"Kathleen Ann Goonan - The String (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goose Mother)

odd obsession--Frank slipped into Dan's mind again. He saw the old man happy
and
useful again, face bright, as he'd been right up to the day of Stella's
death.
Dan was suspended in the feeling of one man's deep contentment with the way
things were, and felt enriched by that sharing. He knew now how rare such a
feeling was.
It was only two evenings later that Frank came back. His step on the porch
was
so light Dan didn't recognize it, and his face was so altered that for a
moment,
looking up from his string, Dan was taken back ten years.
"Come in," said Dan. "You look great."
Frank got his beer and sprawled in the chair, long legs extended, and smiled.
"You know," he said, "after the other night I got to thinking about how often
I
come by and whine, and decided to get up off my butt and do something for
myself. Went over to the day care on 5th Street and they took me on as a
volunteer. I'm telling you, Dan, am I ever glad to get out of that house
every
day. Didn't realize how gloomy it was with the curtains always pulled. Those
kids are so cute."
His face was the face Dan had imagined. In fact, his breathing stopped for a
second as he realized that he'd pictured Frank sitting here just like this,
although he'd imagined that the source of his happiness was instead a new
girlfriend.
"I bet they are," said Dan.
The clicking of computer keys in the corner stopped and Anita said, "I wish
Dan
would do something besides work on that ridiculous string. He needs to get
out
and do something else."
"Like what, Anita?" asked Dan, wondering at the fear he felt about being
separated from his string.
"Like a movie now and then, that's what. Or just going out for dinner. We
haven't done anything in the evening except sit here like two lumps, and I'm
getting tired of it!"
"You should have said something," said Dan, pushing the string away. He was
very
pleasantly surprised, even if Anita was just reacting jealously to his
attention
to the string. "I think we can just make the eight o'clock movie if we hurry."
"Who's going to watch Jessica?"
"I will," said Frank. He often baby-sat, but not usually on such short notice.
"Are you sure?" asked Dan.
"Of course he's sure," said Anita, getting up in a hurry. "Now, where are my
keys?"
While he was at the movie, all Dan could think about was what his next move
would be in the unravelling of the string. He even dreamed of the string now,
and had it memorized, as if it were a chess game he could project. Yet,