 was almost at the far end. Frank wasn’t overly impressed with the place so far but once inside he was pleasantly surprised. The room was clean and a large window let in plenty of light. The bed was neatly made and a small TV sat on a smart set of drawers. On a small table, covered with a white cloth, was a tray with an upturned cup, a coffee machine and several sachets of coffee and sugar. Frank opened the wood panelled door next to the table. It opened into a small well-appointed bathroom. Frank put the suitcase on the chair, turned away from the bed and fell backwards flopping down spread eagled into the covers. With a sigh of satisfaction Frank had to admit to himself that it might not be too bad here. After quickly throwing his clothes into the top drawer Frank wanted to go and explore the town. He was hungry so the first stop would be the Diner the guy on the desk had mentioned.

It was early evening when Frank returned from the Diner and a different man sat behind the desk. He stood up as frank entered.

“Good evening sir.”

“Good evening, room 2-10 please.” The man took the key from it’s pigeon hole and handed it to Frank. Frank gave him a slight smile as he took it.

“Would you like an early morning call sir?” said the man. Frank smiled again.

“No. That won’t be necessary, but do you have a local paper?”

“Yes sir. Just ask the lady in the morning.”  Frank gave a slight nod of his head to show he’d heard.

 Back in his room Frank lay for a time on the bed, with his hands behind his head just staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know how long he’d lain there when he was disturbed by a light knocking on his door. Opening the door Frank was surprised to see a pretty young woman standing in the hallway.

“I’m sorry to bother you.” She said. “I’m in 2-13 and I’ve run out of coffee. I wondered if you had a sachet to spare.” Frank looked into her pretty face.

“Yes of course, please come in.” Frank opened the door wider for her. As he went over to the tray on the table he said.

“I don’t drink much coffee, would you like some sugar too?”

“No just the coffee, thank you.” The young woman hesitated a second then added,

“I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself, my name is Sarah Carpenter.” Frank handed her several sachets of instant coffee. As she took it he held out his hand in greeting.

“Frank Sinclair. Very nice to meet you.” The young woman smiled, swapped the coffee to her left hand and shook hands with him.

“Likewise. Thank you.” Frank held her hand a second longer than was necessary, an act that wasn’t missed by the young lady. “Maybe we’ll see each other again.” She said as she left the room. Frank held the door and watched her slim body slide down the hallway.

Frank spent the next morning driving around the area and enjoying the green open spaces. He returned to the Diner for a light lunch. The town was quiet but there were already several patrons sitting at tables chatting.  Frank found a seat by the window and sat down. Several of the diners smiled at him.

“Are welcome back sir.” The waitress had recognised him from the night before.

“I’d like something light for lunch, what can you recommend.” Said Frank.

“Well we have a very tasty hot, smoked chicken salad sir, it’s very popular.”

“That sounds great, thank you.”

“Something to drink sir?” Frank looked up at the soft round face.

“Can you do me a fruit tea?” The face raised its eyebrows.

“We don’t often get asked for Fruit Tea, I’ll go and check sir.” A few minutes later the waitress returned with a cup and saucer.

“I hope this is okay sir.” Frank lifted the cup and sniffed the steaming liquid.

“It smells wonderful. Thank you.” The waitress was smiling as she walked back to the counter.

The waitress had been correct, the Chicken salad had been delicious. Frank didn’t rush back to the Hotel he wandered down the sidewalk examining the contents of the various shop windows. If he stopped to think too long, his head filled with memories of Emily.

Back in his room Frank sat relaxing on the bed watching the TV. Someone was knocking softly on his door again. Opening the door he was pleasantly surprised to see the young woman from the night before.

“Oh hello. Sarah isn’t it?” the young woman gave a broad smile.

“Yes. I wanted to say thank you for helping me out last night.” As she said it she held out her hand and passed Frank several sachets.” Taking them from her Frank let a finger touch her hand.

“Oh, yes, thank you, but it wasn’t necessary.” Said Frank. “I think I told you I don’t drink much coffee.”

“Yes I know that’s why I bought you some fruit teas.” Frank looked more closely at the sachets in his hand.

“But how did you know?”

“It’s a small town Mr Sinclair. News travels fast.”

“A ha, I see, and please... it’s Frank.” The pair shook hands, again. The young woman hesitated before adding,

“Look, I don’t get to meet many people, would you let me cook you a meal?” The question took Frank by surprise. Sarah could see from his expression he wasn’t sure what to say.

 “I’m sorry, I’m being presumptuous.” She said.

“No, no, it’s just....well I don’t know ....” A red faced Frank, stammered.

“Yes. Quite, sorry.... I just thought..” The young woman turned away quickly and returned to her room at the end of the dark hallway. Frank slowly closed his door and returned to the bed. Well that was a bit strange, he thought.

The following morning Frank found a note had been passed under his door.

I’m sorry I embarrassed you last night. Please forgive me. Sarah. Frank read the note twice then dropped it into the suitcase. The rest of the day passed at a leisurely pace and as Frank sat in the Diner enjoying a cup of hot fruit tea he wondered about the young woman in room 2-13. She was pretty, and cute. Perhaps she’s just a bit lonely, he thought.

When he returned to the Hotel later, Frank went to the end of the hallway and knocked on the door to room 2-13. Almost immediately the door opened.

