День триффидов
Frustration
Themanageresshadthespirittopullherselftogetherandhandoutsomequitehigh-soundingthreats,buttheice,evenofhermostsevereboardinghousemanner,wasthin.Theoldmantriedtobackherupbyblusteringabit.Therestdidnothingbutkeeptheirfacesturnednervouslytowardus.
Iexplainedthatweweremovingin.Iftheydidnotlikeit,theycouldgo:if,ontheotherhand,theypreferredtostayandshareequallywhattherewas,theywerefreetodoso.Theywerenotpleased.Thewaytheyreactedsuggestedthatsomewhereintheplacetheyhadacacheofstoresthattheywerenotanxioustoshare.Whentheygraspedthattheintentionwastobuildupbiggerstorestheirattitudemodifiedperceptibly,andtheypreparedtomakethebestofit.
IdecidedI’dhavetostayonadayortwojusttogetthepartysetup.IguessedJosellawouldbefeelingmuchthesameaboutherlot.Ingeniousman,Coker—thetrickiscalledholdingthebaby.ButafterthatI’ddodgeout,andjoinher.
Duringthenextcoupleofdaysweworkedsystematically,tacklingthebiggerstoresnearby—mostlychainstores,andnotverybig,atthat.Nearlyeverywheretherehadbeenothersbeforeus.Thefrontsoftheshopswereinabadway.Thewindowswerebrokenin,thefloorswerelitteredwithhalf-openedcansandsplitpackageswhichhaddisappointedthefinders,andnowlayinasticky,stinkingmassamongthefragmentsofwindowglass.Butasarulethelosswassmall-andthedamagesuperficial,andwe’dfindthelargercasesinandbehindtheshopuntouched.
