"Chester, Harold - Coper" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chester Harold)

"What's happened to me?" Rob said, then looked down at the empty
space under the sheet to his left where his arm should be. "What
happened to my arm?"

"There was too much tissue damage, I'm afraid. We couldn't
reattach it." Dr. Cortesia made a note on his clipboard. "We
really don't know what's wrong, yet -- we've never seen anything
like this. It could be some strange new disease, something
genetic, perhaps even some kind of chemical exposure."

Rob shook his head, still woozy. "Chemical exposure? I work in
Accounts Payable!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pearson. There's not a lot we can do right now. I
ran several tests while you were unconscious, and hope that those
will tell us something. In the meantime, your wife is coming to
take you home. Until we know more about your condition, I think
it's best that you stay at home and don't go out of the house."

Before they could leave, Sally had to help him put on his
clothes. During the ride home in their minivan, his wife was
strangely silent. She moved almost jerkily, and brushed her long
black hair away from her eyes several times. She grinned at him a
few times, but her eyes were dull.

She touched his left shoulder, near his neck, and squeezed, once.
"It's going to be okay, Rob -- really."

"It's going to be tough on the rest of them at the office. You
know that John's already out sick; I don't think that they can
handle the load with both of us gone."

"Always thinking of other people, aren't you? That's one of the
reasons I love you so much. Sally smiled. "I've made arrangements
with your boss, Maddy; she's going to let you telecommute. I've
already got the software installed."

"What if this is chemically related? Your job there is working
with all those chemicals!"

"I'm an entomologist, not a chemist. You know that. I may work
with some of the chemicals, but we all take the proper
precautions. Besides," she said, "it may not have anything to do
with chemicals."

They were home a few minutes later. The clinic wasn't very far
from the plant, he thought. Sally showed him how to log on
remotely, and he spent the next few hours working.