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The Colorado Kid :: Кинг Стивен
Страница: 4 из 81Stephanie noticed thatshe was wearing heavy support hose that did not entirely conceal varicose veins, and that there were dark circles under her eyes.
“Vince, Dave,” she said, and contented herself with just a nod at the pretty third, whose name she did not know. “See your friend dashed off. For the ferry?”
“Yep,” Dave said. “Discovered he had to get back downBoston.”
“Ayuh? All done here?”
“Oh, leave on a bit,” Vince said, “but bring us a check when you like, Helen. Kids okay?”
Helen Hafner grimaced. “Jude fell out of his treehouse and broke his arm last week. Didn’t he holler! Scared me bout to death!”
The two old men looked at each other…then laughed. They sobered quickly, looking ashamed, and Vince offered his sympathies, but it wouldn’t do for Helen.
“Men can laugh,” she told Stephanie with a tired, sardonic smile. “Theyall fell out of treehouses and broke their arms when they were boys, and they all remember what little pirates they were. What they don’t remember is Ma gettin up in the middle of the night to give em their aspirin tablets. I’ll bring you the check.” She shuffled off in a pair of sneakers with rundown backs.
“She’s a good soul,” Dave said, having the grace to look slightly shamefaced.
“Yes, she is,” Vince said, “and if we got the rough side of her tongue we probably deserved it. Meanwhile, here’s the deal on this lunch, Steffi. I dunno what three lobster rolls, one lobster dinner with steamers, and four iced teas cost down there in Boston, but that feature writer must have forgot that up here we’re livin at what an economist might call ‘the source of supply’ and so he dropped a hundred bucks on the table. If Helen brings us a check that says any more than fiftyfive, I’ll smile and kiss a pig. With me so far?”
“Yes, sure,” Stephanie said.
“Now the way this works for that fella from theGlobe is that he scratchesLunch, Gray Gull, MooseLookit Island andUnexplained Mysteries Series in his little BostonGlobe expense book while he’s ridin back to the mainland on the ferry, and if he’s honest he writes one hundred bucks and if he’s got a smidge of larceny in his soul, he writes a hundred and twenty and takes his girl to the movies on the extra. Got that?”
“Yes,” Stephanie said, and looked at him with reproachful eyes as she drank the rest of her iced tea. “I think you’re very cynical.”
“No, if I was very cynical, I would have said a hundred andthirty, and for sure.” This made Dave snort laughter.
“Vince, Dave,” she said, and contented herself with just a nod at the pretty third, whose name she did not know. “See your friend dashed off. For the ferry?”
“Yep,” Dave said. “Discovered he had to get back downBoston.”
“Ayuh? All done here?”
“Oh, leave on a bit,” Vince said, “but bring us a check when you like, Helen. Kids okay?”
Helen Hafner grimaced. “Jude fell out of his treehouse and broke his arm last week. Didn’t he holler! Scared me bout to death!”
The two old men looked at each other…then laughed. They sobered quickly, looking ashamed, and Vince offered his sympathies, but it wouldn’t do for Helen.
“Men can laugh,” she told Stephanie with a tired, sardonic smile. “Theyall fell out of treehouses and broke their arms when they were boys, and they all remember what little pirates they were. What they don’t remember is Ma gettin up in the middle of the night to give em their aspirin tablets. I’ll bring you the check.” She shuffled off in a pair of sneakers with rundown backs.
“She’s a good soul,” Dave said, having the grace to look slightly shamefaced.
“Yes, she is,” Vince said, “and if we got the rough side of her tongue we probably deserved it. Meanwhile, here’s the deal on this lunch, Steffi. I dunno what three lobster rolls, one lobster dinner with steamers, and four iced teas cost down there in Boston, but that feature writer must have forgot that up here we’re livin at what an economist might call ‘the source of supply’ and so he dropped a hundred bucks on the table. If Helen brings us a check that says any more than fiftyfive, I’ll smile and kiss a pig. With me so far?”
“Yes, sure,” Stephanie said.
“Now the way this works for that fella from theGlobe is that he scratchesLunch, Gray Gull, MooseLookit Island andUnexplained Mysteries Series in his little BostonGlobe expense book while he’s ridin back to the mainland on the ferry, and if he’s honest he writes one hundred bucks and if he’s got a smidge of larceny in his soul, he writes a hundred and twenty and takes his girl to the movies on the extra. Got that?”
“Yes,” Stephanie said, and looked at him with reproachful eyes as she drank the rest of her iced tea. “I think you’re very cynical.”
“No, if I was very cynical, I would have said a hundred andthirty, and for sure.” This made Dave snort laughter.