A reading from Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM) North American (US Mid-Atlantic)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
a spool of blue thread by an Tyler late 1 July evening in 1994. Red and Abbey, which Shank had a phone call from their son, Denny. They were getting ready for bed at the time, Abby was standing at the bureau in her slip, drawing hairpins from her scattering sand colored top. Not read. A dark, gaunt man in striped pajama bottoms and a white T shirt had just said, done on the edge of the bed. So when the phone rang on the night stand beside him, he was the one who answered. Which ANC residents, he said. And then, well, hey there. Abby turned from the mirror, both arms still raised to her head. What's that? He said without a question. Mark. Ha! He said, Oh, what the ****, Denny, have you dropped her arms? Hello, he said. Wait, Hello? Hello. He was silent for a moment, and then he replaced the receiver. What a be asked him says he's ***. What said he needed to tell me something? He's ***, And you hung up on him? No, Abby, he hung up on me. All I said was, what the ****? And he hung up on me. Click just like that. Oh, Red, How could you? Abby wailed. What possessed you to say that? I didn't mean anything by it? Somebody spring something on you, you're going to say what the **** right I've He grabbed a handful of the hair that puffed over her forehead. All I met Waas read said, What the **** next? Any? What are you going to think of next to worry us with? And he knew I meant that. Believe me, he knew. But now he can make this all my fault. My narrow mindedness or fuddy duddy nous. Whatever he wants to call it. He was glad I said that to him. You could tell by how fast he hung up on me. He'd been just hoping all along that I would say the wrong thing. Where was he calling from? How would I know where he was calling from? He doesn't have a fixed address. Hasn't been in touch all summer already. Changed jobs twice that we know of, and probably more that we don't know off a 19 year old boy. And we have no idea what part of the planet he's on. You've got to wonder what's wrong there. What did his voice sound like? She asked, Was he nervous? Was he upset? He was fine. So you say, had he been drinking? Do you think I couldn't tell brother people with him? I couldn't tell Abby. We may be one other person. He sent her a sharp look. You are not thinking he was serious? He said, Of course he was serious. Why else would he say it? The boy isn't ***, Abby. How do you know that? He just isn't. Mark my words. You're going to feel silly by and by, like shoot. I overreacted. Well, naturally, that is what you would want to believe. Doesn't your female intuition tell you anything at all? This is a kid who got a girl in trouble before he was out of high school. So that doesn't mean a thing. It might even have been a symptom.