"And here we are," Elaine said in the same annoyingly cheerful voice from before. "Room 112, the exact same room every caretaker since 1981 has been using. If I were you, Mrs. Tyler, I'd be very excited about this. For a while, you'll feel as if you own this place just because of the very fact that you have your own room in which you'll be staying for several months."
"Gosh, it's just a room," Ella said with a sigh, putting down two of Jackie's bags on the brown carpeted floor. "She acts as if we were staying in the Buckingham Place or someplace of major significance instead of just a third rate hotel."
But Rose could not help noticing the room more closely than the others. In comparison to the room in which Harry, Christine, and Clara had stayed in, this room did look as if it were part of a castle. The walls were the color velvet, as were the curtains, bedsheets, and some of the furniture. To the left side of the room, there was a large canopy bed which looked as if it had been set up in the room nearly a hundred years before, and to the right was a small children's bed in which the wood was painted white, something which appealed to Rose as much as the velvet-colored furniture, since she always felt that brown was such a dull color.
Next to the door was a large wardrobe which looked straight out of The Chronicles of Narnia, made out of dark-colored wood and taking up half of the left side of the room. When Jackie opened it up, they found six overcoats and six children's coats which were already hung up. At the bottom, there were also three pairs of both boots and children's tennis shoes set up not that far from the coats, and upon going further into the wardrobe, there were dozens of dresses of various sizes which were hung up all over the place.
"Doesn't this all look so beautiful, Rose?" Elaine asked in the same high pitched voice she'd used when speaking to her earlier. "Truman must have set this all up ahead of time as a present for you and your mummy, which is certainly very sweet of him."
"Yeah, or perhaps all this clothes was already in there ahead of time. Hasn't that crossed your mind at any point?" Ella said bluntly.
"That couldn't have been," Elaine said, automatically dismissing the idea. "The last caretaker was a single man who was so macho that he wouldn't even do his own cleaning because he thought it was 'ladies' work'. If he had found a wardrobe full of girly things, he would have thrown it all over the floor in disgust and have forced Sandy or me to pick it all up."
"Sounds like someone I would never want to put up with," Jackie said. She remembered how Pete, during one of those days in which he'd spend all day working on one of his most ambitious projects (a gadget which ended up nearly blowing up due to being overheated when he demonstrated it at an inventor's workshop) had felt so guilty about forcing her to take up all the spring cleaning that the next day, he took on everything from cooking all three meals to dusting up every last bit of furniture. It was one of those times in which Jackie had been so grateful to have him by her side.
"None of us could, and especially not Truman," Elaine remarked. "It was another case of someone being so difficult that Truman wondered how anyone else would put up working with him, and because of that, the man remained with us all three months. You can only imagine how irritated we all were once spring arrived."
Rose ignored all this, her attention focused on the ragged doll set up alongside a light-furred teddy bear in what was now to be her bed. She couldn't help thinking that it looked a lot like her, with long blond hair tied up into two braids with red ribbons, a pink calico dress with a white apron (Rose herself was wearing pink overalls and a white blouse), and Mary Janes (which seemed a little unusual when paired with the rest of the clearly Victorian-era outfit. But what most caught Rose's attention was the eyes, which had been made with black buttons with five small holes at the center of each. Instead of being at a close distance, one eye was about an inch higher than the other, giving the doll a very awkward and somewhat scary appearance that was giving Rose goosebumps just from staring at it…
Then, there came a loud banging from the door.
"Jackie, is that you in there?" a demanding yet enthusiastic voice called out, which Jackie and Elaine immediately recognized as Truman's.
"I'm in here with Elaine, Mr. Truman. Feel free to come in if you like," Jackie called back.
That being said, the door was immediately flung open, and Truman, wearing a beige suit and carrying a small briefcase, walked into the room with a smile.
