"David Gerrold - [SS] The Strange Disappearance of David Gerrold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gerrold David)

I shook my head. тАЬNo one. No hitchhikers, nothing. Not even a deer. No,
wait. I did see one deer, I think. Sniffing the fence. About two miles back.тАЭ The deer
wasnтАЩt a lie. тАЬWhat should I have seen?тАЭ

He ignored this question too. тАЬCan you open the back for me?тАЭ He stepped
out of the way so I could open the car door. As I climbed down, I noticed that the
two of them with rifles had casually walked back and positioned themselves to cover
me ... and the back of the truck. One of them had already unslung his weapon, but
he wasnтАЩt pointing it at anything yet. Even soтАФthis was a genuine тАЬoh, shit!тАЭ
moment. Even worse than the guy who might or might not have had a gun in his
jacket pocket when he demanded my wallet in a rickety rackety rocketing New York
City subway carтАФnot the last night I ever stayed out past two in that city, but the
last time I took the subway at that hour. After that, it was cabs. Even if I couldnтАЩt
afford it.

I opened the back of the camper, and started to climb inтАФI made as if I was
going to sit on the opposite bed, but his hand on my arm pulled me back. The stink
of his sweat was overpowering, so I took a big step back.

He stuck his head into the camper shell, peered around, shook his head at the
mess, gave me a glance that was both dispassionate and disparaging at the same
time. He climbed in and lifted the cover on the right bunk. Underneath the thin
mattress, the wooden frame was divided into three horizontal drawers. He pulled one
of them open, I didnтАЩt remember what IтАЩd tossed in there, I didnтАЩt even remember
the last time IтАЩd opened one of those drawersтАФand then I flushed with
embarrassment. My buddy Miles is the accountant for an adult film company. WeтАЩd
driven to Vegas in January. I went to the CES, he went to the Adult Entertainment
Expo, whatever it was called. He came back with a box of flyers and magazines and
sample discs. HeтАЩd paged through it, then handed it to me, I dumped it in the drawer
with a mental note to throw it out someplace where I wouldnтАЩt be publicly
embarrassed, and then IтАЩd forgotten it. Oops.

I was now known in this guyтАЩs eyes as the embarrassed owner of Sluts and
Slobs, Granny Takes a Tinkle, and Gay Boys in Bondage. тАЬYou some kinda
faggot?тАЭ he asked.

тАЬUm, not recently, I donтАЩt thinkтАФтАЭ I couldnтАЩt believe what was falling out of
my mouth. Celibacy by popular demand is not exactly something you brag about.

And then my cell phone rang.

I answered it.

It was the kid. тАЬHello, Daddy!тАЭ Other people might think it bizarre that a
twenty-two-year-old young man would still call me тАЬDaddy,тАЭ but that was his way of
being playful.

тАЬHi, sweetheart!тАЭ I responded.