Mr. Williams was a nice man. His big personality drew people to him, which was a good thing since his size kept them at arm's length. His Santa Claus personality made him very likable. Loki felt nervous when the very portly man sat down on one of his antique dining room chairs to eat a large dinner. His guest had requested it in addition to the breakfast that was included with a night's stay. Unlike Mr. Mullens, Mr. Williams was someone Loki enjoyed having under his roof and did not want the poor man to suffer a blow to his dignity by having the furniture collapse out from underneath him. Loki praised god when the furniture held.
"I can already tell you're an excellent cook!" Mr. Williams appraised the spread before him. He was the first guest to opt to pay extra for an evening meal. Loki had to dust off some of his old cookbooks to come up with a meal plan. He served surf and turf consisting of a whole lobster plus an 8oz. sirloin steak, a cold broccoli salad, mashed potatoes from scratch, gravy, and biscuits. Fresh made lemonade was also on the table since the tree out back bowed heavy with the fruit.
"Thank you very much. Cooking is one of my hobbies." Loki said.
"Eating is one of mine!" He rubbed his big belly with humor and a big smile. It made Loki chuckle. There were four other guests in residence tonight and the smell of the food called to them. Upon sight of the meal they all opted to pay extra for it.
A husband and wife, the Kellars, sat down next to Loki while two middle aged women, clearly BFFs since forever filled their plates and started conversing with each other. Loki loved this. He loved sitting down with strangers listening to them talk about their lives and get to know one another.
"I love this house. Do you know what is the most magical part of staying here?" Mrs. Kellar asked.
"No. What?" Loki asked.
"It's the room keys. I mean where else is someone going to hand you an old fashioned heavy wrought iron key to open a century old lock to your bedroom? It's so beautiful. I must have spent the past hour just staring at it. There are intricate little details in every corner of this place." She said.
"People do love those keys. I've already had a couple of people try to check out without turning them in. The replacement fee I charge for losing one is very steep."
"I don't blame you. This food is really good. What are you serving for breakfast?" Mr. Kellar asked.
"Tomorrow I think I will make lemon rosemary scones served with ham, pouched eggs, and fresh made hollandaise sauce." Loki said.
"Ooh that sounds really good." One of his female guests said.
"I can't wait to try out the bed in my room. It looks like a princess bed." Her friend said.
"Us too. Our whole room is done in this beautiful deep blue color. It is really pretty." Mrs. Kellar said.
"My room is orange. It's really bright and cheerful. I like it." Mr. Williams said.
"The grounds are pretty too. I love all that lavender growing in the field across the street. It smells divine." One of the ladies said.
"Perhaps we can all explore the field after dinner. I think there will still be enough sunlight left and the sunset will be gorgeous with the fuchsia and orange as it goes down." Loki said. Mr. Kellar eyed Loki for a moment as his gaydar went off with each excited flourish of Loki's wrist that danced in the air as he spoke.
"That's a wonderful idea! We'll all go." Mrs. Kellar said. Everyone nodded in agreement, including Mr. Williams.
They walked in the field together admiring the warm summer evening breeze and the heavy scent of flowers. There was also a slight hint of ozone as a lightning storm thundered in the distance. It should have ruined the sunset, however, the placement of the clouds acted as a picture frame and made the colors all the more vivid. The women giggled as they spread out. Mr. Kellar and Mr. Williams talked at length about wedding anniversaries, Mr. William's wife having died of a heart attack two years ago.
Loki shuffled along in a slow and lazy fashion, kicking at the dirt as he went as he memorized the view. His toe caught on a small skeleton of some little woodland critter. Loki crouched down to inspect it. It looked like it might have once been a prairie dog or hedgehog. Loki then noticed another, and then another. He looked around at his guests but none of them were paying any attention to him. He turned his attention back to the bones and came upon a large pile that was obscured from view by the tall grass and flowers. He didn't know how or why this odd graveyard came to be, he only knew it would unnerve his guests.
"Why don't we all head back inside and I'll whip up a lemon cake and some coffee for dessert?" Loki announced. The others cheered and they all trotted back to the house with Mr. Williams bringing up the rear.
XxXxXxXxXx
Mr. Williams padded out of the bathroom in his very large boxers and white t-shirt. His room reminded him of a bowl of orange sherbet. Its cheerfulness was just the thing he needed during this time of year, now with Millie gone. She had been just as round in her circumference as he. Mr. Williams had no illusions about his health. His type 2 diabetes was beginning to cause problems, conflicting directly with his love of food.
