The Turin Manor

I woke up from an uncomfortable sleep to the sound of a rooster. Something that had happened very few times in my life. There aren't many roosters in downtown Chicago, so the sound made me jump out of bed. It was too quiet out in the country, making it nigh impossible for me to sleep. The only sounds I heard last night was the soft chirp of crickets, which was a far cry from the sounds of the city I was used to. Giving up on sleep, I put on my robe and wandered out into the kitchen, finding the teakettle and starting water for a morning glass of earl grey. I couldn't say when I started drinking it, but since I did, I haven’t gone a morning without it. The old grandfather clock in the hearth read six thirty, and I wasn't going back to bed, so I pulled a fresh notebook from my box of writing supplies, and my father's old mechanical drafting pencil. The pencil had been a gift from my grandfather to my father when he started engineering school, and it had been passed to me when I started college. This pencil had gotten me through more tests then I could count, and it's heavy weight forced my normally rough handwriting to become more legible.

I started writing drafts of my ad. I knew that tact was of the utmost importance. Being a single male, looking for female roommates, any hints of informality could be disastrous. I went through probably fifteen or so drafts before I finally decided on a good ad. "Rooms for rent. 1 mile from campus, laundry on site, both furnished and unfurnished rooms available. All utilities paid, includes TV and Internet. 500$ per month, per room. Be willing to talk about academic history." I included my contact info, and drove down to the school, waving to Wane, who was working in the garden, on my way out. As he saw me approach, he got up and came to my window.

"Master Alexander, are you going into town?"

"Yea, I'm going to the school to place my ad."

His eyebrows perked, "Be sure to tell them that the rooms are at the Turin manor. We have a long history with Paelton's, they should take your ad."

I nodded in understanding, "Thank you, Wane."

He smiled back at me before returning to his work. The care takers were both exceptionally nice, and it gave me piece of mind that there were people nearby in case something happened.


***


I drove down to the school, searching a bit before I found guest parking, then the administration building. The school was mostly empty, a stray student or professor here or there, but for the most part, there wasn't a soul in sight. The emptiness gave the school an eerie dead feeling. I wasn't too surprised as there were a few more weeks until the quarter started up again, but I'd avoided campus during breaks, so it was a new experience for me. I stepped out of the late summer heat and into the quietly air-conditioned administration building, where I was greeted from across the room by a guy only a few years younger than me.

"Can I help you?" his tone was slightly standoffish, but not rude.

"Yea, I'm looking to put an ad in the school paper?" I tried to be friendly, but the best I got back was indifference.

"No one from the journalism department will be here for another week. You're going to need to email it to the editor."

I chuckled lightly before walking up to the desk proper. "Alright, when does the first paper come out for the year?"

"There will be one sent to the students at home next week."

"Alright, do I need to pay a fee before I can have it published?"

"That depends, what kind of ad is it. Not a personals ad I hope. We don't take those."

I realized why he was being standoffish, he suspected me of being a creeper. I laughed to myself before responding, "No, I've got some spare rooms I'm willing to rent out."

his eyes got shifty as he thought about a young man trying to find female roommates, "Oh... We don't usually take housing ads unless the building and occupants have been properly vetted, for the students safety." I didn't know if this was true of if he was making things up to prevent me from being able to list my ad, but I had one last trick up my sleeve, and I was getting desperate.

"It's for the Turin manor." I spent my Ace in the Hole, I didn't know if it would work or not, but I knew it was now or never.

"The... THE Turin manor?" His jaw might as well have been sitting on the table with the look he gave me, "Like, the big manor on the hill, owned by the late Gerald Turin? Namesake of Turin Hall at the east end of campus?"

I shrugged, "yea, I guess..."

Suddenly, the receptionists mannerisms changed completely. He sat up straight and offered a hand for me to shake, "I'm Phil Baskett, Wane and Catherine’s grandson, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mister..."

"Lancer, Alex Lancer."

"Mister Lancer. I'll send in your ad straight away, and I'll cover the fee as well."

