JК
Bag of Bones :: Кинг Стивен
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Bill looked at his watch one final time, then swung open the door to his truck. “The old man wouldn’t come for their weddin, but he came for his son’s funeral and he’s been here ever since. He didn’t want nawthin to do with the young woman—”
“But he wants the kid,” I said. It was no more than what I already knew, but I felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach just the same. Don’t talk about this, Mattie had asked me on the morning of the Fourth. It’s not a good time Jar Ki and me. “How far along in the process has he gotten?”
“On the third turn and headin into the home stretch, I sh’d say. There’ll be a hearin in Castle County Superior Court, maybe later this month, maybe next. The judge could rule then to hand the girl over, or put it off until fall. I don’t think it matters which, because the one thing that’s never going to happen on God’s green earth is a rulin in favor of the mother. One way or another, that little girl is going to grow up in California.’’ Put that way, it gave me a very nasty little chill. Bill slid behind the wheel of his truck. “Stay out of it, Mike,” he said. “Stay away from Mattie Devore and her daughter. And if you get called to court on account of seem the two of em on Saturday, smile a lot and say as little as you can.”
“Max Devore’s charging that she’s unfit to raise the child.” ’yuh.”
“Bill, I saw the child, and she’s fine.” He grinned again, but this time there was no amusement in it.
“"Magine she is. But that’s not the point. Stay clear of their business, old boy. It’s my job to tell you that; with Jo gone, I guess I’m the only caretaker you got.” He slammed the door of his Ram, started the engine, reached for the gearshift, then dropped his hand again as something else occurred to him. “If you get a chance, you ought to look for the owls.”
“What owls?”
“There’s a couple of plastic owls around here someplace. They might be in y’basement or out in Jo’s studio. They come in by mail-order the fall before she passed on.”
“The fall of 19937”
“Ayuh.”
“That can’t be right.” We hadn’t used Sara in the fall of 1993. “"Tis, though. I was down here puttin on the storm doors when Jo showed up. We had us a natter, and then the UPS truck come. I lugged the box into the entry and had a coffee—I was still drinkin it then—while she took the owls out of the carton and showed em off to me. Gorry, but they looked real! She left not ten minutes after.
Bill looked at his watch one final time, then swung open the door to his truck. “The old man wouldn’t come for their weddin, but he came for his son’s funeral and he’s been here ever since. He didn’t want nawthin to do with the young woman—”
“But he wants the kid,” I said. It was no more than what I already knew, but I felt a sinking in the pit of my stomach just the same. Don’t talk about this, Mattie had asked me on the morning of the Fourth. It’s not a good time Jar Ki and me. “How far along in the process has he gotten?”
“On the third turn and headin into the home stretch, I sh’d say. There’ll be a hearin in Castle County Superior Court, maybe later this month, maybe next. The judge could rule then to hand the girl over, or put it off until fall. I don’t think it matters which, because the one thing that’s never going to happen on God’s green earth is a rulin in favor of the mother. One way or another, that little girl is going to grow up in California.’’ Put that way, it gave me a very nasty little chill. Bill slid behind the wheel of his truck. “Stay out of it, Mike,” he said. “Stay away from Mattie Devore and her daughter. And if you get called to court on account of seem the two of em on Saturday, smile a lot and say as little as you can.”
“Max Devore’s charging that she’s unfit to raise the child.” ’yuh.”
“Bill, I saw the child, and she’s fine.” He grinned again, but this time there was no amusement in it.
“"Magine she is. But that’s not the point. Stay clear of their business, old boy. It’s my job to tell you that; with Jo gone, I guess I’m the only caretaker you got.” He slammed the door of his Ram, started the engine, reached for the gearshift, then dropped his hand again as something else occurred to him. “If you get a chance, you ought to look for the owls.”
“What owls?”
“There’s a couple of plastic owls around here someplace. They might be in y’basement or out in Jo’s studio. They come in by mail-order the fall before she passed on.”
“The fall of 19937”
“Ayuh.”
“That can’t be right.” We hadn’t used Sara in the fall of 1993. “"Tis, though. I was down here puttin on the storm doors when Jo showed up. We had us a natter, and then the UPS truck come. I lugged the box into the entry and had a coffee—I was still drinkin it then—while she took the owls out of the carton and showed em off to me. Gorry, but they looked real! She left not ten minutes after.