JК
Bag of Bones :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 161 из 425She bent down to Kyra and said, “What rhymes with lady?’ and Kyra said“Shady!’ right off. Even at two she loved rhymes. Rogette reached into her purse and brought out a Hershey’s Kiss.
Ki looked at me to see if she had permission and I said, “All right, but just one, and I don’t want to see any of it on your dress.” Ki popped it into her mouth and smiled at Rogette as if they’d been friends since forever. “By then Devore had his breath back, but he looked tired—the most tired man I’ve ever seen. He reminded me of something in the Bible, about how in the days of our old age we say we have no pleasure in them.
My heart kind of broke for him. Maybe he saw it, because he reached for my hand. He said, “Don’t shut me out.” And at that moment I could see Lance in his face. I started to cry. I said, “I won’t unless you make me.’” I could see them there in the funeral home’s foyer, him sitting, her standing, the little girl looking on in wide-eyed puzzlement as she sucked the sweet Hershey’s Kiss. Canned organ music in the background.
Poor old Max Devore had been crafty enough on the day of his son’s viewing, I thought. Don’t shut me out, indeed. I tried to buy you off and when that didn’t work I upped the stakes and tried to buy the baby. When that also failed, I told my son that you and he and my grandchild could choke on the dirt of your own decision. In a way, I’m the reason he was where he was when hejll and broke his neck, but don’t shut me out, Mattie, I’m just a poor old geezer, so don’t shut me out. “I was stupid, wasn’t I?”
“You expected him to be better than he was. If that makes you stupid, Mattie, the world could use more of it.”
“I did have my doubts,” she said. “It’s why I wouldn’t take any of his money, and by last October he’d quit asking. But I let him see her. I suppose, yeah, part of it was the idea there might be something in it for Ki later on, but I honestly didn’t think about that so much. Mostly it was him being her only blood link to her father. I wanted her to enjoy that the way any kid enjoys having a grandparent. What I didn’t want was for her to be infected by all the crap that went on before Lance died. “At first it seemed to be working. Then, little by little, things changed. I realized that Ki didn’t like her ’white poppa’ so much; for one thing. Her feelings about Rogette are the same, but Max Devore’s started to make her nervous in some way I don’t understand and she can’t explain. I asked her once if he’d ever touched her anywhere that made her feel funny. I showed her the places I meant, and she said no.
Ki looked at me to see if she had permission and I said, “All right, but just one, and I don’t want to see any of it on your dress.” Ki popped it into her mouth and smiled at Rogette as if they’d been friends since forever. “By then Devore had his breath back, but he looked tired—the most tired man I’ve ever seen. He reminded me of something in the Bible, about how in the days of our old age we say we have no pleasure in them.
My heart kind of broke for him. Maybe he saw it, because he reached for my hand. He said, “Don’t shut me out.” And at that moment I could see Lance in his face. I started to cry. I said, “I won’t unless you make me.’” I could see them there in the funeral home’s foyer, him sitting, her standing, the little girl looking on in wide-eyed puzzlement as she sucked the sweet Hershey’s Kiss. Canned organ music in the background.
Poor old Max Devore had been crafty enough on the day of his son’s viewing, I thought. Don’t shut me out, indeed. I tried to buy you off and when that didn’t work I upped the stakes and tried to buy the baby. When that also failed, I told my son that you and he and my grandchild could choke on the dirt of your own decision. In a way, I’m the reason he was where he was when hejll and broke his neck, but don’t shut me out, Mattie, I’m just a poor old geezer, so don’t shut me out. “I was stupid, wasn’t I?”
“You expected him to be better than he was. If that makes you stupid, Mattie, the world could use more of it.”
“I did have my doubts,” she said. “It’s why I wouldn’t take any of his money, and by last October he’d quit asking. But I let him see her. I suppose, yeah, part of it was the idea there might be something in it for Ki later on, but I honestly didn’t think about that so much. Mostly it was him being her only blood link to her father. I wanted her to enjoy that the way any kid enjoys having a grandparent. What I didn’t want was for her to be infected by all the crap that went on before Lance died. “At first it seemed to be working. Then, little by little, things changed. I realized that Ki didn’t like her ’white poppa’ so much; for one thing. Her feelings about Rogette are the same, but Max Devore’s started to make her nervous in some way I don’t understand and she can’t explain. I asked her once if he’d ever touched her anywhere that made her feel funny. I showed her the places I meant, and she said no.