"Nancy Kress - Always True to Thee, in My Fashion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kress Nancy)

тАЬI never whine!тАЭ she cried, stung.
тАЬWell, then, donтАЩt do whatever youтАЩre doing. Come lie down beside
me instead.тАЭ
 It was the most assertive thing heтАЩd said in months. Encouraged,
Suzanne lay with him on the bed, trying to con-trol her panic.
Maybe if she were sweet enough to himтАж
тАЬYou havenтАЩt dressed yet, either, have you, love?тАЭ Cade said. He
was smiling. тАЬThat isnтАЩt the tentative embrace of an ingenue.тАЭ
тАЬWould you like that?тАЭ Suzanne said hopefully. тАЬI can just
changeтАжтАЭ
тАЬActually, no. IтАЩve been thinking, Suzanne. I donтАЩt want to get all
tricked out as some sort of ersatz boy-child, and you donтАЩt want to
go on wearing these casual emotions. So what about what I
suggested at the end of last summer? LetтАЩs just go naked for a
while. See what itтАЩs like.тАЭ
тАЬNo!тАЭ Suzanne shrieked.
She hadnтАЩt known she was going to do it. She never shrieked like
thatтАФnot she, Suzanne! Except, of course, when fashion decreed it,
and that didnтАЩt really countтАж What was she thinking? Of course it
counted, it was the only thing that kept them all safe. To go naked
in front of each other! Good God, what was Cade thinking? Civilized
people didnтАЩt parade around naked, everything personal on display
for any passing observer to pick over and chortle at, nude and
helplessly exposed in their deepest feelings!
Or lack of them.
She struggled to sound casual. And she succeededтАФor last
seasonтАЩs pills did. тАЬCadeтАж I donтАЩt want to go naked. Really, I donтАЩt
think youтАЩre being very fair. We had it your way for a season. Now
it should be my turn.тАЭ
A long silence. For a moment Suzanne thought heтАЩd actu-ally
fallen asleep. If he had daredтАж
тАЬSuzanne,тАЭ he said finally, тАЬitтАЩs my detached impression that you
always have it your way.тАЭ
It hurt so much that SuzanneтАЩs legs trembled as she climbed off
the bed. How could he say that? She always thought in terms of the
two of them! Always! She went into the bathroom and closed the
door. Shaky, she leaned against the wall, and caught sight of
herself in the mirror. She looked lovely. Blue eyes wide with
surprised hurt, pale lip trembling, like a young girl suddenly cut to
her vulnerable heartтАж
And she hadnтАЩt even yet taken the seasonтАЩs pills!
Cade would have to come around. He would simply have to.
He didnтАЩt. Suzanne argued. She stormed. She begged. Finally,
after missing three days of wonderful partiesтАФirre-placeable
parties, a season only opened once, after allтАФshe dressed herself in
the pills and a white cotton frock, and pleaded with him
tremulously, weeping delicate sweet tears. Cade only laughed
affectionately, and hugged her casually, and went off to do
something else off-hand and detestable.
She dissolved the pills in his burgundy.