"Steven Gould - Jumper 02 - Reflex" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gould Stephen Jay)

glowed in the fluorescent light. She turned back to Sojee. "Or perhaps a bath?"

Sojee nodded. "Oh, yes, please. You can get showers in the shelters, but they'll steal your stuff,
and the cold water's standing four inches on the floor and the water's never more than warm."
 Millie nodded. "Lock the door, if you like. I don't mind."

Sojee took longer than room service. While she was in there, Millie removed the bug and turned
off the microphone. The food was cooling when Sojee came out of the bathroom.

Millie was getting better at reading her facial expressions, at telling the random noise of her
neurological condition from her true feelings. She was surprised at the degree of emotion.
Schizophrenics were known for their flatness of affectтАФnot too happy, not too sad. Sojee's
expression seemed more than content when she came out of the bathroom.

Millie gestured at the food. "I hope you're not a vegetarian. I ordered the chicken."

Sojee inhaled sharply and licked her lips. "Chicken's great." She hesitated though.

"Go on, then. Help yourself. Please."

During the initial rush, Millie sat quietly, buttering a roll and eating it with small bites, small
movements, waiting with intent. She didn't want to startle the woman.

Sojee's table manners were goodтАФshe deboned and ate the chicken strictly with knife and fork,
patting her lips clean with the cloth napkin every few bites. Millie would've held it in her fingers and
Millie had eaten recently. Maybe it was obsessive compulsive behavior, but Millie didn't see it that
way. As she actively did things with her faceтАФbiting, chewing, drinkingтАФthe random movements and
twitches stilled, until the next moment that part of her face relaxed. Then the tongue thrusts and
prolonged blinks resumed.

Sojee turned to the salad and Millie said, "I didn't know your taste in dressing but there's Italian
on the side."

Sojee used it lightly. "Italian is safe. I'm partial to blue cheese but I'm a little bit lactose
intolerant."

Millie nodded. She itched to ask Sojee about Davy again, but was not only afraid of spooking
her again, but also of finding out Sojee had never seen him.

Sojee ate slowly now, eating the salad with care, pushing the onions carefully to the side, but
eating all the rest, wiping the dressing and chicken juices from the plate with delicate wipes of her
bread.

When everything was gone except a small pile of diced onion, Sojee wiped her lips carefully
with the cloth napkin, folded it carefully, and placed it symmetrically in the middle of the shining plate.
The woman sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I know you want to ask me somethingтАФit's written all over you."

Millie, tense, anxious, and focused, was taken completely by surprise. She laughed, a short bark