Sunday, January 24, 2016

room 4404


by chuck leary

illustrations by danny delacroix





i had never heard of jonathon and i had never been to new york so i was surprised when jonathon invited me to stay with him at the grand hotel.

i packed in a hurry. actually my aunt miranda packed for me so i did not really know what i had in my suitcase.

the hotel was very wide, at least on the outside. there was a lot of work going on both outside and inside it, so i had to duck under and around a lot of wooden boards and cans of paint and burly workmen to get to the front desk.

our room number was 4404. the 44th floor!

the man at the front desk gave me a key and i went up by myself on the elevator, as there were no bellhops to be seen.

on the elevator i had many strange adventures.

when i finally got to room 4404 the door was open and i just walked in.

jonathon was talking on the phone, and just nodded absently at me when i walked in.

the room was actually a suite - a series of long and narrow rooms.

as jonathon continued talking in low tones on the telephone, i went over and looked out the window.

the window overlooked a beach, a sort of bay or inlet. on the other side of the bay tall cliffs rose up.

i was hungry, and wondered what we would have for dinner.

i must have dozed off, for when i woke up jonathon was gone.

i was alone.

i decided to unpack.

when i unpacked i quickly discovered that aunt miranda had packed a number of grandfather’s old golf clubs along with a lot of warm clothing that i did not think was appropriate for the weather outside.

five golf clubs to be exact. what was i to do with five golf clubs!

i decided to go in search of something to eat, and some more suitable garments.

when i checked my pockets i discovered that my wallet was missing, along with my passport!

but as i was a presentable and civilized person i thought kind people would help me when i explained my predicament to them.

and i had no doubt that jonathon would return eventually and everything would be straightened out.

i went back to the elevator and had more strange adventures.



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