"No, wait, you don't have to..." I was getting a bit flustered by the reactions people were giving me. I'm not a super popular guy, nor have I ever had much status, save for a reputation for mischief in the dorms during college, so these new reactions were strange and foreign to me.

"It's two dollars of money you gave me, you might as well have paid for it with the amount of work I do here."

I laughed, it did seem like not much work got done here, Phil had a stack of novels next to him, and had been reading the top one when I came in. I guess being receptionist for a school that wasn't in session wasn't a super hard job. A question popped into my mind and before I could properly formulate it, I blurted out, "So, will you be..."

"Taking over Grandpa’s job? Not until he decides he's done, which, with the way he's going, you may not live to see that day, but yea, so you'll probably see me around the house if there's something that needs fixing on the roof, or requires a bit more strength." as he talked he took my ad, looking it over before starting to type into an email.

"Alright, well, I'll see you around then."

"Yep, you should get a copy of the paper when it's finished."

"Thanks, Phil." I shook his hand again before heading back out to my car.


***


I drove home, and in no time began unpacking my meager stack of belongings. My 2 suitcases of clothes filled one drawer and half of one of the many hanging rods in the ceder lined walk in closet. The closet seemed a bit cramped for a master bedroom, but I figured Gerald wasn't much for anything but slacks and button-downs, so there was probably more than enough space for him, as there was for me.

I set up my laptop and printer in an old writing desk that sat in the corner of the master bedroom. I knew it was a bad idea to set up my workspace where I slept, but it was a habit from life in the dorms, and one I couldn't shake no matter how many times I tried. The printer sat nicely on top of the desk, and my laptop had just enough room to open all the way while still being able to close the writing desk around it if need be.

I then took the book boxes upstairs, getting my first glimpse of Gerald's library. It was a lofted room in the middle of the second floor, open to the primary hallway that looked over the foyer on one side, and opened to the outdoors with bay windows and french doors out onto a small reading patio above the barbecue deck below. I unpacked my books onto a lower shelf that was yet unfilled, then sat in one of the wing-backed chairs looking out onto the farmland. "It's not Chicago, but I think I could find myself enjoying it out here." I mused to myself as I watched the sun begin to set.

I heard a soft knock behind me, and found Wane standing at the entrance to the library, "May I pester you for just a moment?"

I smiled back to the old man, his respect for my space making me feel secure, despite how weird I found it. "What's up?"

Wane sat across from me, "I heard you met Phil today."

"Yea, he seemed like a good kid."

"He is, after you left, he called me and gave me some information he though you would like to have." Wane handed me a handwritten list of places, phone numbers, and addresses.

I looked it over, noting several pizza joints, Chinese takeout and other bachelor necessities that hadn't been on Gerald's lists, including a place labeled "2 am burgers." I gestured to the name and asked Wane what Phil meant.

"It's a delivery hamburger stand just outside campus that delivers until two in the morning. I've heard that their burgers are nowhere near quality, but delivery and price makes it a go to spot for young people to eat.

I laughed and thanked Wane, before pulling out my cell and calling the pizza place. Catherine had offered to make me dinner again, but I was able to talk her out of it by claiming to not be hungry. Wane knew it was because I felt guilty for letting someone else cook for me, so he covered for me. Every time I interacted with these two, it felt more and more like I was a favored grandson, and less like I was their employer, which suited me just fine. Grandma had died several years ago, and Grandpa had died in Vietnam, so it was nice to have that old knowledge influence in my life.

Wane and I talked until the pizza arrived. I offered him a slice, but he refused, claiming heartburn problems before returning to his cottage at the border of the property. I made a mental note to look into offering the Basketts some house renovations.

It was going to be a week before the newspaper was released, so I decided on doing some exploring around town tomorrow before the cable guy came out to set up my internet and TV. Giving up on staying awake any longer, I meandered back to my room, looking at the old painting on the wall, debating whether I wanted it or not. I fell asleep with visions of rolling seas in my head, which seemed to help with the lack of noise in this rural manor.