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Show 142 "I didn't have to." Red sipped his beer and looked at me. "You think your old man is all fists. I know some things about diplomacy. I got to live next to that guy, like it or not." "And you don't." "No," said Red. "I don't like a lot of things, but I can't do a god-damn thing about any of them." "Like what?" I said, because I really would have liked to hear what Red didn't like and more what he i felt he couldn't do anything about. I really ia did. Red didn't say anything. He sipped his beer. "Look at your mother," he said to me after awhile. He looked like he was going to eat kaxx her with his eyes. "Just look at her." There was Helen, still sleeping. She started to snore. Red's chest heaved a couple times. He burped. "You stopped reading," I said. Red looked at me for a second, then went back to Helen. "I thought you were going to read everything in the world." "Like Neda," Red said softly. It was almost a whisper, xie I didn't say anything. "I just did it to show her," he said, nodding toward Helen. "I know." "Everybody thinks I'm so damn stupid." He said that to the air. He had me there. When Red was smart or honest £ he always caught me off guard. "You think it did me some £ good?" He smiled. He didn't want an answer to that. "It was just a bunch of fucking and fighting. That's all. Just a bunch of sad stories." He finished his beer and let iXBXgxxxxxxxxgxaxxx his arm hang down over the side of the chair. He stared at Helen and we were quiet. In the kitchen, the refrigerator came on and buzzed so nice and long we didn't notice the sound until it stopped and gave us back the quiet Christmas night. Which didn't last long. Outside on the street someone began honking a car horn. There was shouting, another horn. Helen stirred. Red frowned. He went to the window aaxxaxaaxxxxxakaxaxaaxx and looked out as Helen awoke bleary and said, "Red?" and Red said, "god-damn-it, where do they think they are?" He went to the £aa front dQQE.qn&watrhpds there for awhile but the noise continued |