"Thomas M. Disch M - Casablanca" - читать интересную книгу автора (Disch Thomas M)

travel agency displayed a poster showing a pretty young blonde, rather like Doris Day, in a
cowboy costume. It was a poster for Pan American airlines.
At last the shoeshine boy went away. Fred's face was flushed with stifled anger. His spa
white hair made the redness of the flesh seem all the brighter, like a winter sunset.
A grown man came into the ice-cream parlor with a bundle of newspapers, French
newspapers. Despite his lack of French, Fred could understand the headlines. He bought a
copy for twenty francs and went back to the hotel, leaving half the sundae uneaten.
The minute he was in the door, Mrs. Richmond cried out, "Isn't it terrible?" She had a co
of the paper already spread out on the bed. "It doesn't say anything about Cleveland."
Cleveland was where Nan, the Richmonds' married daughter, lived. There was no point
wondering about their own home. It was in Florida, within fifty miles of the Cape, and they
always known that if there were a war it would be one of the first places to go.
"The dirty reds!" Fred said, flushing. His wife began to cry. "Goddamn them to hell. Wh
did the newspaper say? How did it start?"
"Do you suppose," Mrs. Richmond asked, "that Billy and Midge could be at Grandma H
farm?"
Fred paged through La Vigie Marocaine helplessly, looking for pictures. Except for the
cutout of a mushroom cloud on the front page and a stock picture on the second of the presid
in a cowboy hat, there were no photos. He tried to read the lead story but it made no sense.
 Mrs. Richmond rushed out of the room, crying aloud.
Fred wanted to tear the paper into ribbons. To calm himself he poured a shot from the pi
of bourbon he kept in the dresser. Then he went out into the hall and called through the lock
door to the W.C.: "Well, I'll bet we knocked hell out of them at least."
This was of no comfort to Mrs. Richmond.


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Only the day before, Mrs. Richmond had written two lettersтАФone to her granddaughter Mid
the other to Midge's mother, Nan. The letter to Midge read:
December 2 Dear Mademoiselle H
Well, here we are in romantic Casablanca, where the old and the new come together. Th
are palm trees growing on the boulevard outside our hotel window and sometimes it seems
we never left Florida at all. In Marrakesh we bought presents for you and Billy, which you
should get in time for Christmas if the mails are good. Wouldn't you like to know what's in
those packages! But you'll just have to wait till Christmas! You should thank God every day
darling, that you live in America. If you could only see the poor Moroccan children, beggin
the streets. They aren't able to go to school, and many of them don't even have shoes or war
clothes. And don't think it doesn't get cold here, even if it is Africa! You and Billy don't kno
how lucky you are!
On the train ride to Marrakesh we saw the farmers plowing their fields in December. Ea
plow has one donkey and one camel. That would probably be an interesting fact for you to
your geography teacher in school.
Casablanca is wonderfully exciting, and I often wish that you and Billy were here to enj
with us. Someday, perhaps! Be goodтАФremember it will be Christmas soon.
Your loving Grandmother,
"Grams"
The second letter, to Midge's mother, read as follows: