Цитаты из книги Half-Off Ragnarok

She took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose. "So. Here we are." "Yes," I agreed. "Here we are." The sound of a crossbow bolt being notched into place drew our attention toward the kitchen doorway. Grandma was standing there, a pistol crossbow in her hands, the point aimed solidly at Shelby. Grandpa was a dark shape in the hall behind her. If I squinted, I could just make out the cudgel in his hands. "Great," said Grandma. "Now that we`ve established where we are, let`s move on to the part where no one ever finds your body." I put my hand over my face and groaned.

"You`re a Price?" she said, disbelieving. "Yeah." "As in Thomas Price, the author of The Price Field Guide to the Cryptids of Australia and New Zealand." I vaguely remembered seeing that book in the library at home. "Yes," I said, with more certainty than I felt. "You`re lying. He didn`t have children." "I think that`s something you should take up with my grandmother, since she`s pretty adamant about us being his, and he married her before my father was born, which means we`re all legit5imate in the eyes of the law." Shelby blinked again. Then, much to my relief, she lowered her gun. Her shoulders started to shake. I worried for a moment that she was crying, until I realized that the shaking was from the effort of keeping her laughter contained. "All these weeks... all those nights of being afraid you`d catch me out, or you`d start asking questions... all the times I worried you`d stumble over something on one of your field trips and get yourself eaten... I`ve been worrying about a Price> That`s worse than worrying over nothing. That`s like worrying about the well-being of the crocodile in your billabong!"

"I was really worried when the cops shood me off and kept on talking to you." "They mostly just wanted to know if I thought you might be a serial murderer." I raised an eyebrow. "I hope you told them that I was your beloved boyfriend who would never murder anyone." Without good cause. "I told them you were a bastard who canceled dates and refused to let me see his home and probably had a wife hidden in the attic, but that you weren`t the type to commit murder in cold blood," said Shelby sweetly, before taking another sip of cocoa. "Hey," I protested. "I haven`t canceled that many dates." "Any woman in the world will tell you that one date canceled is one too many," Shelby said, and took a cookie. "I told them you almost certainly were not a serial killer, and that they were being horribly sexist by assuming that of the two of us, only you were capable of committing murder. That may have been a tactical error -- it got me rather a lot more questioning that I hadn`t exactly been planning on."

Dad picked up the phone on the third ring. "This is an unlisted number," he snapped. "You know, Dad, I don`t mean to push, but there`s this thing called 'caller ID' that you can get these days. It might mean being a little less rude to your children when they call home." I reclined on the bed, watching the Aeslin mice systematically dismantle the plate of cheese and apple slices I`d prepared for them." "Ah, but what if someone steals your phone?" Dad countered. "What then? Maybe I answer with 'hello, beloved only son, how are you today,' and that confirms your identity as my eldest child to the horrible monsters that have kidnapped you for their own nefarious purposes."

"Oh? Does that mean you might be done in time to grap a spot of dinner with me?" Shelby tried to make the question sound innocent, but I could see the pointed interest in her eyes. I did a quick mental count of the nights since our last official date, and winced. "I`m sorry," I said. "I really can`t. But we`re still on for tomorrow, right?" "Tomorrow," she said. "You can`t blame a girl for trying, can you?" She didn`t sound happy about it. I could hear the inevitable future beginnign to unspool in her tone. One more canceled date and she`d start having better things to do with her time when I asked if she wanted to catch a movie or go out for something to eat. Not long after that, I`d get the "This isn`t working" talk, possibly with a side order of "We should be friends, it`s better if we can stay friends." That was probably what was best for both of us. She had her work, her research, and, eventually, her life back in Australia, where we wouldn`t have been able to meet for dinner if we`d wanted to. It wasn`t like we`d ever officially become a couple. That didn`t make the thought any easier. "I guess I can`t." I dropped my sandwitch back onto the paper bag it had come off of and stood, trying to make it look like a natural stretching gesture. It didn`t work. I was too stiff, and too obviously unhappy. Shelby sighed. "I`m not breaking things off with you, Alex, all right?" she said. "I`m not thrilled that we`ve had so little time lately, but you`ve got to stop thinking that every road bump is the beginning of the end. You don`t throw out the car just becuase you`ve run over an echidna." I stopped. "Please tell me it`s not something you actually say in Australia."