Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第24部分 (第7/7頁)

know。　。。。〃

She　sniffled　for　a　moment；　then　abruptly　pushed　him　away　with　her　strong　arms。　She　turned　away；　wiped　her　eyes。　〃I'm　all　right；〃　she　said。　〃Thanks。〃

〃Sure；〃　he　said。

She　remained　turned　away；　her　back　to　him。　〃Where's　the　＇＇159＇＇　damn　Kleenex？〃　She　found　one；　blew　her　nose。　〃You　won't　say　anything　to　the　others。　。。。〃

〃Of　course　not。〃

A　bell　rang；　startling　her。　〃Jesus；　what's　that？〃

〃I　think　it's　dinner；〃　Norman　said。

DINNER

〃I　don't　know　how　you　can　eat　those　things；〃　Harry　said；　pointing　to　the　squid。

〃They're　delicious；〃　Norman　said。　〃Sautéed　squid。〃　As　soon　as　he　had　sat　at　the　table；　he　became　aware　of　how　hungry　he　was。　And　eating　made　him　feel　better；　there　was　a　reassuring　normalcy　about　sitting　at　a　table；　with　a　knife　and　fork　in　his　hands。　It　was　almost　possible　to　forget　where　he　was。

〃I　especially　like　them　fried；〃　Tina　said。

〃Fried　calamari；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Wonderful。　My　favorite。〃

〃I　like　them　fried；　too；〃　Edmunds；　the　archivist；　said。　She　sat　primly；　very　erect；　eating　her　food　precisely。　Norman　noticed　that　she　put　her　knife　down　between　bites。

〃Why　aren't　these　fried？〃　Norman　said。

〃We　can't　deep…fry　down　here；〃　Barnes　said。　〃The　hot　oil　forms　a　suspensi