Page 28 - Extraterrestrials, Foreign and Domestic

The Hermits

Al came to his senses. Wilson Lafong, the half-witted younger
brother of his neighbor, Lorraine Lafong, stood at his back door
holding a small parcel.
“Uh, she said I was to give it to you if you was at home.”
Al went to the door and opened it. A silly grin beamed from the
boy’s otherwise emotionless face. Al looked at the package: mail
order from Fruit-of-the-Month Club, delivered to the wrong
address. He took it and said hurriedly, “Well, here I am. I’ll take
that, and thanks for your trouble. Goodbye.”
Just then the upstairs toilet flushed loudly, more loudly than Al
could remember it ever flushing before. Wilson, in the act of
examining his now-empty hand, stopped and cocked his head,
wide-eyed. Al panicked. “It’s—it’s, ah, my cousin, Wilson. He’s
just visiting. Not feeling well. Stays in bed—except, of course, to
go to the bathroom.”
“Oooh,” said Wilson. “I know, Mr. Osmoser.”
“You—you know?”
“Uh, well, I seen something move up there one day. I asked
Lorraine, and she said you don’t go up there no more since you
hurt your leg. That’s right, ain’t it, Mr. Osmoser?”
Al gripped the door knob.
“Well, not exactly, Wilson. I have to go up there sometimes to
clean house, right? Yes, it’s difficult on this bum leg, but it’s got to
be done. But, my cousin, you see, he has to stay in bed so I bring
him food up the stairs. Ah, how long ago was it you saw
something up there?”
Wilson tugged at his lower lip, twisting it back and forth
between thumb and forefinger. His eyes moved upwards and
sideways in counterpoint, searching the empty rooms of his
memory.
“Don’t know. Got to go now, Mr. Osmoser. Lorraine don’t like
me to be gone long.”
“Well, I—” The boy bolted, stumbling down the rotten steps.
The old man watched him scramble through one of the larger
holes in the fence and run into the house next-door.
“Damn!” Al closed the screen door and went to the foot of
the stairs. “Ricky,” he called. “Ricky, I’ve got to talk with you.”
The alien’s sliding shuffle brought him to the landing.

27