"Eddings, David - High Hunt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

"Your brother. Remember?" I said dryly.

"Dan? Really? I thought you were in the Army  in England or someplace."

"Germany," I said. "I just got back today."

"You stationed out here at the Fort now?"

"Yeah, I'm at the separation center."

"You finishing up already? Oh, that's right, you were only in for two years, weren't you?"

"Yeah, only two," I said.

"It's my brother," he said to someone, "the one that's been in the Army. How the hell should I know?  Dan, where are you? Out at the Fort?"

"No, I'm downtown."

"Pitchin' yourself a liberty, huh?"

"Not really," I said. "I've only got three more days till I get out, and I think I'll keep my nose clean."

"Good idea  hey, you got anything on for tonight? I mean any chickie or anything?"

"No," I said, "just kicking around. I thought I'd just give you a call and let you know I was still alive, is all."

"Why don't you grab a bus and bag on out? I'd come and pick you up, but Margaret's workin' tonight, and she's got the car."

"Your wife?"

"Yeah  and I've got to watch the kids. I've got some beer in the fridge. We can pop open a few and talk old times."

"AU right," I said. "How do I find the place?"

"I'm out on South Tacoma Way. You know which bus to take?"

"I think I can remember."

"Get off at Seventy-eighth Street and come down the right hand side. It's the Green Lodge Trailer Court. I'm in number seventeen  a blue and white Kenwood."

"OK," I told him. "I'll be out in a half hour or so."

"I'll be lookin' for you."

I slowly hung up. This was going to be a mistake. Jack and I hadn't had anything in common for years now. I pictured an evening with the both of us desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Might as well get it over with," I muttered. I stopped by a liquor store and picked up a pint of bourbon. Maybe with enough anesthetic, neither one of us would suffer too much.

I sat on the bus reading the ads pasted above the windows and watching people get off and on. They were mostly old ladies. There's something about old ladies on buses  have you ever noticed? I've never been able to put my finger on it, but whatever it is, it makes me want to vomit. How's that for an inscription on a tombstone? "Here Lies Daniel Alders  Old Ladies on Buses Made Him Want to Puke."