"Why, good morning, Jackie," he said, shaking her hand. "Good to see how you were finally able to meet Elaine. The past couple of months have not easy for her at all due to what happened to one of her cousins…"
"Yes," Jackie interrupted. "Elaine already told me the story. And I believe you have a connection with this as well?"
"I do, but right now, this isn't the time to be discussing this. We're going to have to settle a couple more business first." Turning to Ella, he asked, "And who are you?"
"I'm Ella, Rose's babysitter," Ella responded, giving him a somewhat suspicious glance.
Upon Ella mentioning Rose, Truman finally noticed Rose next to the bed. He turned to her and said," So, is this the little daughter I've been hearing so much about?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Truman," Elaine answered for Jackie. "I can already tell that she's such a sweet girl, and I've done everything I could to make her feel comfortable here. I believe she's already making herself at home, seeing how she just adores this room and Little Franny over there."
"Who's Little Franny?" Rose asked.
Elaine chuckled. "Why, it's the doll, silly. She happens to be the same age as the hotel, having been created by Fanny Whitman, the daughter of Albert Whitman, who was the founder of Northern Horizons. She saw how some of the hotel's employees weren't able to afford toys for their children, so around the time Northern Horizons was opened, she created a total of forty three toys for the children of employees in just three weeks! She even made Little Franny's buddy Johnny over there," and she pointed towards the teddy bear which was beside the doll.
"Well, I've got to say that I'm very impressed with you, Elaine," Truman said proudly. "Most of the other employees never listen to a word I say to them regarding Northern Horizons' exceptional history, but you seem to have taken in every word I've said. I've got to say, if it wasn't for you and Sandy, the staff would probably lack the spirit which got Northern Horizons off to a good start nearly a century ago."
"Agreed, Mr. Truman," Elaine responded obediently. "The hotel could certainly use employees like us, but I believe Mrs. Tyler seems very promising so far."
"As do I, Elaine. It was because of how observant and dedicated she was at the interview that I selected Mrs. Tyler to be our winter caretaker," Truman said.
As Rose was trying to notice what kind of man Truman was, she felt a small tap on her shoulder. Thinking that it must be her mummy, Rose turned around, prepared to say something, but immediately closed her mouth upon noticing that nobody was there. She could only see Little Franny and Johnny still giving her their sweet smiles…
Then, upon putting her hand on the mattress, Rose found herself holding one of the buttons with five holes in the center. She was then forced to look back at Little Franny, whom she finally noticed to be missing her right eye, with a piece of white string hanging in its place.
"Rose, honey? Why don't you come say hello to Mr. Truman?" she heard her mummy asking her.
"Okay, Mummy," Rose answered, thinking that she couldn't look at that doll any longer. She then walked up to Truman and said in a very polite voice, "Good morning, Sir. It's nice to meet you."
"Good morning to you as well, Rose," Mr. Truman responded with a friendly smile. "I'm certainly looking forward to working with your mum this winter, and judging from your fine manners, I think you'll also be a pleasure to have around."
"Thank you," Rose replied with a smile of her own. Seeing how this man was acting, she thought she might like him at least a little. But due to some of her previous experience with people who were too polite (especially her observations of Elaine and Sandy so far), there was no way of knowing whether this meant that she could fully trust him. As seen through her visions, nice words could always be followed by cruel thoughts.
"Is something wrong, Rose? You seem to be worried about something," Mr. Truman said to her, looking more disturbed than concerned by her possible anxiety.
Luckily, Ella answered for her. "This has been a tough enough day for Rose without having you hurling questions at her. Of course, any kid that has to leave home would be nervous during their first day at a new place, and asking them pointless questions will only make them feel even more uncomfortable."
"Okay, I understand," Truman said impatiently. "I was just trying to ask the girl a simple question. There's no need to get all defensive about it."
"Why don't we just let my daughter and Ella be for a while and just handle whatever else I need to get done to get started on my job?" Jackie demanded, not wanting to get off on a bad start.
