JК
Bag of Bones :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 414 из 425“Becausethey can embarrass you in later life.”
“Oh.”
“Besides,” I said. “These papers are like your ribbons, in a way.”
“You don’t like them anymore.”
“Right.” She saw the box then—the tin box with JO’s NOTIONS written on the front. It was on the counter between the living room and the sink, not far from where old Krazy Kat had hung on the wall. I didn’t remember bringing the box up from the studio with me, but I suppose I might not have; I was pretty freaked. I also think it could have come up… kind of by itself. I do believe such things now; I have reason to. Kyra’s eyes lit up in a way they hadn’t since she had wakened from her short nap to find out her mother was dead. She stood on tiptoe to take hold of the box, then ran her small fingers across the gilt letters. I thought about how important it was for a kid to own a tin box. You had to have one for your secret stuff the best toy, the prettiest bit of lace, the first piece of jewelry. Or a picture of your mother, perhaps. “This is so… pretty,” she said in a soft, awed voice. “You can have it if you don’t mind it saying JO’s NOTIONS instead of KI’s NOTIONS. There are some papers in it I want to read, but I could put them somewhere else.” She looked at me to make sure I wasn’t kidding, saw I wasn’t. “I’d love it,” she said in the same soft, awed voice. I took the box from her, scooped out the steno books, notes, and clippings, then handed it back to Ki. She practiced taking the lid off and then putting it back on. “Guess what I’ll put in here,” she said. “Secret treasures?”
“Yes!” she said, and actually smiled for a moment. “Who was Jo, Mike? Do I know her? I do, don’t I? She was one of the fridgearator people.”
“She—” A thought occurred. I shuffled through the yellowed clippings. Nothing. I thought I’d lost it somewhere along the way, then saw a corner of what I was looking for peeking from the middle of one of the steno notebooks. I slid it out and handed it to Ki. “What is it?”
“A backwards photo. Hold it up to the light.” She did, and looked for a long time, rapt. Faint as a dream I could see my wife in her hand, my wife standing on the swimming float in her two-piece suit. “That’s Jo,” I said. “She’s pretty. I’m glad to have her box for my things.”
“I am too, Ki.” I kissed the top of her head.
When Sheriff Ridgewick hammered on the door, I thought it wise to answer with my hands up. He looked wired. What seemed to ease the situation was a simple, uncalculated question.
“Oh.”
“Besides,” I said. “These papers are like your ribbons, in a way.”
“You don’t like them anymore.”
“Right.” She saw the box then—the tin box with JO’s NOTIONS written on the front. It was on the counter between the living room and the sink, not far from where old Krazy Kat had hung on the wall. I didn’t remember bringing the box up from the studio with me, but I suppose I might not have; I was pretty freaked. I also think it could have come up… kind of by itself. I do believe such things now; I have reason to. Kyra’s eyes lit up in a way they hadn’t since she had wakened from her short nap to find out her mother was dead. She stood on tiptoe to take hold of the box, then ran her small fingers across the gilt letters. I thought about how important it was for a kid to own a tin box. You had to have one for your secret stuff the best toy, the prettiest bit of lace, the first piece of jewelry. Or a picture of your mother, perhaps. “This is so… pretty,” she said in a soft, awed voice. “You can have it if you don’t mind it saying JO’s NOTIONS instead of KI’s NOTIONS. There are some papers in it I want to read, but I could put them somewhere else.” She looked at me to make sure I wasn’t kidding, saw I wasn’t. “I’d love it,” she said in the same soft, awed voice. I took the box from her, scooped out the steno books, notes, and clippings, then handed it back to Ki. She practiced taking the lid off and then putting it back on. “Guess what I’ll put in here,” she said. “Secret treasures?”
“Yes!” she said, and actually smiled for a moment. “Who was Jo, Mike? Do I know her? I do, don’t I? She was one of the fridgearator people.”
“She—” A thought occurred. I shuffled through the yellowed clippings. Nothing. I thought I’d lost it somewhere along the way, then saw a corner of what I was looking for peeking from the middle of one of the steno notebooks. I slid it out and handed it to Ki. “What is it?”
“A backwards photo. Hold it up to the light.” She did, and looked for a long time, rapt. Faint as a dream I could see my wife in her hand, my wife standing on the swimming float in her two-piece suit. “That’s Jo,” I said. “She’s pretty. I’m glad to have her box for my things.”
“I am too, Ki.” I kissed the top of her head.
When Sheriff Ridgewick hammered on the door, I thought it wise to answer with my hands up. He looked wired. What seemed to ease the situation was a simple, uncalculated question.