"C. S. Friedman - Downtime" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friedman C. S)

She almost didn't hear him come in. Not until he was standing in the door was she awa
his presence. She looked up then, and saw the broad smile of homecoming waver a bit, a
read something in her eyes that he didn't know how to interpret.
Amy ran up to hug him and as he lifted her up to his chest for a big one his eyes
Marian's. What's wrong?
She shook her head and glanced at Amy. He understood. The ritual of homecoming alw
took a while, but today he kept.it as short as he could. She was grateful. She needed him
more right now than the children did, and certainly more than the pets.
When he was done with all the requisite greetings, she whispered some excuse to Amy,
she led him away into their bedroom. Not until he shut the door behind them did she draw
the envelope that was hidden in the nightstand and hand it to him.
He glanced at the DFO insignia on the envelope and his eyes narrowed slightly.
watched as he pulled out the letter and read it, then the forms. It seemed to her that he
everything twice, or maybe he was just taking his time with it. Scrutinizing every word.
Finally he looked up at her and said quietly, "You knew this was coming."
She wrapped her arms around herself. The real fear was just starting to set in, and
didn't want him to see how bad it was.
With a sigh he dropped the pile of papers down on the bed and came over to her. She
stiff when his arms first went around her, but then the fear gave way to a need for comfort,
she relaxed against him, trembling. She'd been trying not to think about the Order all day
now . . . seeing him read it made it more frightening, somehow. More real.
"You've been lucky," he said softly. "Cassie's taken care of this for years . . . how m
people get a judgment like that? Normally both of you would have been involved from the s
Now she's gone, and you're the only child left . . . it was only a question of time, Mari."
"I know, I know, but" . . . I'd hoped it would never come to this, she wanted to say. W
terrible words those were! He'd think she meant that her mother should have died alre
when what she really meant was . . . something less concrete. Something about wishing
world would change before it sucked her down into this, or at least the law would chang
. . . something.
 "I don't know if I can go through with this," she whispered. His arms about her
tightened. "I know, honey. It's a scary thing."
But did he really know? His parents had died in an accident when he was young, be
Time technology was anything more than a few theoretical scribbles on a university draw
board Long before something like the Filial Obligation Act was even being discussed, m
less voted on by Congress. She found that she was trembling violently, and couldn't seem
stop it. The government had just announced it was going to take away part of her life. It w
never do that to him. How could he possibly know what that felt like?
She heard him sigh, like he did when he saw her hurting and didn't know how to h
"Look, we'll go down to the DFO and talk to one of their counselors, all right? Maybe th
some way . . . I don't know . . . appeal the terms of the appraisal. Or something."
Or help you come to terms with it. The words went unspoken.
"All right," she whispered. It meant she could put off the matter for another day, at l
Pretend there was some way out of it, for a few precious hours.
That night she dreamed of her mother.

Frankly, I find the whole thing . . . wrong." Her mother whipped the eggs as sh
spoke, the rhythm of her strokes not wavering even as her eyes narrowed slightly in
disapproval. "We have children because we want them, and we take care of them becaus
love them, not . . . not . . . " She poured the mixture into a pan and began to beat in more
ingredients. "Not because we expect something in return."