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.Mister Sellars was her friend, too, but if hewanted her to do bad things, maybe he wasn’t a very good friend.“Christabel!”She looked up, startled.A car had stopped next to her and the door was swinging open.Shemade a little screaming noise and jumped back – was this the bad thing Mister Sellars meant,coming for her now? The worst bad thing of all?“Christabel, what are you doing? It’s me.”She bent down so she could look in the car.“Daddy!”“Hop in, I’ll give you a ride.”She climbed into the car and gave him a hug.He still had a little shaving-smell on his cheek.Hewas wearing a suit, so she knew he was on his way back from work.She sat back while herseatbelt fitted itself.“Didn’t mean to startle you, baby.Where were you coming from?”She opened her mouth, then had to stop for a moment.Portia lived in the other direction.“I wasplaying with Ophelia.”“Ophelia Weiner?”“Uh-huh.” She kicked her feet and watched the trees slide past above the windshield.The treesslowed down, then stopped.Christabel looked out the side window, but they were only onStillwell, two blocks from home.“Why are we stopping here?”Her father’s hard hand touched her under her chin.He turned her face around to look at his.Hisforehead was wrinkled.“You were playing with Ophelia Weiner? Just now? At her house?”Her daddy’s voice was careful and scary.She nodded.“Christabel, I gave Mister and Missus Weiner and Ophelia a ride to the airport at lunchtime.They’ve gone on vacation, just like we’re going on vacation.Why did you lie to me? And wherehave you been?”His face was scary now too, that quiet angry face she knew meant she’d done a bad thing.Thatwas a spanking face.It went all blurry as she started to cry.“I’m sorry, Daddy.I’m sorry.”“Just tell me the truth, Christabel.”She was really scared.She wasn’t supposed to visit Mister Sellars, and if she told her daddy,she’d be in big trouble – she’d get a spanking for sure.And maybe Mister Sellars would get introuble, too.Would they give him a spanking? He was very small and weak and would probablyget hurt.But Mister Sellars wanted her to do bad things, he said, and now her daddy was angry.It was hard to think.She couldn’t stop crying.“Christabel Sorensen, we’re not going anywhere until you tell me the truth.” She felt his handon top of her hair.“Look, don’t cry.I love you, but I want to know.It’s much, much better to tellthe truth.”She thought of funny-looking Mister Sellars and how unhappy he looked today.But her daddywas sitting right next to her, and her Sunday School teacher always said that telling lies was bad,and that people who told lies went to hell and burned.She took a deep breath and wiped her noseand her upper lip.Her face was all yucky and wet.“I.went to see.”“Yes?” He was so big the top of his head touched the car roof.He was as big as a monster.“This.this lady.”“What lady? What’s going on, Christabel?”It was such a big lie – such a bad lie – that she could hardly say it.She had to take anotherbreath.“She h-h-has a dog.And she lets me play with him.His name is M-M-Mister.And Iknow Mommy said I can’t have a dog, but I really, really want one.And I was afraid you’d say Icouldn’t go over there any more.”It was so surprising to hear the terrible big lie come out of her own mouth that she started cryingagain, really loud.Her daddy looked at her so hard that she had to look away.He took her chinand gently pulled her back.“Is that the truth?”“I swear it is, Daddy.” She sniffed and sniffed until she wasn’t crying too hard, but her nose wasstill running.“It’s the truth.”He sat up and made the car go again.“Well, I’m very angry with you, Christabel.You know thatyou’re always supposed to let us know where you’re going, even on the Base.And you arenever, never to lie to me again.Got it?”She wiped her nose again.Her sleeve was wet and sticky now.“Got it.”“A dog.” He turned into Windicott.“Of all the damn fool things.What’s this lady’s name,anyway?”“I.I don’t know.She’s just a grown-up lady.Old like mom.”Her daddy laughed.“Whoops.I don’t think I’d better pass that along.” He made his facegrouchy again.“Well, I’m not going to give you a spanking, because you finally told me thetruth and that’s the most important thing.But you told a lie to begin with, and you went offwithout telling us where you were going.I think when we get back from Connecticut you’regoing to be grounded for a little while.A week or two
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Tematy
IndexWilliam Faulkner Absalomie, Absalomie
Faulkner William Absalomie,Absalomie
Blatty William Peter Egzorcysta 01 Egzorcysta(1)
William Inboden Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945 1960, The Soul of Containment (2008)
William Blum Killing Hope, US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II (2003)
Walter Jon Williams Dread Empire's Fall 02 The Sundering
Walter Jon Williams Dread Empire's Fall 01 The Praxis
Christine Feehan [Dark 16] Dark Demon (v5.0) (epub)
Coulter Catherine Devil's Duology 01 W objęciach diabła
Auel Jean M Dzieci Ziemi 04a Rzeka powrotu