The Most Magical Place on Earth - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

"I'm sorry, your name isn't listed, so I'm afraid I can't do that," the voice on the other end of the line told Paul calmly.

"Well, can I tell you my name is something else?" Paul asked, starting to get annoyed. 

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he replied. 

"But I'm here!" he hissed at the phone. "I'm in the room! Can't you just see where the call is coming from to confirm that?"

"I'm afraid fraudsters are quite advanced, so..." the man on the phone began to drone on. Before Paul could cut him off, or try another tactic, Beth finally stepped out of the bedroom, having at last finished getting dressed for the day, their first day at the park.

"Who are you calling?" Beth asked curiously as she sat down next to him on the couch. 

He fidgeted a little, feeling a bit like a small child, caught doing something he'd been told not to do. "I was trying to get the hotel to clean out that room," he admitted. "I know we aren't going to use it... But for what we're paying, it does seem ridiculous that they wouldn't have taken the time to clear all that away."

Beth chuckled. "Well, if it bothers you that much, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have them take care of it." 

She got up and started to head off before Paul coughed. "Umm... Actually, I need you to do it." He blushed, hating having to ask her to do it, when it clearly didn't bother like as much as it did him. He wasn't sure why he cared... She was right, they had no real reason to use that room, so who cared? But he'd already told her that was what he was trying to do, and his only alternatives now were to give up or ask for her help.

She turned, smirking slightly as she walked back over to him, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, I'll make it all better for you," she told him, taking the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is she... Yes, I'm afraid there are some extra clothes and things in our room that shouldn't be here... Could you please have somebody come take them away for us? Thank you so much, and sorry for the bother!"

She hung the phone up. "It's just as easy as that!" she declared.

"They wouldn't let me do it," he mumbled, cheeks darkening. "I didn't want to bother you with it, but my name isn't on the room, so..."

"Oh, it's okay," she said, her tone turning lighter and more teasing. "I can talk to the big, bad grown-ups for you."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Thanks so much. Can we get going now?"

Beth's eyes lit up. "Yeah!" she nodded, grabbing her purse. "Let's go!"

That was what this trip was all about... It didn't matter that, for whatever reason, he couldn't do anything with the room he'd paid for, or that there was a weird nursery in that room.... Seeing Beth's excitement made it all worthwhile. They smiled at each other as they hurried to the elevator and through the lobby, both too amped to even think about stopping to get Paul a key card like they'd planned on doing.

He was, of course, excited about actually getting to see Disney World in person, but it was nothing compared to Beth's enthusiasm. He was curious to try out the rides, however, it seemed like Beth's main priority was meeting as many of the Disney characters walking around the park as she could. 

The first few times, it was cute, yet as the day wore on, Paul couldn't help feeling bored, and even a little embarrassed. Most of the other people in line around the characters to get their pictures taken were kids, but here they were, both adults, waiting right alongside them. He loved seeing her happiness as she got up to them, and he snapped a picture; he would have been satisfied with that. However, Beth insisted on taking his picture with them, too. 

Even though this trip was in honor of their anniversary, it was really for her, so he was glad she seemed to be enjoying herself as she clicked yet another picture of him standing awkwardly next to yet another princess in a poofy dress... It wasn't exactly how he'd envisioned their first full day going, though. He knew that Beth had a plan - he hadn't seen it himself, because she said she wanted it to be a surprise, but she'd told him she was going to make sure he saw it all by the end of the vacation - so he trusted that this was part of it.

Despite spending most of the day waiting in line and posing for photos, it was still hot enough out that Paul was eager to head to the shower once they got back to the hotel and wash the sweat away. He shed his clothes, letting them fall into a heap on the bathroom floor, and stepped into the shower. He just wasn't used to the Florida sun... 

Partway through, he heard the bathroom door open, calling playfully, "You want to join me?"

Beth chuckled. "The maid came by and asked if we had any clothes to be washed... She said since we had that problem with our room, they'd do it for free, so I figured we might as well take advantage of it, right?" 

