The Dead Zone by Stephen King

Author:Stephen King [King, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

1

Later, Johnny supposed that the reason he ended up finally making love to Sarah—almost five years to the day after the fair—had a lot to do with the visit of Richard Dees, the man from Inside View. The reason he finally weakened and called Sarah and invited her to come and visit was little more than a wistful urge to have someone nice come to call and take the nasty taste out of his mouth. Or so he told himself.

He called her in Kennebunk and got the former roommate, who said Sarah would be right with him. The phone clunked down and there was a moment of silence when he contemplated (but not very seriously) just hanging up and closing the books for good. Then Sarah’s voice was in his ear.

“Johnny? Is it you?”

“The very same.”

“How are you?”

“Fine. How’s by you?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Glad you called. I ... didn’t know if you would.”

“Still sniffin that wicked cocaine?”

“No, I’m on heroin now.”

“You got your boy with you?”

“I sure do. Don’t go anywhere without him.”

“Well, why don’t the two of you truck on out here some day before you have to go back up north?”

“I’d like that, Johnny,” she said warmly.

“Dad’s working in Westbrook and I’m chief cook and bottlewasher. He gets home around four-thirty and we eat around five-thirty. You’re welcome to stay for dinner, but be warned: all my best dishes use Franco-American spaghetti as their base.”

She giggled. “Invitation accepted. Which day is best?”

“What about tomorrow or the day after, Sarah?”

“Tomorrow’s fine,” she said after the briefest of hesitations. “See you then.”

“Take care, Sarah.”

“You too.”

He hung up thoughtfully, feeling both excited and guilty—for no good reason at all. But your mind went where it wanted to, didn’t it? And where his mind wanted to go now was to examine possibilities maybe best left unconsidered.

Well, she knows the thing she needs to know. She knows what time dad comes home-what else does she need to know?

And his mind answered itself: What you going to do if she shows up at noon?

Nothing, he answered, and didn’t wholly believe it. Just thinking about Sarah, the set of her lips, the small, upward tilt of her green eyes—those were enough to make him feel weak and sappy and a little desperate.

Johnny went out to the kitchen and slowly began to put together this night’s supper, not so important, just for two. Father and son batching it. It hadn’t been all that bad. He was still healing. He and his father had talked about the four-and-a-half years he had missed, about his mother—working around that carefully but always seeming to come a little closer to the center, in a tightening spiral. Not needing to understand, maybe, but needing to come to terms. No, it hadn’t been that bad. It was a way to finish putting things together. For both of them. But it would be over in January when he returned to Cleaves Mills to teach. He had gotten his half-year contract from Dave Pelsen the week before, had signed it and sent it back.

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