Поющие в терновнике

           Heshookhisheadjustaspositively,butratherregretfully,asifhewastrulytempted."Thanksanyway,Martha,butIcan’t."Heglancedathiswatchasatasavior."Lord,I’veonlygotaminuteleftonmymeter!Howmuchlongerareyougoingtobe,Jus?"

           "Abouttenminutes."

           "I’llwaitforyououtside,allright?"

           "Chicken!"shemocked.

           Martha’sduskyeyesfollowedhim."Heisabsolutelygorgeous.Whywon’thelookatme?"

           Justinegrinnedsourly,scrubbedherfacecleanatlast.Thefreckleswerecomingback.MaybeLondonwouldhelp;nosun."Oh,don’tworry,helooks.He’dlike,too.Butwillhe?NotDane."

           "Why?What’sthematterwithhim?Nevertellmehe’sapoof!Shit,whyisiteverygorgeousmanImeetisapoof?IneverthoughtDanewas,though;hedoesn’tstrikemethatwayatall."

           "Watchyourlanguage,youdumbwart!Hemostcertainlyisn’tapoof.Infact,thedayhelooksatSweetWilliam,ourscreamingjuvenile,I’llcuthisthroatandSweetWilliam’s,too."

           "Well,ifheisn’tapansyandhelikes,whydoesn’thetake?Doesn’thegetmymessage?DoeshethinkI’mtoooldforhim?"

           "Sweetie,atahundredyouwon’tbetoooldfortheaverageman,don’tworryaboutit.No,Dane’sswornoffsexforlife,thefool.He’sgoingtobeapriest."

           Martha’slushmouthdroppedopen,sheswungbackhermaneofinkyhair."Goon!"

           "True,true."

           "Youmeantosayallthat’sgoingtobewasted?"

           "Afraidso.He’sofferingittoGod."