"Sure!" Paul agreed. In all honesty, he'd forgotten all about that while he'd been out at the park... He'd also forgotten all about his lack of a key card when they'd walked through the lobby. Through the thin shower curtain, he could see her shape bending down to pick up his dirty clothes and retreat back out of the bathroom. He didn't think much of it until he stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry himself off, and remembered he hadn't stopped by the bedroom first to get something to change into.

He dried himself off, then wrapped the towel around his waist to walk into the bedroom, feeling self-conscious at the sight of the fairy statues on the walls, as if they were watching him, headed to his suitcase to dig out something to put on for the evening... His cheeks flushed just slightly as his eyes drifted over the doorway on his side of the bed, even knowing that it was empty now. The door was open just a crack, surely from whoever had come in to clear it all out.

When he got to the bedside, however, his suitcase wasn't there. He frowned, looking around, trying to remember if he'd moved the suitcase somewhere else for any reason. "Beth?" he called, kneeling down to peek under the bed.

"Yeah?" she popped her head into the room. 

"Have you seen my suitcase?" he asked.

"Not really," she shrugged. "I figured you just put it in the closet or something... You did unpack, right?" 

Paul blushed again. "Well... I was going to, but..." He shook his head; what did it matter? If he didn't feel like unpacking, why should he bother? It wasn't like he had to do everything Beth suggested.

"Maybe they just put it into the other room," Beth suggested, after rolling her eyes at his laziness. "They probably figured you wanted it emptied out so you could use it. Why else would you have cared that much?"

"That's a good point," Paul had to admit. The door was open, after all.... He probably should have thought of that before calling her in here. He pushed the door open a touch, scanning the floor right inside. When he didn't see it in the immediate area, he sighed and opened the door the rest of the way, flipping the light on.

The first thing he noticed was the sweet scent from the night before, this time seeming even more powerful. A moment later, he saw that the crib was still there, along with the diapers on the windowside changing table, and the open closet door on the opposite wall, still full of clothes. He rushed over to the closet, looking inside to make sure the suitcase wasn't there; it wasn't.

"It isn't here!" he called, turning around to see Beth standing at the door. "They took my clothes instead!"

"Well, they must have assumed since it was all packed up, and these were unpacked, these must be yours," she suggested. 

"But..." Paul's cheeks turned as pink as most everything in this room.

"Don't worry, I'll call them," Beth said. Paul would have loved to handle it himself, but he knew by now that it wouldn't do him any good. She vanished from the open door and he followed, a little slower - there really wasn't anything that he would accomplish by hurrying, he just wanted to get out of that room.

Beth looked up when he stepped into the living room, telling him, "They're sending somebody up here."

"What?" Paul gasped. "I don't have anything to wear!"

"Well, that's why we called them, isn't it?" she reminded him. "I'm sure it'll be fine... Besides, what did you want me to do?" He didn't have an answer to that... His silence didn't make the idea of standing around in just a towel any easier, though, as he tightened it around his waist. "You can hide in the bedroom, I'll take care of it," she offered.

"It's my stuff," Paul said. "I don't want you to have to do everything...."

She shrugged. "I don't mind... And it isn't like I have anything that's gonna fit you, so I don't know what else you can do."

He did, although he wished he didn't. Everything he'd seen in that closet had been girly, childish, frilly... But he hadn't looked through it completely, and it did look like it would fit him. Maybe there was something in there that wasn't so bad... "I'll be back," he said, heading back to the bedroom, and then, with a sigh, into the nursery.

He tried not to look around too much, not wanting to be reminded of the other things in the room. All he wanted was the closet, and only then if, by some chance, he could find something, anything, that didn't look like it belonged to a toddler girl. He began to push aside outfit after outfit, looking for a plain shirt, or pair of shorts, something that he could cover part of himself with.

He spun around, sure he'd heard something behind him. There was nobody there, just the fairy statues perched on the wall, all seeming to stare at him, like they were judging him... They made his skin crawl a little, especially after he went back to his mission, then paused. Had there been statues in here before? Tinkerbell and her friends were out in the entryway, and the living room, but did he remember them in this bedroom? 

