"Charles Stross - Merchant princes 01 - The Family Trade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

millions of dollars in cash together, there are no limits to what people can
do." For the first time, Miriam realized with a sinking feeling, Iris looked
worried. "But maybe I'm being too pessimisticтАФyou've just lost your job and
whatever else, that's going to be a problem. How are your savings?"
Miriam glanced at the rain-streaked window. What's turned Ma so paranoid? she
wondered, unsettled. "They're not doing badly. I've been saving for the past ten
years."
"There's my girl," Iris said approvingly.
"I put my money into tech-sector shares."
"No, you didn't!" Iris looked shocked.
Miriam nodded. "But no dot-coms."
"Really?"
"Most people think that all tech stocks are down. But biotech stocks actually
crashed out in ninety-seven and have been recovering ever since. The bubble last
year didn't even touch them. People need new medicines more than they need
flashy Web sites that sell toys, don't they? I was planning on paying off my
mortgage year after next. Now I guess it'll have to wait a bit longerтАФbut I'm
not in trouble unless I stay unemployed over a year."
"Well, at least you found a use for all that time in med school." Iris looked
relieved. "So you're not hard up."
"Not in the short term," Miriam corrected instinctively. "Ask me again in six
months. Anyway. Is there anything I can get you while I'm here?"
"A good stiff drink." Iris clucked to herself. "Listen, I'm going to be all
right. The disease, it comes and it goesтАФanother few weeks and I'll be walking
again." She gestured at the aluminium walking frame next to her chair. "I've
been getting plenty of rest and with Marge around twice a day I can just about
cope, apart from the boredom. I've even been doing a bit of filing and cleaning,
you know, turning out the dusty old corners?"
"Oh, right. Turned anything up?"
"Lots of dustballs. Anyway," she continued after a moment. "There's some stuff
I've been meaning to hand over to you."
" 'Stuff.'" For a moment, Miriam couldn't focus on the problem at hand. It was
too much to deal with. She'd lost her job and then, the very same day, her
mother wanted to talk about selling her home. "I'm sorry, I'm not very focused
today."
"Not veryтАФ" Iris snorted. "You're like a microscope, girl! Most other people
would be walking around in a daze. It's not very considerate of me, I know, it's
just that I've been thinking about things and there's some stuff you really
should have right now. Partly because you're grown up and partly because it
belongs to youтАФyou might have some use for it Stuff that might get overlooked."
Miriam must have looked baffled because Iris smiled at her encouragingly. "Yes.
You know, 'stuff.' Photograph albums, useless things like Morris's folks' birth
certificates, my old passport, my parents' death certificates, your adoption
papers. Some stuff relating to your birth-mother, too."
Miriam shook her head. "My adoption papersтАФwhy would I want them? That's old
stuff, and you're the only mother I've ever had." She looked at Iris fiercely.
"You're not allowed to push me away!"
"Well! And who said I was? I just figured you wouldn't want to lose the
opportunity. If you ever felt like trying to trace your roots. It belongs to
you, and I think now is definitely past time for you to have it. I kept the