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

nice seeing people enjoy themselves so much, isn't it?" she asked.

The neighbors had arranged lawn chairs in a row facing the bay. They seemed
fascinated by the sky and the water, pointing and gesturing, talking
animatedly, sipping their drinks, frequently laughing. Their skin had a
purplish cast in the fading light. I began to wonder, as their shapes grew
indistinct, why they kept looking more and more often toward our house. Were
they talking about us?

It was several hours later, Mom and Dad were watching television and I was
rereading The Puppet Masters, when there was a knock on the front door.

"Maybe that's the people from next door," Mom said.

The cottage next door was the only other house on this stretch of road. "Who
else?" Dad said, pushing himself out of his chair. I got up too, but he beat
me to the door.

The woman from next door was wearing a sleeveless lavender cotton dress, and
her hair was pinned up into a bun, exposing her long slender neck. Now, face
to face, she seemed much taller than she had at a distance, several inches
taller than me.

A smile hovered around the edges of her wide mouth, and in the dim porch light
her eyes seemed as deep a shade of lavender as her dress. "Hello, I'm from
next door and I'm sorry to bother you like this," she said. I couldn't place
her accent. "I feel terribly genante. It's just that we're trying to light a
fire, and they don't seem to have provided us with any . . . what's the word?
Oh, yes, tinder. We were wondering if you might have any surplus, which we
could burn just for tonight. We'll be sure to repay you in full tomorrow." She
didn't meet our eyes as she spoke, but peered around us, as if she

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INTERSTELLAR PIG

INTERSTELLAR PIG

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were trying to see as much as possible of the interior of our house.

"We have lots," Dad said. As he started for the fireplace she stepped quickly
into the house, almost bumping into me in her haste to get a good look at the
living room

"Good evening," Mom said, standing up and nodding pleasantly at the woman.
"Barney, why don't you be a gentleman and carry the kindling over for her?
Maybe they need some help settling in."