28 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
28 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
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\pard\plain \tx0\tx360\tx720\tx1080\tx1440\tx1800\tx2160\tx2880\tx3600\tx4320\fi360\ltrch\loch {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 Mug in hand, Jake frowned out the kitchen window. Eventually he said, \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Did something change out there? The light\u8217\'92s different. Or something.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 Mrs. Miller put down her rolling pin and walked over to stand beside him. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93A tree came down in the storm yesterday, just there.\u8221\'94 She pointed. \u8220\'93It broke the fence.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93What?\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 She shook her head. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Not the fence-fence. The decorative fence, the split rail. Looks like they fixed it last night and cleaned everything up. It was a good sized tree.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Efficient little buggers,\u8221\'94 Jake said. He ignored the older woman\u8217\'92s frown. \u8220\'93Guess I should be used to it.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93I\u8217\'92d call them industrious,\u8221\'94 she said. \u8220\'93By the way, Nancy asked me to remind you about the tennis court?\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Hmm?\u8221\'94 he muttered.}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 Mrs. Miller sighed. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93She suggested converting the tennis court into pickleball courts. She thinks it would get more use. We talked about this a month ago.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Oh, yeah. Has anyone ever used that tennis court? Beyond kids goofing around, I mean.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 She shook her head. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Not in my lifetime. According to my mother, your grandmother played exactly two games before she decided she hated tennis.\u8221\'94 She tilted your head, remembering. \u8220\'93Your father once decided it was silly to maintain it, year in and year out, and asked them to make it into lawn. They told him there\u8217\'92s more than a foot of hard-packed gravel under the clay, all of which would have to be dug out and hauled away, replaced with topsoil. And by then it was too visible from the road for them to do the work, so he\u8217\'92d have to hire humans. He decided to keep the tennis court.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93So for forty or fifty years they\u8217\'92ve raked it and repainted the lines \hich\f0 \emdash \loch\f0 what, every week? New nets every year?\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93At least,\u8221\'94 she said. \u8220\'93I imagine they check it over every night, clean up the leaves and such.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93What a waste,\u8221\'94 Jake said.}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Well, they don\u8217\'92t do things by halves. Nancy said there are some groups at church who would enjoy pickleball. The conversion would be straightforward. Just new nets and lines, no changes to the structure of the court itself.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 He shrugged. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Whatever. It would mean more people hanging around here, but I suppose it should be used.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93If you agree, }{\f1\fs24\b0\i1 Steward}{\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8221\'94 \hich\f0 \emdash \loch\f0 she hit the title hard \hich\f0 \emdash \loch\f0 \u8220\'93you need to tell them.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Oh. Remind me later today, would you?\u8221\'94 He put his mug down on the edge of the counter, and the housekeeper caught it as it fell. \u8220\'93I\u8217\'92m going to take a walk.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 As he headed to the door she said, \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93There\u8217\'92s a Rotary meeting this morning at eleven.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 He paused. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Is it important?\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 She sniffed. \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93I don\u8217\'92t believe it\u8217\'92s anything special, but you\u8217\'92ve skipped the last two.\u8221\'94}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 \loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af0\uc1\u8220\'93Shoot.\u8221\'94 He looked at the kitchen clock. 10:15. The restaurant was a twenty minute drive, and he\u8217\'92d need to shave, shower, and put on nice clothes. }
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 Without further comment he drifted out the door, across the lawn, disappearing into the woods.}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 Grace Miller shook her head. Then she rinsed the mug and put it into the dishwasher.}
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\par\plain {\f0\fs24\b0\i0 And finally got back to her rolling pin.}} |