"Bailey-TheMall" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bailey Dale)

"Honey, we still have a long drive."

"Well, I know, Ellis, but we're on vacation. Your vacation, remember. No one's
particularly excited about it but you."

"I thought you wanted to go camping," he said.

"Well, I don't mind. But the kids aren't too happy. Come on, Ellis, it's an easy
compromise."

Ellis shrugged. "We'll see. It probably won't even be open."

They followed Jason and Donna through the revolving doors and Ellis stopped
abruptly, staring in astonishment at the enormous central gallery that extended
before him to the limits of his vision. For a single moment he was so
overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the place that he could not absorb
particulars. Then slowly, details began to seep into his awareness.

They stood at the edge of a broad walkway high above a sunken atrium. Far
overhead, the ceiling disappeared in a sheen of subdued lighting. Six levels of
deserted walkways, connected by escalators, encircled the vast central area.
Calliope music reached Ellis, and he realized that below lay the amusement park
the sign had promised. Stunned, he stared down at a slowly revolving Ferris
wheel.

"Holy shit!" he heard Donna say again, but he couldn't bring himself to
reprimand her. That was more or less what he was thinking.

Polished railings gleamed at him. Stores beckoned from the surrounding walkways.

"Daddy, please!" Jason said.

It took a conscious effort for Ellis to wrench his attention from the vista and
focus on his son. The ten-year-old stood before him, holding his Gameboy loosely
in one hand. Ellis stared at the boy as if he didn't quite recognize him: Nikes
and Levis, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle T-shirt he had become shy about
wearing to school. And in his eyes, the same glassy faraway look Ellis had
previously noticed in Donna's eyes.

He was still pondering that when Donna spoke. "Come on, Dad! Can we please spend
an hour or so in civilization since we have to spend the next two weeks out in
the woods?"

"Now, listen--" Ellis began, but Katie clamped down hard on his hand. He tried
again. "Guys, it's one-thirty in the morning."

"Well, you still have to pay for the gas," Katie said.

"No kidding. Where do you suppose the attendant is? Outside?"