"Thomas F. Monteleone - Tales of Terror and Madness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Monteleone Thomas F)

number listed was that of The Ally, Cedar Hill's only newspaper, where I
am employed as manager of the paste-up department.

Listen smiled. "It's not showing the pay phone number because your
sister never made the call. The tests came back negative. Right now
she's sitting in a Ladies' Room stall crying from relief while your
nephew is bothering the nurses about how much he wants to see the new
SpiderMan movie."

"What rules?"

"Beg pardon?"

"You said 'those are the rules.' What were you-"
"-you might want to look at the television again."

This time it was some sort of convention. A large room filled with
throngs of fans. The camera moved in on a table where a particularly
long line of them stood with stacks of things to be autographed. There
were three people seated at the table and it was the young man in the
middle who seemed the focus of attention. As the camera came closer I
saw my sister, her hair shorter and grayer, seated to the left of the
young man-who I now recognized as an older Tommy. I sat on the other
side of him, thinner, my slouch a bit more pronounced, hair and beard (I
would finally grow a beard?) filled with streaks of white. A fan came to
the table and held out a hardcover book. Tommy, smiling, took it and
began talking to the fan, introducing his mother and then myself and
launching into some story in which I seemed to play a major role. He
then signed the book and had the fan step behind the table so someone
could take a picture of the four of us, the fan beaming as he held his
autographed copy of... of...

"I can't make out what's on the cover," I said.

11

"Well, no. That would fall under the category of 'Too Much Information.'
Tommy's been diagnosed with migraine headaches and will be put on
medication that will keep them more or less under control for the rest
of his life." He nodded toward the television. "That scene will take
place in sixteen years. Tommy will be a very successful
writer/illustrator of graphic novels, and he'll have you to thank for
the idea which leads to the creation of his most famous character. So it
wouldn't be playing fair to let you see the title of the book, now,
would it?"

I looked at Amy's face and saw the peace there, the happiness. "What about-"

"She'll re-marry in about five years. He'll be divorced and a recovering
alcoholic who's been on the wagon for ten years. He'll never take