"Nancy Springer - Number 20" - читать интересную книгу автора (Springer Nancy)

He should have known better than to think Mrs. Life was short-minded, the
way she kept track of everything. I guess if she put a nickel in a Salvation Army
kettle she went home and marked it down. All year long she kept track of her
grocery coupons in a little note-book and every December 31 she knew how much
she had saved. My mom said coupons and afghans and books and stuff werenтАЩt the
only things she kept track of. Every time my big sister, Re-gina, was out on a date,
Mom said, old Mrs. Life was watching to see how late she came in. I guess she
counted how many times Regina kissed each boy. She stood back to watch, but
Mom could see her shadow on the window.

That same night she argued with Mr. Quickel, Mrs. Life called and got my
brother Greg to mow her lawn for ten dollars a week, and the first time he did it he
made me come along and help rake, because I told him after he hung up the phone
that he could have got fifteen. Mrs. Life watched him hard at first to make sure he
mowed in nice neat lines, but after a while she went back to sit on her porch.
Another old lady, Mrs. Simmermeyer, came by and stopped to talk, and I was raking
the side yard so I heard them. They started with the preacher (they didnтАЩt like that he
wore gray slacks instead of black) and practically went through the town person by
person.

тАЬI was just thinking last night about somebody I havenтАЩt thought of in years,тАЭ
Mrs. Life said after a while.

тАЬOh?тАЭ The other lady was happy to hear this. тАЬWho might that be?тАЭ

тАЬThe Klunk boy. You remember little Charlie Klunk? What ever became of
him?тАЭ

тАЬDidnтАЩt you hear?тАЭ Mrs. Simmer-meyer was in heaven. тАЬHe came home on
early discharge from the Service, remember, and then he moved to Cal-ifornia. And
the Klunks all said he had married a nice girl and had two nice youngsters. But then
along about 1973 тАФ I think it was тАШ73 тАФ maybe it was тАШ72 тАФтАЭ

Mrs. Life wouldтАЩve known whether it was тАШ73 or тАШ72. She knew what year
peo-ple were born or graduated or married or died. Anyway, I knew she knew what
year Charlie Klunk did what he did because I had heard her tell this same whole story
to somebody else the sum-mer before. But here she was sitting and listening to Mrs.
Simmermeyer tell it and not even correcting her.
 Mrs. Simmermeyer got back on track. тАЬAnyway, he went and joined one of
them Gay Liberation clubs. Came out of the closet. Here he was light in his loafers
all along and none of us knew it.тАЭ

тАЬI knew it,тАЭ Mrs. Life said, real calm. тАЬI could tell he was a sissy. I had him in
school, remember? And I could al-ways tell which boys to watch. But whatтАЩs he
doing now?тАЭ

тАЬHe lives with his sweetie. You know, his boyfriend. They run a flower shop
together.тАЭ Mrs. Simmermeyer laughed, but Mrs. Life just sort of nodded.

тАЬHe and Nicholas Quickel were in the same class, werenтАЩt they? And didnтАЩt