The bed creaked beneath his considerable weight but no other sounds came as he turned off the lamp next to the bed and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed and his mind quieted until the sound of a door hinge disrupted the peace. Mr. Williams opened his eyes to see the large mirror in his room aglow with bright otherworldly light. Far from being frightened, he was intrigued, wondering if he'd died in his sleep and his soul was being summoned to heaven.
"Millie?"
Children giggled. He walked towards the mirror which was as bright as the sun, but it didn't hurt to look directly at it. Once he got close enough the light dissipated and Mr. Williams saw before him a grand buffet. There were whole turkeys and hams surrounded by every side dish imaginable. Steam floated up in spirals of angelic aroma from hot freshly cooked food. The glaze on the ham glistened as if sprinkled with fairy dust. Then he smelled it. Surely this was heaven. Mr. Williams lifted his beefy leg and stepped into the looking glass.
Once on the other side Mr. Williams gazed around at the opulence of his surroundings. The style of the room was in keeping with the rest of Maywood Manor…but more. All the woodwork in the room was gilded with gold leaf. The crystal chandelier that hovered overhead was massive and awesome in its scope. There appeared to be no one else around, begging the question of who made the food and who was it for? It was then that he noticed the empty serving tray in the middle of the table. It was large enough to fit an entire side of beef, or a person. Odd though this was it did not alarm Mr. Williams in the slightest. He reached out and plucked a candied orange slice off of a plater before him and bit into the sweet crunchy pulpy flesh.
Mr. Williams moaned in pleasure at the delicious treat. The hardened sugar glass contrasted beautifully with the acidic juice. But then the taste soured in his mouth and the texture turned into something thick like slimy mashed potatoes. The scent and flavor of human excrement filled his mouth and he spit out the offending food. Though the remainder of the orange slice in his hand still looked delectable, the food he spat out onto the ground was in fact a mouth full of shit.
"Ah! Ahhhh! AHHHHHHH!" Mr. Williams screamed. He dropped the orange rind on the ground and the shrill squeal of a pig demon bellowed behind him. He turned and saw red eyes, giant tusks, and a line of razor straight boar's hair going down the beast's spine. He screamed again and climbed up onto the table to escape the monster, stepping in boiling hot casseroles with his bare feet. He scrambled for the empty serving platter for refuge only to find that once he was there his hands and feet became bound by an unseen force. Trussed up like a turkey with his mouth hanging open in horror, the pig beast stood up on its hind legs, placing its front hooves on the edge of the table for balance. It stared at Mr. Williams.
"Such a little piggy you are." The beast said to him. "Shall I let you eat your fill?"
"NO! No please! Please!" He screamed. The pig beast gave a sinister chuckle.
"Bon apatite."
XxXxXxXxXx
"Mr. Williams?"
" ?" Loki looked at the man with concern. He was white as a ghost and his face was joyless.
"Mr. Williams!" Loki nudged his shoulder.
"Oh? What? What? Um…sorry my mind wandered. What is it?"
"Mr. Williams are you alright?" Loki asked.
"Um…yes, yes I'm fine." He said.
"Breakfast is ready. I have eggs, ham, and some nice oranges I've sliced up!" Loki said all bright and cheery.
"NO!" Mr. Williams shouted. "I mean no. No thank you. I am not feeling well this morning. I think I am ready to check out now."
"Oh. Alright." Loki said. "I'll help you check out. Was everything to your liking?"
"Oh, yes. It was a lovely evening. I shall recommend this place to everyone I know." Mr. Williams said.
"Excellent. I'll help you with your bags."
"Thank you." He said. Loki collected the room key from Mr. Williams and settled the bill. He carried out Mr. Williams bag and placed it into the trunk of his car for him. The men shook hands and Mr. Williams left without a smile on his face. Loki felt dread billow up inside him. He's seen this strange morning after behavior before. It is becoming a pattern. He turned and focused his gaze upon the top of the staircase. He needed to investigate this.
As the other guests helped themselves to hearty amounts of tasty food, Loki climbed the stairs and walked to the orange room. He entered it and scanned the room looking for anything suspicious. His eyes went straight to the mirror. Like in Victoria's room after the incident it was slightly ajar. He snapped it closed and looked at his reflection. For the first time since moving in, Loki conceded that it might not be safe to have people staying in his home.