Цветы для Элджернона

           Alicewaslyingthere,herblouseopenwhereIhadunbuttonedit,herfaceflushed,eyeswideindisbelief."Iloveyou..."thewordschokedoutofme,"butIcan’tdoit.SomethingIcan’tex­plain,butifIhadn’tstopped,Iwouldhatemyselffortherestofmylife.Don’taskmetoexplain,oryou’llhatemetoo.IthastodowithCharlie.Forsomereason,hewon’tletmemakelovetoyou."

           Shelookedawayandbuttonedherblouse."Itwasdif­ferenttonight,"shesaid."Youdidn’tgetnauseaorpanicoranythinglikethat.Youwantedme."

           "Yes,Iwantedyou,butIwasn’treallymakinglovetoyou.Iwasgoingtouseyou—inaway—butIcan’tex­plain.Idon’tunderstanditmyself.Let’sjustsayI’mnotreadyyet.AndIcan’tfakeitorcheatorpretendit’sallrightwhenit’snot.It’sjustanotherblindalley."

           Igotuptogo.

           "Charlie,don’trunawayagain."

           "I’mthroughrunning.I’vegotworktodo.TellthemI’llbebacktothelabinafewdays—assoonasIgetcon­trolofmyself."

           Ilefttheapartmentinafrenzy.Downstairs,infrontofthebuilding,Istood,notknowingwhichwaytogo.NomatterwhichpathItookIgotashockthatmeantanothermistake.Everypathwasblocked.But,God...everythingIdid,everywhereIturned,doorswereclosedtome.

           Therewasnoplacetoenter.Nostreet,noroom,nowoman.

           Finally,IstumbleddownintothesubwayandtookitdowntoForty-ninthStreet.Notmanypeople,buttherewasablondewithlonghairwhoremindedmeofFay.