"Lisa Tuttle & Steven Utley - In the Hole" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tuttle Lisa)

After another long moment, he answered, тАЬGhosts move among the
living and believe that they, too, are still living. But theyтАЩre not.тАЭ

тАЬHeath, youтАЩre not dead. YouтАЩre alive.тАЭ She squeezed his hand, and
though he was aware of the pressure, he knew he did not feel her touch the
way he should, the way he would have in the past.

тАЬPeople donтАЩt have to be dead to be ghosts.тАЭ He tried to explain a
truth he only dimly sensed. тАЬMaybe they only have to be out of step with
their surroundings. ItтАЩs very confusing...тАЭ

тАЬOh, Heath.тАЭ She sighed. тАЬYou think too much. CanтАЩt you just accept
things as they are?тАЭ

тАЬI donтАЩt know. I honestly donтАЩt. What things? How are they? This
warтАФтАЭ

тАЬThe warтАЩs over.тАЭ

тАЬIs it?тАЭ

тАЬOf course! Would you be here, would we be here like this if it
wasnтАЩt?тАЭ

тАЬMaybeтАФwhy not? I donтАЩt think itтАЩs really over. And maybe itтАЩs not just
me. Maybe weтАЩre all ghosts.тАЭ

тАЬWeтАЩre not any of us ghosts. WeтАЩre two people who love each other.
Why is that so hard for you to accept? We have a future to build for
ourselves. It may be hard work, but itтАЩs worth it to both of us, isnтАЩt it?тАЭ

Puttering around this house, he wanted to say, and taking care of the
yard can never be a full-time occupation for me, but he did not say it, as he
did not say many other things.

It fell to Cara to say things.

By late the next afternoon it occurred to him that she had spent much
of their third day together not exactly complaining but certainly bringing to
his notice things she did not like: his failure to notice what needed to be
done, his silence, his lack of appreciation, his air of bewilderment. When,
however, he stood up for himself she became indignant: it was because
she loved him that she told him when he did something wrong; if she cared
less, she would not bother; when two people loved each other,
communication was the most important thingтАФhe must agree!

After that, he could not tell her how her ceaseless talk sawed across
his nerves. Adding to his discomfort was her fatherтАЩs fearful fury: at
dinnertime, the old man clumsily knocked away the tray, scattering bread
and beans on the carpet. Then, as Cara knelt to clean up the mess he