Read Online The Mall of Cthulhu by Seamus Cooper - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Seamus Cooper
Tags: Science-Fiction
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way you think. All I meant was that I don't really give a shit what you do for the next four hours as long as you stay inconspicuous. So listen. Right now we are at the corner of Prospect and College streets. Okay?"
"Got it."
"What's the corner?"
Ted paused. "Prospector something?"
Laura gritted her teeth. "Prospect and College. Say it back to me."
"Prospect and College."
"Good. Now if you walk down the hill on College, you'll come to a coffee shop on the left before you come to the river. Got that? If you get to the river, you've gone too far."
"Got it."
"Just be in the coffee shop at 4. Hopefully I'll be able to give you the key to the apartment I'm renting for me and my fiancé."
"Okay, honey! Have a good day apartment hunting, sweetie!"
"Fuck you, sweetums!" Laura trilled in return. When she returned from the admissions office, Ted was gone.
She went and met the real estate agent, a woman named Aline who was wearing a rhinestone pin in the shape of a house with the word "Sold!" written in fake rubies across it. Aline took her first to a building with peeling paint and split banisters that looked like it might be condemned, then to a building where the blue vinyl siding was separating from the exterior walls and the interior doors appeared to be made of cardboard, and finally to a utilitarian gray box of a building containing six tiny, spartan studio apartments. It was not a nice place by any means, but it was the Taj Mahal compared to the other places she had seen.
"So as you can see it's a little snug, but it's easy walking distance to Brown and downtown, and of course the mall. The State House—didn't you say you'd be working at the State House?"
"Yes."
"That's great. You can walk to work in twenty minutes, or drive in five. And hopefully you and your fella can put some money away while you're here so you can afford a better wedding."
Laura pasted a smile onto her face. "That sounds great. I haven't even dared to tell him what the dress cost."
"Honey, take my advice. Don't. Don't tell him what anything costs. What he doesn't know won't hurt you." Aline grinned conspiratorially at Laura, who gave a giggle that she hoped was the appropriate response for one of these "we sure do put one over on the boys" conversations that her real self would never have.
She went back to Aline's office, signed a check and the rental agreement and got the keys. She spent the next hour procuring a futon with sheets and a blanket and a prepaid cell phone for Ted's use. She dumped all the stuff in the apartment and went to the coffee shop to meet Ted.
He was in line right in front of her and surprised her by not waving and smiling and blowing their cover. As Laura added milk and Splenda to her coffee and Ted fumbled with the half-and-half, she laid the key and Aline's card with the apartment address on the counter by the stirrer sticks and Ted palmed it like a pro. She took her coffee to go and looked back at Ted sitting alone at the table. As she walked back to the car, she felt a terrible sadness and longing to go back and be with Ted. She wondered if this was how parents felt when they left their kids playing in the block corner in preschool and went off to work for the first time.
It was dark as she drove back to Boston, and she tried listening to NPR, but she couldn't focus. She found herself worrying about Ted. She resisted the urge to call him until she got half an hour away, and he didn't answer. Her heart started pounding, and she wondered if she should turn around at the next exit. She told herself she was being silly, that she'd try him again in ten minutes, and she was reaching for her phone to call him again when it started ringing. She saw it was Ted and felt a surge of relief.
"Hey," he said. "Sorry I missed your call, but I kinda had my hands full, if you know what I mean. You think you could have furnished some tissues here?"
"Aaagh! I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay, but obviously you're
"Got it."
"What's the corner?"
Ted paused. "Prospector something?"
Laura gritted her teeth. "Prospect and College. Say it back to me."
"Prospect and College."
"Good. Now if you walk down the hill on College, you'll come to a coffee shop on the left before you come to the river. Got that? If you get to the river, you've gone too far."
"Got it."
"Just be in the coffee shop at 4. Hopefully I'll be able to give you the key to the apartment I'm renting for me and my fiancé."
"Okay, honey! Have a good day apartment hunting, sweetie!"
"Fuck you, sweetums!" Laura trilled in return. When she returned from the admissions office, Ted was gone.
She went and met the real estate agent, a woman named Aline who was wearing a rhinestone pin in the shape of a house with the word "Sold!" written in fake rubies across it. Aline took her first to a building with peeling paint and split banisters that looked like it might be condemned, then to a building where the blue vinyl siding was separating from the exterior walls and the interior doors appeared to be made of cardboard, and finally to a utilitarian gray box of a building containing six tiny, spartan studio apartments. It was not a nice place by any means, but it was the Taj Mahal compared to the other places she had seen.
"So as you can see it's a little snug, but it's easy walking distance to Brown and downtown, and of course the mall. The State House—didn't you say you'd be working at the State House?"
"Yes."
"That's great. You can walk to work in twenty minutes, or drive in five. And hopefully you and your fella can put some money away while you're here so you can afford a better wedding."
Laura pasted a smile onto her face. "That sounds great. I haven't even dared to tell him what the dress cost."
"Honey, take my advice. Don't. Don't tell him what anything costs. What he doesn't know won't hurt you." Aline grinned conspiratorially at Laura, who gave a giggle that she hoped was the appropriate response for one of these "we sure do put one over on the boys" conversations that her real self would never have.
She went back to Aline's office, signed a check and the rental agreement and got the keys. She spent the next hour procuring a futon with sheets and a blanket and a prepaid cell phone for Ted's use. She dumped all the stuff in the apartment and went to the coffee shop to meet Ted.
He was in line right in front of her and surprised her by not waving and smiling and blowing their cover. As Laura added milk and Splenda to her coffee and Ted fumbled with the half-and-half, she laid the key and Aline's card with the apartment address on the counter by the stirrer sticks and Ted palmed it like a pro. She took her coffee to go and looked back at Ted sitting alone at the table. As she walked back to the car, she felt a terrible sadness and longing to go back and be with Ted. She wondered if this was how parents felt when they left their kids playing in the block corner in preschool and went off to work for the first time.
It was dark as she drove back to Boston, and she tried listening to NPR, but she couldn't focus. She found herself worrying about Ted. She resisted the urge to call him until she got half an hour away, and he didn't answer. Her heart started pounding, and she wondered if she should turn around at the next exit. She told herself she was being silly, that she'd try him again in ten minutes, and she was reaching for her phone to call him again when it started ringing. She saw it was Ted and felt a surge of relief.
"Hey," he said. "Sorry I missed your call, but I kinda had my hands full, if you know what I mean. You think you could have furnished some tissues here?"
"Aaagh! I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay, but obviously you're
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