"Andrews, V C - crystal" - читать интересную книгу автора (Andrews V.C)

was being obsessive about it. Not everything in
life could be measured on a profit-and-loss statement,
I thought.
In a way, Thelma's life was almost as regiented
and organized as Karl's, only hers was
determined by the television scheduling of her
soap operas and other programs. If she left the
V. C. ANDSEWS
house for any reason during the day, she scheduled
her appointments and errands around what
was on TV that day. Although she could videotape
shows, she said it wasn't the same as being
there when they were actually on.
"It's like watching history being made rather
than watching it later on the news," she told me.
She had leading time reserved,.as well, and sat
on her rocker with a laee shawl around her shoul- |
ders, reading whatever had come in that month
ftom her romance novels dub. Pots could ttoi
over, phones could ring, someone might come t<
the door. It didn't matter once she was engrosser
in her story; she didn't care. She truly left on<
world for another.
Nevertheless, she was as devoted to Karl anc
his needs as any wife could be. On Sundays, Kari
would plan the week's menu, carefully selecting
bods that could be utilized in different ways so asi
to justify buying.them in larger quantities or make
use of leftovers. Thelma would then develop thaj
menu, following it to a T. If something wasn't jus|
the way Karl had planned it, she treated it like i
major crisis. One1 morning, I had to go with hert^
another supermarket nearly twenty miles awa|
because the one she shopped at didn't have th|
brand of canned peaches Karl wanted. i|
Whereas Kari was a quiet, careful driver, The|
ma talked so much from the moment she si
behind the wheel that my ears were ringing. Hi
attention was often distracted, and twice;

26
CRYSTAL
jumped so high I nearly bumped my head on the
roof when she crossed lanes abruptly and drivers
honked their horns.
A week after I arrived, we took a ride to visit
Kari's father. He lived alone in a small Cape
Cod-style house, the same house he had lived in
for nearly forty years. It was in a very quiet, old
residential neighborhood of single-family homes,