"Kevin O'Donnel Jr. - A usefull Life" - читать интересную книгу автора (O'Donnell Jr Kevin)

"Two moons," she said, "a freshwater lake the size of Texas, and winters so cold that all you can
do is sleep until spring. I belong there, I fit in. I don't feel self-conscious, there. I don't feel like a spy."
"Are you? Is that why you're here?"
 "No," she said mournfully, "no, I'm just a tourist who missed her flight."
"There'll be another, won't there?"
"They promised to come back for me---they left a note---but they haven't. And there aren't any
more flights. Not with a war going on."
"The war ended three years ago," he said softly, his eyes closed, the phantom ache rising in the
legs he'd left in Buenos Aires.
"Not your war. Ours."
"Ah. So...so tourist flights are canceled for the duration?"
"Yes. Leaving me trapped here. Marooned."
"But when the war's over--"
"Who knows when that will be?"
"That's why it's good you've decided to wait. Because when the war is over, and they make the
effort to return for you, if you aren't here--"
"I know," she said in a very small voice. "They'll feel cheated. Betrayed. But that's how I feel
right now, don't you see?"
"Yes, of course. How else could you feel? But it's not their fault, is it?"
"Yes, it is! They waited for all the others---they could have waited another hour for me---but
they didn't. They left early!"
"Because of the war?"
"Yes. That's what the note said, anyway. So there I was in the parking lot with all my luggage,
scads of souvenirs, and absolutely no money."
"Parking lot?"
"It was the rendezvous point. The bus was supposed to take us to the ship."
"Uh-huh. So what did you do?"
"What could I do? I went into the diner and asked for a job."
"And got it?"
"I've been a waitress ever since. And I'm tired of it. My feet hurt, I'm always getting pinched,
and the boss takes half my tips. If it weren't for the overrider...."
"Why not look for another job?"
"Because I have to be here when the bus comes back, don't you see? Either here, or dead. If
I'm dead, it doesn't matter, but if I'm not, and it comes back and I miss it again, then I'm stranded here
forever and I'll go crazy, and I'd rather die than lose my mind."
"So you have to live in the parking lot?"
"No, the bus will wait twenty-four hours. I just have to check once a day. But-- Jess, I can't
talk any more now. I'll call you back next month. Thank you. Goodbye."
She hung up before he could say a word.

#

Five weeks later, the phone rang. "Pincushions Unlimited, Jess speaking."
"Hello, Jess. It's me."
"Well, hello there, how are you?"
"I feel miserable, Jess. I gave it a month and five days extra, but it's not going to work, and
they're not coming back for me, and--"
"Talk to me, huh?" He wanted to stall her for a while, and keep her from doing something rash
until he had cheered her up. If she could get past this moment of ultimate bleakness, she could do
another month, or a year, or a lifetime....