"Brenda W Clough - How Like A God" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clough Brenda W)

How Like a God

By Brenda W. Clough

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Part One

CHAPTER 1

It was Rob's turn to drive the kids to day care. As usual the noise and
chaos of the morning departure were stupendous, enough to make a strong man
quake. Davey, eighteen months old, was perfecting a full-throated imitation
of Tarzan of the Apes. Julianne carried him yodeling out to the minivan on
one hip, her briefcase slung over her shoulder and a bulging diaper bag
hooked over the other arm. In the living room Rob wedged the filled baby
bottles into Angela's diaper bag and scooped his daughter up. "No!" she
shrieked. She raised her arms into noodle position and almost slipped right
out of his grasp. He foiled her by grabbing one chubby leg.

"Come along, sugar pie." With his free elbow he pushed the new storm door
open. He had installed it himself only last weekend, and made a good job of
itЧa white steel frame and door with a safety grate over the glass and a
self-storing screen.

"No no no no!" Angela howled. Rob stuffed her expertly into the carseat in
the center seat of the van. Before she could wiggle away he clicked the
latch home. In the other carseat, Davey had already accepted the inevitable
and was philosophically eating Cheerios by the fistful.

Rob slid the door shut on the pair of them and waved at Julianne's
retreating back. "Bye, darling!"

"Have a good day, hon!" she called over her impeccably tailored pink
shoulder. "Don't forget to tell Miss Linda about the shots!" Then the
Washington, D.C., commuter bus roared into view at the far end of the
suburban street. Julianne sprinted to catch it, her satin blonde hair
bobbing.

Julianne was always in a rush. Years of hurrying in high-heeled designer
pumps had taught her to run as fast in them as in sneakers. But she had cut
it too fine this time, Rob decided. The bus showed no signs of slowing
down. The gray diesel plume of its exhaust streamed out straight behind
like a fox's tail. Probably the driver hadn't even seen her. Shaking his
head, Rob went around the maroon van to the driver's side. If only Julianne
would allow herself five more minutes! Now she would need a lift to the
Vienna Metro station, and that would make them both late. The family
schedule had no slack in it at all.

The revelation came to him suddenly, just as his fingers touched the van's