JК
Bag of Bones :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 363 из 425A lady in a big hat. A man in blue pants. The rest are hard to see.
But they watch. They watch us. Don’t you see them?”
“They can’t hurt us.”
“Are you sure? Are you, are you?”
I didn’t answer.
I found a box of Swiss Miss hiding behind the flour cannister, tore open one of the packets, and dumped it into a cup. Thunder exploded overhead.
Ki jumped in my arms and let out a long, miserable wail. I hugged her, kissed her cheek.
“Don’t put me down, Mike, I scared.”
“I won’t put you down. You’re my good girl.”
“I scared of the boy and the blue-pants man and the lady. I think it’s the lady who wore Mattie’s dress. Are they ghosties?’
“Yes.”
“Are they bad, like the men who chased us at the fair? Are they?”
“I don’t really know, Ki, and that’s the truth.”
“But we’ll find out.”
“Huh?”
“That’s what you thought. “But we’ll find out.’”
“Yes,” I said. “I guess that’s what I was thinking. Something like that.”
I took her down to the master bedroom while the water heated in the kettle, thinking there had to be something left of Jo’s I could pop her into, but all of the drawers in Jo’s bureau were empty. So was her side of the closet. I stood Ki on the big double bed where I had not so much as taken a nap since coming back, took off her clothes, carried her into the bathroom, and wrapped her in a bathtowel. She hugged it around herself, shaking and blue-lipped. I used another one to dry her hair as best I could. During all of this, she never let go of the stuffed dog, which was now beginning to bleed stuffing from its seams.
I opened the medicine cabinet, pawed through it, and found what I was looking for on the top shelf: the Benadryl Jo had kept around for her ragweed allergy. I thought of checking the expiration date on the bottom of the box, then almost laughed out loud. What difference did that make?
I stood Ki on the closed toilet seat and let her hold on around my neck while I stripped the childproof backing from four of the little pink-and-white caplets. Then I rinsed out the tooth-glass and filled it with cold water. While I was doing this I saw movement in the bathroom mirror, which reflected the doorway and the master bedroom beyond. I told myself that I was only seeing the shadows of windblown trees. I offered the caplets to Ki. She reached for them, then hesitated. “Go on,” I said. “It’s medicine.”
“What kind?” she asked.
But they watch. They watch us. Don’t you see them?”
“They can’t hurt us.”
“Are you sure? Are you, are you?”
I didn’t answer.
I found a box of Swiss Miss hiding behind the flour cannister, tore open one of the packets, and dumped it into a cup. Thunder exploded overhead.
Ki jumped in my arms and let out a long, miserable wail. I hugged her, kissed her cheek.
“Don’t put me down, Mike, I scared.”
“I won’t put you down. You’re my good girl.”
“I scared of the boy and the blue-pants man and the lady. I think it’s the lady who wore Mattie’s dress. Are they ghosties?’
“Yes.”
“Are they bad, like the men who chased us at the fair? Are they?”
“I don’t really know, Ki, and that’s the truth.”
“But we’ll find out.”
“Huh?”
“That’s what you thought. “But we’ll find out.’”
“Yes,” I said. “I guess that’s what I was thinking. Something like that.”
I took her down to the master bedroom while the water heated in the kettle, thinking there had to be something left of Jo’s I could pop her into, but all of the drawers in Jo’s bureau were empty. So was her side of the closet. I stood Ki on the big double bed where I had not so much as taken a nap since coming back, took off her clothes, carried her into the bathroom, and wrapped her in a bathtowel. She hugged it around herself, shaking and blue-lipped. I used another one to dry her hair as best I could. During all of this, she never let go of the stuffed dog, which was now beginning to bleed stuffing from its seams.
I opened the medicine cabinet, pawed through it, and found what I was looking for on the top shelf: the Benadryl Jo had kept around for her ragweed allergy. I thought of checking the expiration date on the bottom of the box, then almost laughed out loud. What difference did that make?
I stood Ki on the closed toilet seat and let her hold on around my neck while I stripped the childproof backing from four of the little pink-and-white caplets. Then I rinsed out the tooth-glass and filled it with cold water. While I was doing this I saw movement in the bathroom mirror, which reflected the doorway and the master bedroom beyond. I told myself that I was only seeing the shadows of windblown trees. I offered the caplets to Ki. She reached for them, then hesitated. “Go on,” I said. “It’s medicine.”
“What kind?” she asked.