"Of course, Mrs. Tyler," Truman answered in almost automatic agreement with her. "Would you like to go over to my office, or are you okay with doing it all here?"
"Just as long as we don't go on disturbing Rose and Ella. And if you don't mind, could you tell Elaine to leave? I feel as if most her work with us is done," Jackie said, hoping he wouldn't be bothered by her requests.
"That's perfectly all right," Truman answered. Then, looking at Elaine, he said, "Elaine, I believe I saw some other guests coming in at the time I was getting here. Would you mind going over to help them?"
"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Truman," Elaine replied with an obedient nodding of the head. "I understand that this is a critical moment for Mrs. Tyler, and I would hate to be disturbing her."
"Good to see that you understand," Truman answered, and he escorted Elaine out. Before she left, though, she gave one last overly bright smile. However, this smile did not appear to be aimed towards Rose, but towards the whole room, particularly towards Little Franny and Johnny. Rose shivered upon seeing this, and turned away as quickly as possible so as not to worry her mother or Ella.
"Should we start then, Jackie?" Truman asked.
"Go ahead," Jackie answered, wondering what more could possibly be required of her.
To her relief, Truman said, "It's not going to be much, to tell you the truth. We've gone over so much of your requirements already that all you really have to do at this point is sign the official contracts."
"Sounds good," Jackie said.
"Although I probably go over some of the more important things I'll be expecting from you."
"And what would that be?" Jackie asked, thinking that he was simply going to repeat the same points he'd gone over with her during their previous meetings.
But instead, Truman started by saying, "First of all, in terms of when you're allowed to leave the hotel, I usually require the caretaker to always remain within the hotel grounds at night, with the exception of emergencies, which you'd be required to report to me as soon as possible."
"But you told me before that I would be allowed to leave whenever I wanted," Jackie said, wondering why he wouldn't want to bring this up until now.
"You are, during the daytime," Truman explained. "As I think we're both perfectly aware of, there's more of a chance of major trouble or crime going on at night. It would certainly be a cause for alarm if a robbery or a fight amongst drunken guests were to occur and the caretaker wouldn't be available to help deal with the situation. As a result, I require that all your breaks from your duties at the hotel are done during the daytime. I'm going to have a couple watchmen on night duty as well, but they will need your help when it comes to keeping people calm and calling the police."
"Okay. I think understand a little," Jackie replied, although she still wished he would have brought this up earlier.
"Good," Truman said with a nod. "Second of all, I will be expecting you to be willing to take my word as law when necessary."
To this, Jackie couldn't help but responding with a small laugh. "Are you serious? Taking your word as law? Doesn't that sound a little too extreme?"
Truman gave her serious look. "It might sound silly to you now, but if there's one thing I've learned from my time as owner and after going over Northern Horizon's more trouble history, it's that instability from employees is what has led to the majority of the problems this hotel has had to face in the past. The caretaker who was involved in that dreadful murder rarely listened to anything Jameson would tell him, even going so far as to be willing to report him for something he hadn't done. But of course, by the time this caretaker was starting to submit to Jameson's demands, it was too late."
"I see," Jackie replied uncomfortably. "But you can't expect blind obedience either, right?"
"Well, if you look at employees like Alison, you can't always expect such people to always listen to you. After having worked here though the murder and other crisis the hotel faced around the seventies through the eighties, it's hard to get her to trust anyone who works here, much less be fully willing to take in orders. I think the increase in salary and insurance benefits have settled Alison a little, though, since it keeps her from complaining too much about remaining with us As for Elaine and Sandy, they're young and inexperienced, and therefore, more willing to listen to those in charge in order to ease the transition into young adulthood."
"Just because you're young doesn't mean you'll listen to anything your boss tells you," Jackie heard Ella mumbling. "I thought the rebellion of youth would be more obvious to someone like this guy."
"Excuse me?" Truman asked her firmly. "Is there something you wanted me to know about?"
