"James Patrick Kelly - Chemistry" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kelly James Patrick)

"You just left your jacket there?" she said. "I hope no
one takes it."

He led her down a slate path past the eight foot wide
sheet of falling water which drowned the shrilling of
the fiddles. They turned into one of the garden's many
little clearings. The bench was wrought iron; it sat low
on a lawn of lemon thyme. The stream burbled in front of
them and the air hung heavy and sweet. Steve's jacket
was folded over the armrest.
"Calamondin oranges." She slid her purse under the
bench. "They're sour, just barely edible. They make good
marmalade, though."
"How do you know so much about plants?"
"My dad's hobby, actually. He had a greenhouse. I
remember in the winter, it was always so bright and
warm. Like going on vacation. The pots were all on
wheels; when he was away I used to move plants around
and build myself a jungle. He was away a lot. He was a
doctor too."
"Is he still alive?"
"No, my parents are both dead." She let one of her shoes
drop off. "He always said he liked flowers so much he
had one for a daughter." She tickled her foot in the
thyme. This clearing reminded her of one of her jungles.

"My father is an engineer on an oil tanker," Steve said.
"He'd be at sea for three months and then with us for
two. I missed him when he was away, but once he got home
I couldn't wait for him to ship out again. He was too
strict and he yelled at Mom. Since they divorced, I
haven't seen him much. Now Mom -- she's great. She
worked twenty eight years at Sears, wherever they needed
her. She could talk you into a tent or towels or a
thinkmate, no problem. I was a shy boy, if you can
believe that, but she kept pushing me. She said I had to
go out and show the world what a great son she had."
As he spoke, Lily folded and unfolded her hands. She
didn't want to hear about Steve's family problems and
now she was embarrassed to have shared memories of her
father with a stranger. "What are we doing here?"
"I don't know about you, Lily, but I'm enjoying the
view." He leaned back and looked her up and down with
obvious approval "Pretty flowers, great company -- hey,
ssh!"
He held a finger to his lips. There were muffled voices,
then footsteps on the path. The foliage hid the
strollers but as they approached Lily heard a man
declaiming with the grandiloquence of a longtime
Shakespeare abuser. "She walks in beauty, like the night