"Elizabeth Lynn - The Silver Horse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lynn Elizabeth A)

her sometimes to keep track of months.
"In September. This is June. June to July, July to August, August to
September." She walked her fingers over the top of Susannah's head again. "A
Virgo kid."
Susannah knew what that meant, sort of. It meant that the planets and
stars that were in the sky the day you were born made you act in certain ways
as you got older. Mother read about it in the paper every morning.
Susannah had asked Mr. Gonzalez, her teacher, about astrology. He had
said that the stars and planets were so far away that they couldn't make
anyone do anything.
Susannah rubbed her cheek on her mother's leg. "Am I a Virgo kid?" she
asked.
Her mother stroked her hair. "You're a Gemini. Niall, too. That's why
you fight all the time."
Susannah pressed her lips together. She didn't want to tell her mother
about her vow. Not yet.
"Hey," her mother said, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Susannah said. "I was thinking about astrology."
Her mother looked at her with an odd expression. Then she turned to
glance through into the front hall. "Niall's being too quiet. You know where
he is?"
Oh, who cares, Susannah thought. "He's playing with his horse."
"The new one? Good. Maybe he'll stay quiet for a while."
Hah, Susannah thought. Bet he won't.
Suddenly her mother put her hand on her belly. "_Woo._"
"What?" Susannah said.
"The baby kicked!" Her mother beckoned. "Come up next to me." Susannah
moved up to sit beside her mother. "Feel."
Susannah stretched out her hand. Her mother took it and guided it to a
place on her belly. Susannah felt a sharp quiver against her palm.
"Feel that?"
"Uh huh." Susannah swallowed. "Does it hurt?"
"Nope."
"What does it feel like?"
Her mother laughed. "It feels like a burp."
"Oh." Suddenly Susannah felt it again. Like a baby chicken, she
thought, pecking at a shell. That made her feel strange. Jerking her hand
away, she rubbed it on her knee.
Her mother touched her cheek softly. "Hey, Susie-pooh," she said. "You
know, there's a live person in there. Toes and ears and a heart and
everything, almost ready to come out."
"I know that," Susannah said, annoyed. She had seen pictures and knew
what babies looked like before they were born.
"Which would you prefer," her mother said, "a boy or a girl?"
I don't want it at all, Susannah thought. But she couldn't say that.
Babies were babies: they cried and were wet all the time. There was a
baby on the street already: Juanito, Danielle's brother. She wondered if a
little sister would be as much hassle as a brother. "I don't care."
"Mmm," said her mother. She stretched her arms above her head. "Are we
out of milk?"