The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 252

girls with outfits ranging from raggedy to regal; the dolls that is, marbles, games and puzzles of all sorts, though more or less disproportionately evocative of war, Little Golden Books, models to be assembled with glue and finished with decals, Disney puppets, building blocks, Lincoln logs, Mr. Potato Head, tin soldiers, slinkies, and fake dough; the latter a wad that could choke a scientifically rendered image of a sharp toothed tyrannosaurus rex, yours for a real buffalo or Jefferson nickel. That seemed a better deal than was available anywhere else, but Sam had a soft spot for the Kentucky Derby horse racing game, which was now still available, but at an inflated price of nineteen cents. He lingered over the names of the all-time greats who were still competing for every kid whose parents had that nineteen cents; Whirlaway, Gallant Fox, Citation, Seabiscuit, Assault, Man O’ War, Sir Barton, and Count Fleet. He wondered if he should open the unsealed box. He looked around furtively, didn’t see anyone watching him, and lifted the lid, put the bangtails at the starting gate, and flicked the arrow.

The arrow whirred as it spun around the wheel just the opposite of what they do roulette. It stopped on his favorite, Whirlaway, just as it consistently did when Sam was a three foot tall fan of the triple Crown winner. He smiled, and put the lid back on