The Caretaker — Part 2

This is part 2 of a 9-part story. You can find part 1 here

Five O’clock came around and Hugh found Bartholomew waiting in the lobby just like he said he would be.

“Ah, Mr. Merritt. Are you ready to go? It’s not a very far drive.” Hugh couldn’t think of what else to say, so he said, “Sure.”

“Very good. Would you like to ride with me, or would you prefer to follow in your own vehicle?”

“I’ll drive, thanks.” Hugh was not very comfortable driving, especially to unfamiliar places. He had three or four locations memorized, and relied on his GPS on the rare occasions he ventured anywhere else. Still, he was less comfortable getting into this stranger’s car.

Bartholomew’s car turned out to be an old Wraith that looked fresh off the assembly line. As he watched Bartholomew get into the car, Hugh thought this whole thing was eerily similar to one of his favorite horror novels. He had another reason to be glad he declined to ride with the lawyer, and considered just pulling away and losing him in traffic.

He followed Bartholomew eight miles outside the city along an old, dirt road that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The road led to a small hill, with the manor from the photos sitting at the top. Bartholomew had to get out of his car to open the gate, then continued up the paved driveway, which formed a loop in front of the house. Hugh parked behind him and got out of his car to take in the sight.

“What do you think Mr. Merritt?” Bartholomew asked as he gazed at the enormous structure.

“It looks nice.” Hugh felt awkward about his lame comment, but didn’t know what else to say. He knew very little about architecture, but the manor’s style looked old. The manor itself, however, looked new. It had been well maintained and updated throughout the years. The paint job was fresh, and he could see a satellite dish poking out from the corner of the roof.

“Shall we go inside Mr. Merritt?” Bartholomew led him to the front door and unlocked it with a large, brass key. The entrance room was huge. It had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and old-fashioned light fixtures on the walls that looked like they should be holding candles instead of lightbulbs. In the back of the room was a large, central staircase leading to the second floor, and he could see walkways all around the room.

“Much of the manor is original, but it has, of course, been updated to keep up with the times. A perfect blend of historic beauty and modern convenience. Allow me to give you the tour.” Bartholomew proceeded to lead him through the dozens of rooms in the manor.

“This is the main dining room,” he said. The room had a large table in the center with a dozen antique chairs around it. There were paintings of full course meals all along the walls, each tantalizing to look at, almost as if you could pluck the food right out of the pictures.

“The kitchen.” It featured a vast array of stoves, refrigerators, a walk-in freezer, and three microwaves for when one felt like slumming it. There was also an adjacent pantry. Everything was fully stocked with all of his favorite foods, and none of the things he didn’t like.

“First sitting room,” Bartholomew counted off as they continued their tour. There were three sitting rooms in total, each containing a fireplace, a large TV, couches, and recliners.

“The theater.” This room had a dozen recliners facing a screen the size of the wall, and a popcorn machine in the corner. The back wall was honeycombed with shelves that Hugh thought must contain a copy of every movie or TV series ever created

“The library.” This was the largest room he had seen yet. It reached up to the second story and had a separate staircase and walkways, similar to the main entrance. Each wall had shelves running from the floor to the ceiling, with several standing shelves set up in rows in the center of the room. They contained countless books on every topic imaginable. There was even a large section dedicated to comics. A few reading chairs were placed around the room, each one next to a small table with a reading lamp. There was also an ivory chess set in one corner, all ready for a match.

“The study,” Bartholomew continued. This room was small but cozy, and had a large, ornate desk with three computer monitors sitting on it.

“The game room.” The center was lined with every kind of game table, from pool to air hockey to foosball. There was a closet stacked with board games and card games. One wall was lined with classic arcade machines, and in the corner was another TV with every current-gen video game console attached. The video game library was no less impressive than the books or movies.

The tour continued on for what felt like an hour, and Hugh was beginning to suspect that the manor went on forever. Room after room after room. They visited six bathrooms for crying out loud! Finally, they returned to the front hall.

“Well, that should just about cover the first floor. Shall we examine the upstairs Mr. Merritt?” Hugh nodded, too dumbfounded to speak.

The upstairs had just as many rooms, including eight bedrooms (each one a master size). The bedrooms all had walk-in closets full of more clothing than many stores (all in Hugh’s size). The connecting bathrooms had walk-in showers and tubs that looked more like small pools. There was also a TV, small desk, and a laptop in each bedroom.

When they made it back to the front hall, Bartholomew once again asked him what he thought of the place.

“It’s incredible.”

“Excellent Mr. Merritt. I am so pleased that you like it.”

“Everything seems perfect. I could almost move in tonight.”

“Well why don’t you?”

“What?” Hugh had been joking, but Bartholomew wasn’t.

“Why don’t you go ahead and spend the night here? Give the place a trial run, as it were.”

“I can’t.” This was an absurd idea for Hugh, who was a creature of habit, and detested even the slightest change in his schedule. Plus, he had come here planning to turn down the offer of the manor. How was he even considering this now?

“Of course you can Mr. Merritt.”

“I have to be at work in the morning.”

“Fortunately, you drove your own vehicle. It’s not a very long drive to your office. After all, we came from there.”

“Well, I don’t have any of my things.”

“The manor has been stocked with everything you could possibly need. There’s food in the pantry, toiletries in the lavatories, changes of clothes in the closets, just think of it as spending the night in a hotel room. You can explore the property and get a feel for it, see if you like it. If so, you can arrange a proper move in at your convenience, and if not, you haven’t lost anything.”

Hugh couldn’t think of any more excuses. While he like advance notice to psyche himself up for new events, a small part of him did want to stay. The house was much nicer than his apartment, and did seem to have everything he could possibly want. It’s like it was built and furnished especially for him. And wasn’t he secretly enjoying this whole thing? It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him, and despite his protests to the contrary, he did like a little excitement (in moderation of course).

“Ok. Why not?”

“Excellent Mr. Merritt. You won’t regret it. Well then, I’ll just leave you alone to get settled. You have my card of course. Please feel free to call me anytime tonight, no matter how late, if you have any questions or concerns. Also, I have left an envelope in the study that contains everything you need to know about the property. Is there anything else you will be requiring Mr. Merritt?”

“I don’t think so. I should be able to manage.”

“Capital. I’ll just show myself out then, shall I? Have a pleasant evening Mr. Merritt.”

“You too Mr. Barker. And thanks.”

“My pleasure Mr. Merritt, my pleasure.”

Read Part 3 here