Читать книгу Dump and Chase - Elizabet Young - Страница 7

At home, he has another bowl of Rice Krispies for dinner. He sets the bowl of milk on the concrete patio for the stray cat that visits occasionally, and he returns to his grooved imprint on the couch. He spends the evening watching the Bruins and the Lightning skate around in circles. He doesn't understand the appeal of the game. Maybe if they made the nets bigger there would be more scoring. Maybe they should get rid of the goalies altogether. Why does Kendra like this so much?

His front door whips open and Ivan stomps in with the white envelope he uses to collect rent. Ken is too familiar with this routine. Ivan will stand in front of the television, purposely blocking Ken's view, and he'll dangle the envelope by the masking tape stuck to his thumb, and he'll call Ken a deadbeat, suggest his mother is a harlot who ought to be ashamed of him, and he'll swear in some Slavic language before sticking the envelope to Ken's television screen and slamming the door shut when he storms out.

Ken braces himself as Ivan marches over to the television. But Ivan stops. “You watch the game tonight?” he asks. He sits beside Ken and elbows him in the ribs until he moves over, and he stares straight ahead, transfixed by the game, just as Kendra did earlier in the evening. Who knew hockey was so popular?

Ivan opens his palms to the air and shouts, “Nevedia strelit gól!”

Ken glances cautiously to the screen and back to his new guest, not knowing what the hell he's just said. “Would you like a drink? I have milk or champagne.”