“Erm Hi.” Said Frank nervously. “I was thinking, perhaps you’d like to join me for a meal at the Diner.” The young woman smiled.

“Well, you see I’d love to, but I have this thing, I find it difficult to go outside.” Frank hadn’t expected this answer.

“Yes. Okay, I see. No that’s fine, I just wanted to thank you for the teas.”

“Look, it’s my birthday, why don’t you let me cook something for the two of us. I don’t get much opportunity to entertain anymore. Say seven o’clock.” Frank found himself nodding approval and a smiling Sarah said, “Great, see you at seven.”

“Yes, seven, good,” Said Frank as he turned to leave. The smile on his face lingered as he returned to his room.

As seven o’clock approached, Frank took one last look in the bathroom mirror as he checked his teeth. With a bunch of flowers in hand Frank made his way to the end of the hallway.

The door opened and he was greeted by a vision of beauty.

“You look amazing.” He said. “Happy birthday.” He said handing her the flowers.

“For me? Thank you. Please come in.” Frank entered the room and was struck by the difference to own room. It seemed much bigger, with wood panelled walls and a thick carpet. It also had a small kitchen area complete with gas cooker and an Icebox. A gas fire burned in a grate and heavy curtains hung at the windows blocking most of the light. The furniture too looked antique. A small dining table sat in the centre of the room dressed for two, complete with silver candlestick. He was admiring the decor when his thoughts were interrupted.

“Frank, there’s wine on the table, please be so kind and pour some for us. I hope you like steak.”

“Yes, of course.” Frank removed the cork and poured two glasses of wine. Taking one in each hand he walked over to Sarah and passed her a glass. Frank looked over her shoulder into the pan.

“Oh wow that smells delicious.” Sarah took a sip from her glass.

“You go and sit down and I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

 Frank sat looking at Sarah over his third glass of wine.

“You know I’ve really enjoyed this evening Sarah. Thank you so much for inviting me.” Sarah smiled.

“I’ve prepared a cheesecake for dessert, shall we sit on the sofa to eat it. Without waiting for an answer she made her way quickly back to the icebox. Frank sat on the couch enjoying the warmth of the fire.

“You know this room is so much bigger than mine.” Sarah said nothing as she returned carrying two portions of lime cheesecake. She passed one to Frank and sat down beside him. When the dessert had been consumed the pair chatted for a time. Sarah casually laid her head onto Franks shoulder and tucked her legs up onto the couch. Frank felt the warmth of her next to him and smiled.

The morning sun struggled to find a way around the thick bedroom curtains as Frank turned over in bed to kiss Sarah. He was taken by surprise to find she was not lying beside him.

“Sarah. Where are you.?” No answer was forthcoming. Frank got out of bed, retrieved his clothes from the floor and dressed quickly. Leaving her room Frank checked his own room. No sign of Sarah. She’d said she didn’t like to go out but Frank had to assume she’d gone outside. He rushed down the stairs to the reception desk.

“Good morning sir.” Said the young woman.

“Yes. Good morning. I was wondering if you’d seen the lady from room 2-13 this morning.” The lady looked at Frank.

“Room 2-13?, I’m sorry sir we don’t have a room 2-13.” Frank looked at the woman with quizzical expression.

“What? Of course you do, 2-13 at the end of the hallway.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I assure you there is no room 2-13 on your floor.” Frank was having trouble understanding the situation.

“Look,” said Frank, “You come with me now and I’ll show you.” The woman followed Frank up the stairs and as Frank turned the corner at the top he turned to the receptionist and pointed down the hallway.

“There, you see, there it is.” The woman looked at Frank.

“Sir there is nothing at the end of this hallway.” Frank turned sharply around. At the end of the hallway was a plain white wall.

“What the.....I don’t understand.....the woman Sarah Carpenter, she lives there. I had dinner with her last night.”

“I don’t know what you think has happened sir, but there is no room 2-13 and we do not have a guest of that name staying here.” Then she turned and returned to ground floor reception desk. Frank stood staring at the wall. He walked up to the end of the hallway and started to press his hands over the white painted plaster.

In the town Library Frank scanned through the pages of old newspapers. He’d learned from the server in the Diner, that a gas explosion had destroyed the old Carpenters Hotel some twenty years previously. The Librarian showed him where to look for newspaper reports of the time. He soon found a headline,

‘Gas explosion kills daughter of local Mayor.’ Frank read on.

‘On Saturday last, the Carpenters Hotel was engulfed in flame following a gas explosion. The Hotel was owned by local Mayor Henry Carpenter. Sadly several people were killed including Mr Carpenters own daughter Sarah. Mr Carpenter’s daughter had been celebrating her 21st birthday and was staying in room 2-13 on the second floor, when the explosion occurred.

Frank opened the door to his New York apartment and tossed the suitcase onto the bed. He noticed the empty rails in the wardrobe and the missing pictures. He felt nothing. Frank still couldn’t come to terms with events of the last week. Opening the suitcase Frank tipped the contents out onto the bed. As he sorted through them he suddenly spotted a folded piece of yellowed paper. Frank opened it.

Dear Frank,

Thank you for a wonderful birthday.

Love Sarah.

Reviews

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

Enjoyed this tale. Thank you for sharing.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Thanks my friend. I'm thinking of writing a series for a little book of short stories.

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

You are welcome.