story pieces

About twenty minutes later, Aiden was in the kitchen grabbing a Coke when he heard another beating on the door.  When he went to answer it, Aiden prepared himself for another visitor like Ralph, but when he peered around the open door he saw a couple that could have been in magazines.  The man was wearing a checked Polo shirt and chinos, and the woman was looking classy in a pencil skirt and collared pink shirt.  Even wet and distressed looking, they could have done a commercial together.  “Hi, folks.  Come on in,” Aiden offered as he gestured for them to come in out of the rain.  They graciously accepted, and after setting down their wet things in a corner the woman replied,

            “Hey there, nice to meet you.  I’m Jil, and this is my fiancé Calvin.  Sorry about the phone call earlier, its been pouring for ages and all the reception is terrible,” she shook hands with Aiden and smiled warmly, almost too warmly.

            “It’s not a problem, living out here you get used to it, and even if you don’t, you understand what its like.  I’m Aiden Dakota by the way.  Hey there Calvin,” Aiden offered.  Besides their brief phone conversation Calvin hadn’t even made himself apparent.  He kind of shuffled his feet for a moment before responding.

            “How do you do,” he said weakly, extending his hand.  The man had the limpest handshake Aiden had ever felt, especially given the fact that he was 6’3 and all muscle. 

            “Great.  Let me show you to your room.  Jil, can I give you a hand with anything?”

            “Absolutely,” she said already handing him a bag.  He grabbed it and headed up the stairs and down the corridor leading to room number 3.  He reached for the door handle and twisted it open, and almost dropped the bag when he saw a figure lying on the bed.  He wanted to shriek in terror, but he couldn’t make any noise.  He blinked for a few seconds and the figure disappeared.  “Aiden, um are you alright?” Jil asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, startled by his sudden stop.  Things were getting stranger by the minute and Aiden was beginning to worry about his sanity.

            “Ye—yeah, sure, I’m fine.  I thought I…never mind its nothing.  So, yeah, here’s your room, and uh, if you need anything just let me know.  If you’ll excuse me I need to make a phone call.”  Aiden rushed out as fast as he could without appearing frightened and headed straight to his office, forgetting the Coke.