Of course he did; or, rather, he didn't, yet, of course, he'd forgotten about them. They couldn't just appear out of nowhere... Why were they all looking towards the closet? He shivered, part of him wanting to check again and make sure he'd seen them wrong, as he surely must have. Another part of him didn't dare; that same part slowed his search, made him freeze at every tiny sound.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the door open, spinning around, nearly losing his towel. "Here we go!" Beth exclaimed, gesturing towards Paul. A tall, handsome man was standing beside her, smirking as he looked Paul in the eye. "This is Will," Beth told Paul. "He works here."

"Yes, we're very sorry about the misunderstanding," Will said, his tone sounding quite condescending, not at all like he meant it. "Unfortunately, we've already sent the suitcase on its way to the last people who rented this room. We're doing everything in our power to get it back." He gave what was probably supposed to be an apologetic smile, but looked more like he was trying not to laugh as he looked at Paul. "Of course, if we aren't able to, the hotel would be happy to give you some money to buy new clothes."

Paul knew he should feel angry, and he did... But, more powerfully than that, he couldn't help feeling... afraid, somehow. "Y-You'd better..." he started to say, stepping forward, however, his hands were shaking so badly he nearly dropped his towel, making him stop right there and readjust quickly.

"Although," Will continued, almost as if he hadn't heard Paul, "it seems like you have everything you need here. It looks like you've even gotten started." He nodded over towards the window, and Paul couldn't help glancing over to see what in the world he was talking about.

Paul blushed again, heart thumping as he saw one of the diapers now laid out, open, on the changing table, as if it were waiting for somebody to come sit on it. That hadn't been like that before... He was almost certain of it! How could he have missed it?! "N-No, I didn't..." he protested.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Beth giggled. Paul looked back over at them, a little hurt that she found this amusing... Maybe it was, maybe he was just being overly sensitive, but it didn't feel that way now.

"I suppose we shouldn't tease her too much," Will said after a moment. "We'll give you a call tomorrow morning to let you know if we've made any progress."

He was talking to Beth, of course, as if Paul wasn't even there, or didn't matter, even if he was the topic of conversation. He probably wouldn't have been much help anyway - he was too busy feeling embarrassed that Will had just called him 'she'... And, that Beth didn't bother to correct, likely assuming Paul would do it on his own. Normally, he probably would have, even if it seemed ridiculous that anyone would make that kind of mistake... Maybe he hadn't even meant it, and had just misspoke. Paul's mouth didn't seem to be working right, however; that, or his confidence was too shaken by everything that had happened, and this room. He simply couldn't find it in himself to speak.

"Thanks so much," she smiled at him, just a little too long. "You've been a huge help."

"No, he hasn't!" Paul hissed, though not before Will had shown himself out, and he'd bustled back out into the main bedroom. "I still don't have any clothes!"

"I'm sure you'll have some by the morning," Beth shrugged. "Or I can go out and buy you something first thing. It's no big deal!"

He would have disagreed, but she silenced him with a kiss, hooking a finger into his towel. "Besides," she said, "I bet we can think of some things to keep us occupied for the night that don't require any clothes..."

She was absolutely right. Paul didn't have time to think about his missing suitcase, or the room, or the things in it, before they both fell asleep in bed, exhausted. He didn't think about much of anything at all until she woke him up the next morning.

"Paul, get up!" she squealed. He rolled over drowsily. "Paul, what did you do?!" she demanded, looking shocked, a little disgusted... And, as he woke up more, seeing more of her PJs, wet.

"Huh? I didn't..." he muttered, sitting up in bed. That was when he felt it, the cold, damp sensation beneath him, surrounding his crotch. Beth had gotten a little on her, but it was all around him as he desperately tried to kick the blankets away, cheeks burning. "No, I don't... I never..." he shook his head, panting. However, there was no getting around it... No matter how hard he tried to deny it, the evidence was all around him. 

He had wet the bed.