"William Sleator - Interstellar Pig" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sleator William)

ends of the table, and I sat on the side, opposite the windows. We all had a
perfect view when the neighbors emerged in their swim-suits with a tray of
bottles and glasses.

Mom was the first to look away from them. "Why, Barney, you haven't even
touched your burger," she said.

I quickly took a bite. But I also kept watching. It wasn't just that all three
of the neighbors had the bodies of athletes. There was also a casual, animal
grace to their movements that attracted the eye simply because it was so
unusual. I knew they were just three peopleтАФbut somehow I felt as though I
were watching three lions.

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INTERSTELLAR PIG

INTERSTELLAR PIG

1-1

"That's really an adorable bikini she's wearing, don't you think?" Mom said.
"Only the poor dear should know better than to show herself in something that
skimpy at her age. She just doesn't have the figure for it anymore."

I choked on a sip of milk, and Dad gave Mom a puzzled glance. The woman's
figure was as flawless as any movie star's. "Her figure looks all right to
me," Dad said, making a gross understatement.

"It's especially unflattering on her in comparison to those two striking young
men," Mom said, as though she hadn't heard him. "They could be models or
something."

"Models?" Dad said. "Those ordinary-looking guys? They're a little on the puny
side if you ask me."

I had to laugh. Mom and Dad, who were middle-aged and out of shape, were
trying to rationalize their way out of being compared unfavorably to these
perfect physical specimens. It seemed rather childish.

"I wonder what it is they see in her," Mom said. "Maybe she has money. That
would explain it." The idea seemed to satisfy her.

"Maybe they just like her for herself," I said. "Maybe they're all just good
friends."

"Well, they're certainly having a good time," Mom said, her eyes resting on
the neighbors again. I wondered vaguely why she was paying so much attention
to them. She usually made a point of ignoring other vacationers, unless they
had connections with her own set. But now she smiled wistfully at them. "It's