"Carol Emshwiller - Mrs Jones" - читать интересную книгу автора (Emshwiller Carol)

Little light or no little light, they both check the windows and doors and then
recheck the ones the other had already checked, or, at least Cora rechecks all the
ones Janice had seen to. Janice sees her do it and Cora sees her noticing, so Cora
says, тАЬWith what theyтАЩre doing in genetic engineering, it could be anything at all out
there. They make mistakes and peculiar things escape. You donтАЩt hear about it
because itтАЩs classified. People disapprove so they donтАЩt let the news get out.тАЭ Ever
since she was six years old, Cora has been trying to scare her younger sister,
though, as usual, she ends up scaring herself.
But then, just as they are about to give up and go off to bed, thereтАЩs the light
again. тАЬAh.тАЭ Janice breathes out as though she had been holding her breath. тАЬThere
it is, finally.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve got a lot to learn,тАЭ Cora says. SheтАЩd heard the relief in JaniceтАЩs big
sigh. тАЬAnyway, IтАЩm off to bed, and youтАЩd better come soon, too, if you know
whatтАЩs good for you.тАЭ
тАЬI know whatтАЩs good for me,тАЭ Janice says. She would have stayed up too late
just for spite, but now she has another, secret reason for doing it. She sits reading an
article in Cosmopolitan about how to be more sexually attractive to your husband.
Around midnight, even downstairs, she can hear Cora snoring. Janice goes out to the
kitchen. Moves around it like a little mouse. SheтАЩs good at that. Gets out MotherтАЩs
teakwood tray, takes big slices of rye bread form CoraтАЩs stash, takes a can of
CoraтАЩs tunafish. (Janice knows sheтАЩll notice. Cora has them all counted up.) Takes
butter and mayonnaise from CoraтАЩs side of the refrigerator. Makes three tunafish
sandwiches. Places them on three of MotherтАЩs gold-rimmed plates along with some
of her own celery, radishes and grapes. Then she sits down and eats one plateful
herself. She hasnтАЩt let herself have a tunafish sandwich, especially not one with
mayonnaise and butter and rye bread, in quite some time.
ItтАЩs only when Janice is halfway out in the orchard that she remembers what
Cora said about the prison and thinks maybe thereтАЩs some sort of escaped criminal
out there--a rapist or a murderer, and here she is, wearing only her bathrobe and
nightgown, in her slippers, and without even FatherтАЩs walking stick. (Though the
walking stick would probably just have been a handy thing for the criminal to attack
her with.) She stops, puts the tray down, then moves forward. SheтАЩs had a lot of
practice creeping--creeping up on Cora ever since they were little. Used to yell,
тАЬBoo,тАЭ but now shouts out anything to make her jump. Or not even shouting.
Creeping up and standing very close and suddenly whispering right by her ear can
make Cora jump as much as a loud noise. Janice sneaks along slowly. Has to step
over where whoever it is has already thrown up. Something is huddling in front of
the fire wrapped in what at first seems to be an army blanket. Why it is a child. Poor
thing. SheтАЩd known it all the time. But then the creature moves, stretches, makes a
squeaky sound, and she sees itтАЩs either the largest bat, or the smallest little old man
sheтАЩs ever seen. SheтАЩs wondering if this is what Cora meant by genetic engineering.
Then the creature stands up and Janice is shocked. He has such a large penis
that Janice thinks back to the horses and bulls they used to have. ItтАЩs a Pan-type
penis, more or less permanently erect and hooked up tight against his stomach,
though Janice doesnтАЩt know this about a PanтАЩs penis, and, anyway, this is definitely
not some sort of Pan.
The article in Cosmopolitan comes instantly to her mind, plus the other, sexier
books that she has locked in her bedside cabinet. IsnтАЩt there, in all this, some way to
permanently outdo Cora? Whether she ever finds out about it or not? Slowly Janice
backs up, turns, goes right past her tray (the gleam of silverware helps her know