"Smith-JukeboxGifts" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Adam)

will be a good indication."

"You just wait," I said.

"Great glasses," David said, noticing them for the first time. "They part of the
present?"

"Part of the evening," I said. I let each man inspect his own empty glass before
I filled it. The names were etched in gold leaf over the logo of the Garden
Lounge. I'd had them done to remember the night. I hoped I would have more than
a few glasses left when it was all over.

Carl was the first to get his present unwrapped. "You were right, Jess. It's a
quarter." He held it up for everyone to see. "Looks like old Radley here is
giving us a clue that we should tip more."

I laughed as I filled his glass with ice. "No. It's a trip, not a tip." I
finished his drink and slid it in front of him. "Since you unwrapped yours so
fast, you get to go first." I nodded at the jukebox. "But there are rules."

"There seem to be a lot of rules around here tonight," Fred said. Everyone
laughed.

I held up a hand for them to stop. "Trust me. This will be a special night."

"So give me the rules," Carl said.

I leaned on the dishwasher behind the bar so no one could see that I was
shaking. "On that jukebox is every damn Christmas song I could find. Pick one
that reminds you of a major point in your life -- some thing or time or event
that changed your life. After you punch the button and before the music starts,
tell us what the song reminds you of."

Carl shook his head. "You know, Stout. You've gone and flipped out."

"Sometimes I think so too," I said. I wasn't kidding him. Sometimes I really did
think so.

"Tonight seems to be ample proof," David said, holding up the quarter.

"Just trust me, that is a very special jukebox. Try it and I think you'll
discover what I mean."

Carl shrugged, took a large gulp out of his special glass and set it carefully
back on the napkin. "What the hell. I've played stranger games."

"So have I," Jess said. "I remember once with a girl named Donna. She loved to
--" David hit him on the shoulder to make him stop as Carl twisted off his stool
and moved over to the jukebox to study the songs.