"Richard Laymon - Dreambox Junkies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laymon Richard)

exponentially. Last time he'd heard the technews they'd been shipping boxesтАФthe latest Sonys,
Shintubes, Bengt & AnderssensтАФthat could do you half a day in sixty minutes.

Paulie asked, тАЬWill you be okay while I'm gone?"

тАЬNo.тАЭ She turned on the sarc. тАЬI'm fucking helpless. You'll have to give up going on that thing and help
me look after Kali.тАЭ Glancing round, she did her can't-you-see-I'm-kidding face. тАЬGo on! I'll be fine."

Why did he have to put her through this pathetic, apologetic ritual every time he boxed up?

тАЬWhat's happened to giving us a kiss before you go? You always used to come and give me a kiss.
Sometimes I think...тАЭ Ruth's voice cracked, and she looked away into the air, as though struggling to rein
things in, certain things, and then she looked back at Paulie. тАЬIt's like sometimes..."

Paulie said simply, тАЬThen I won't go."

тАЬDon't be stupid.тАЭ Ruth rocked the baby in her arms, even though little Kali was already fast asleep,
hooked up to her breast just as snugly as he hooked up to his box. тАЬOnly it's like ... it's not going to be
forever, this, is it? I don't know, sometimes I think we're drifting apart. We want different things."

тАЬNo."

Paulie didn't know what else to say. But on the other hand, words were cheap, as Ruth herself would
have been quick to remind him. And when she was in this mood, in this state of mind, there was no
arguing with her. Was this, then, her genuine self, coming through at these moments? Should he take
these to be her true feelings? Was this the real soul inside her, suffering because of his selfishness?

He put down the box and got up, went across to her, kissed Ruth's forehead, kissed his daughter,
delighting in the delicious baby smell, Kali's fresh baby skin.

Ruth turned away. тАЬLook just go. Just leave us alone."

He touched her arm. She shrugged his hand away.

Before he could stop himself, he said, тАЬWell why did you buy me the box? You might have known how
it would end up."

тАЬFuck off."

Ruth walked out and, only because of the baby, closed the door quietly instead of slamming it.

Paulie felt wretched. There he would be, lying boxed up and out of it, REM-ing and drooling saliva. Box
users were known for their drooling, slack mouths. Ruth hadn't told him how ugly and stupid he looked,
lying there just like every other box junkie, but he knew that was the spectacle he presented.

From the windowsill, he took the carton of Crowning Glory tablets and, as always, had trouble with the
babyproof cap. The Vitamin C capsules, he saw to his dismay, were all gone.

He found Ruth in the kitchen, washing dishes. She had put on a t-shirt, that baggy old pink St. Diana
one. Ruth was no Dianist; the garment had come free with her McPregnancy Pack, that was all, and,