The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Author:Tom Perrotta
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: 2011-09-07T17:49:11+00:00

THE BEST CHAIR IN THE WORLD

IN THE CAR, NORA DID her best to act like it was no big deal, like going to the mall at the height of the holiday season was just something you did—because you were an American, because Christmas was right around the corner, because you were part of an extended family whether you liked it or not, and needed to buy gifts for a certain number of your relatives. Karen followed her lead, keeping the conversation light and casual, not saying anything to call attention to the significance of the journey, to suggest that Nora was “being brave” or “taking a step forward” or “getting on with her life,” any of the patronizing phrases she’d come to despise.

“It’s hard to shop for teenage boys,” Karen said. “They won’t even tell me which video games they want, like I’m supposed to know the difference between Brainwave Assassin 2 and Brainwave Assassin Special Edition. Plus, I told them I wouldn’t get anything rated M—I don’t even like the T games, to be honest—so that really limits my options. And the boxes they come in are so small, it just looks … empty under the tree, not like when they were little and you had all these presents spilling out, taking up the whole living room. That really felt like Christmas.”

“Maybe books?” Nora said. “They like to read, right?”

“I guess.” Karen kept her eyes straight ahead, fixed on the glowing taillights of the Explorer in front of them. Traffic was heavy for seven-thirty in the evening, almost like rush hour; apparently, the herd had made a collective decision to do some shopping. “They like that fantasy crap, and all the titles sound the same. Last Christmas I got Jonathan one of those boxed set trilogies—The Werewolves of Necropolis, or something—and it turned out he already owned them. They were right there on his bookshelf. It was like that with everything. I don’t think the boys got anything that really made them happy.”

“Maybe you should surprise them. Don’t focus so much on the things you know they want. Introduce them to something new.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Like surfboards or something. Gift certificates for rock climbing or scuba lessons, that kind of thing.”

“Hmmm.” Karen seemed intrigued. “That’s not such a bad idea.”

Nora couldn’t tell if her sister was being sincere, but it didn’t really matter. It was a half hour to the mall, and they needed to talk about something. If nothing else, it was a chance for her to practice her small talk, to remember what it felt like to be a normal person having a harmless little chat, nothing too heavy or disturbing. It was a skill she’d need to develop if she was ever going to reenter the social world in a serious way—get through a job interview, say, or a dinner date with an interesting man.

“It’s—it’s pretty warm for this time of year,” she ventured.

“I know!” Karen’s reply was oddly emphatic, as if she’d been waiting all day for a chance to discuss the weather.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.