Elegance, Part III

(If you are going to read this, I suggest you read Elegance Part I and Part II first.)

Broke.

That word, that awful, hideous, loathsome word. It was the  word that made Frank's dinner with Betty impossible.  But could a word stop Frank from having a date with the most beautiful woman in the world? Of course not! Frank was  to have a perfectly elegant dinner with Betty Mason! And he knew someone who could help him.

After work, Frank walked back to his apartment. He needed to call his friend... but telephones were expensive. The only telephone that Frank knew of was in the lobby of the hotel, and that was only to be used by Mr. Howard, the hotel manager. Frank had used it one before, and Mr. Howard got really really really mad.

What was more important, a room to live in, or a date with Betty Mason? Well, reasoned Frank.

I can't pay the hotel bill already. I'll get evicted even if I don't use the telephone.
That night, at 12:01 A.M., Frank crept down the stairs to the lobby. He was quiet as a mouse... sort of.

The light came on. Frank dove behind a chair as Mr. Howard came out of his room with a pistol.

"Who's there!" he cried.

Frank didn't move. Mr. Howard paced the room, muttering, "Come out and fight. I know you're after my telephone. Come and get it!" After what seemed like hours, Mr. Howard went back to his room, but left the light on.

"Oh, brilliant," muttered Frank. “If I stand up, Mr. Howard will see me!”

Frank knew he had to do something. In one fluid motion, he stood up, turned off the light and hid behind the chair again.

Mr. Howard was ready for him. The manager leaped out of his room and raced to Frank’s hiding spot. Before Mr. Howard could see this ‘intruder’, Frank punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Frank grabbed the telephone, but before he started to speak to the operator, he remembered. It was 12:05 A.M. His friend probably wasn’t even awake.

*****

The next morning, Frank found an eviction note on his door.

“You have failed to pay all of your bills,” it read. Well, at least Mr. Howard hadn’t figured out that Frank was the  ‘intruder’.

As Frank gathered  his possessions (which weren’t many)and walked downstairs, where he saw Mr. Howard wiring an odd contraption to the telephone.

“Good morning, Mr. Howard,” said Frank. “What are you doing?”

Mr. Howard finished the wiring of the contraption. He noticed Frank’s eviction note. “Oh yes. The hotel won’t be the same without you, Frank.”

“So what’s that thing-a-ma-jiggy you’re putting on the telephone?”

Mr. Howard grimaced. “Last night, a thief came in here to steal the telephone. Fortunately, I scared him off.”

Frank laughed inwardly at Mr. Howard’s lie and then saw the grandfather clock. It was 9:30. “Holy Cabooses, I’m late for work!” Frank cried. He raced to the Manson’s house, but when he reached the gate, he remembered: it was Saturday, his day off.