"No, just that I think you might be a little too hard on those girls sometimes," Ella responded.
"Well, let's just say obedience comes more easily to some young people than others. Looking at you, you obviously belong to the latter category, which I have nothing against. Just don't consider applying for summer jobs here anytime soon, because you will probably experience some difficulties when it comes to following my orders," Truman said bluntly.
"Okay. Thanks for the encouragement," Ella replied sarcastically. Then, turning to Rose, she said, "Don't you want to play with the two toys, Rose?"
"No," Rose said, sounding more nervous than she'd intended to.
"Why not? I don't see anything wrong with them as I did with those creepy statues and china dolls," Ella said, not understanding what was making Rose talk in this manner.
"Because I noticed that the doll is missing one of her eyes," Rose responded, wondering if telling her the truth, Ella might be able to ease her fears at least a little."
"What do mean?" Ella asked, clearly looking confused. Then, picking up Little Franny, she said, "See for yourself. Both of Little Franny's eyes are right where they should be."
And she was right. Little Franny's right eye had returned to its place, and now, the two eyes appeared to be much more closely aligned, resulting in the creepy appearance from before being completely eliminated.
"Never mind," Rose said, still sounding a little nervous. "Maybe it was just my imagination after looking at the things in the halls."
"Yeah, there's no need to worry, though. I sometimes feel like my imagination gets a little carried away when I'm nervous as well, and my Psychology studies don't always ease those fears enough," Ella said with a sympathetic smile.
"I see, but I still don't want to play with those toys. Is that okay?" Rose said.
"Of course, Rose," Ella said understandingly. "You do whatever makes you comfortable, and avoid anything that doesn't. After all, the older we get, the less attracted we are to toys. I would go so far as to say that they occasionally scare me as well."
Rose nodded, feeling a little better after what Ella told her.
"So," Truman said to Jackie. "I think that's enough for now. Are you ready to sign the contracts now?"
"Yes," Jackie answered, and proceeded to do it in pretty much the same manner as she'd signed Harry Sullivan's documents: without giving much thought into what was written in them. She noticed some details on her salary (she would be earning around eighteen quid per hour, which seemed like a little too much for a hotel employee), as well as several details from her previous conversations with Truman with more complex wording, but as before, she just couldn't get herself to read the whole thing. If she had, she would have noticed a repetition on Truman's insistence on obedience written in a manner which seemed a little too harsh ("Any serious violation on the orders set about by the employer shall result in automatic termination of employment"), as well as the time in which she was allowed to leave the hotel ("Starting at seven o'clock in the morning, the caretaker is allowed to depart from the hotel so long as he/she returns at some point during the day to resume his/her duties).
Once she was done, she dropped the pen on the desk in a manner which seemed very final, as if she'd just signed a peace treaty or other political compromise instead of just employment documentation. "All right, I supposed we're all done with this for now," she said to Truman.
"I wouldn't say that, Jackie," Truman said with a smile. "I prefer seeing this as the beginning of what's to be a memorable journey for the both of us, not to mention your little girl."
"I hope so," Jackie said. And then, just as Truman was preparing to leave, she said, "Could I ask you something before you go?"
"Sure, Jackie. What is it?" Truman responded.
"Did you buy all those clothes which are in our wardrobe?"
"No," Truman replied with a surprised expression. "I usually limit myself to providing the caretaker with new supplies or extra food during their first days. Given my limited knowledge on clothing, I wouldn't have had any idea what to buy for you or your daughter. But perhaps they are old gifts that have always been here, just as Little Franny and Johnny are."
"I see," Jackie responded, and wondered how many more of these unexpected gifts she and Rose would soon be finding.
Next, we'll be returning to a couple of characters from past chapters. Things have not been going well for at least one of these people, and like Jackie and Rose, they'll soon be dealing with some very haunting forces, but whether they'll turn out being just as lucky as those two have been so far is something we have to watch out for.
