小说园

第18部分（第1页）

and　handed　Elise　an　oversized　T…shirt　and　a　pair　of　sweatpants。　？Sleep　in　these；？　she　directed。

Otherwise　Elise　might　decide　to　sleep　in　the　nude；　which　would　be　very　uncool；　especially　if

Rufus　came　home　later　that　night　and　barged　into　Jenny？s　room　to　give　a　senseless　sermon　on　the

meaning　of　life；　as　he　was　sometimes　known　to　do　when　he？d　drunk　too　much　wine。　She　pulled

out　some　pajamas　for　herself　and　closed　the　drawer。　？I？m　going　to　take　a　shower。　You　can　use　my

cell　phone　if　you　want　to　call　your　mom。？

Elise　took　the　clothes　and　gazed　up　at　the　paintings　on　Jenny？s　wall。　Over　the　bed　was　one　of　the

Humphreys？　cat；　Marx；　dozing　on　the　stove；　painted　in　thick　oils。　Marx　was　a　deep　turquoise　color；

and　the　stove　was　red。　Near　the　window　was　a　self…portrait　of　Jenny？s　feet；　with　her　toenails

painted　orange　and　the　bones　in　her　feet　painted　blue。

？You？re　really　good。？　Elise　slipped　her　jeans　down　over　her　knees。　？Don？t　you　want　to　finish　my

portrait？？

Jenny　grabbed　her　pink　terrycloth　bathrobe　from　the　hook　on　the　back　of　her　door。　？Not　tonight；？

she　responded；　quickly　heading　down　the　hall　to　the　bathroom。　She？d　take　a　long；　hot　shower；　and

hopefully　by　the　time　she　came　out　Elise　would　be　asleep。　Tomorrow　they　would　eat　their　Eggos

and　go　sledding　in　the　park　and　goof　around　like　normal　girls。　No　more　experimentation。　As　far　as

Jenny　was　concerned；　experimentation　was　pletely　overrated。

nfacilitates　recovery　of　messed…up　orphan　heiress

？Hold　the　reins　in　one　hand　and　the　whip　in　the　other；？　Georgie　instructed　Nate。　They　were　up　in

Georgie？s　attic；　but　instead　of　hanging　out　inside　the　gorgeous　antique　carriage　and　smoking　dope

and　kissing　and　being　mellow；　Georgie　was　acting　all　hyperactive　and　making　Natedrive　the

carriage。

The　attic　itself　was　incredible。　It　was　full　of　beautiful　old　things　from　days　gone　by；　but　kept　in

perfect　order　as　if　at　any　time　someone　was　going　to　carry　them　downstairs　and　put　them　to　use

again。　The　carriage　was　painted　gold　and　lined　with　purple　velvet；　and　under　the　seat　inside；　in　a

little　leather　chest；　were　fur　rugs　and　muffs　to　keep　your　hands　warm　while　you　went　out　for　a　ride。

Best　of　all；　eight　white　carousel　horses　with　white　feather　plumes　affixed　to　real　leather　harnesses

were　pulling　the　carriage。

？e　on；　faster；faster　；　giddyap；giddyap　！？　Georgie　shouted　at　the　carousel　horses；　cracking　her

long　leather　whip　and　bouncing　up　and　down　in　the　red　leather　coachman？s　seat。

Whoa。

Nate　sat　back　on　the　seat　beside　her　and　tried　to　light　another　joint；　but　Georgie　was　bouncing

around　so　much；　it　fell　right　out　of　his　hand。　？Fuck！？　he　cried；　exasperated。　He　leaned　over　the

side　of　the　carriage　to　see　where　the　joint　had　fallen　on　the　white…painted　wood　floor；　but　the　attic

was　lit　only　by　a　single　dim　bulb　and　he　couldn？t　see　the　joint　anywhere。

？That？s　okay。？　Georgie　jumped　down　from　the　carriage。　？e　on；　there？s　something　I　want　to