"MacAvoy,.R.A.-.Tea.With.The.Black.Dragon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

wanted since June.

Martha could just as well have slept on Liz's couch as
spent so much of her daughter's money. It was all very
strange. The smile disappeared from her lips as she
considered how strange. She turned from the water and

ascended the sandy slope.

"Mysterious meetings in expensive places," she mum-
bled as she climbed. A wealth of sand was trapped in her
open-toed shoes. "Intrigue. Suspense . . .

"Tune in tonight for shocking revelations!" The sole of
her foot gritted against concrete; she stood on the
pavement above the beach, emptying her shoes. Except
for her gray form, unobtrusive as a rock, the beach was
empty on this workday afternoon. Empty and cool.
Martha shivered deliciously in the good wool suit she
hadn't been able to wear since May.

The Great Highway cut between the City and the
Ocean, sharp as the mark of a razor. A young boy ran
along the curb, all dressed in white, his feet making a

noise like pigeon wings.

Thinking of pigeon wings, Martha's spirits lifted once
again. It was her spirits' natural condition, to be lifted.
She sprinted across the street in her cordovan brogues,
her pleated skirt flapping, receiving the honks of motor-
ists with quiet grace. On the far sideЧthe City sideЧ
stood the stand of a pretzel vendor. His teeth flashed at
her from a strong, Latin face. She bought a soft pretzel,
decorated it with mustard, and ate it where she stood.

TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON 3

Three men walked by together, arm in arm in arm,
and then a young woman with bushy hair red as a radish.
A bare-chested boy on a spyder bike did wheelies in the
street. Honks again. Martha's approval was limitless; San
Francisco bid fair to being as zany as New York.

And this was a good corner, probably packed on
weekends. Close to downtown yet in sight of the water.
She wished she had brought her fiddle. How invigorat-
ing to sit down next to the pretzel vendor and play a
Bach passacaglia, or maybe a slip jig. Put out the hat. Liz