小说园

第5部分（第1页）

you　say？　Small？？　He　gestured　with　his　hands　to　indicate　someone　short。

Vanessa　nodded；　taking　a　sip　of　the　dark　beer。　？You　mean　when　she　was　a　little　girl？？　？Yes！？

Piotr　said　with　relief。　？Little　girl。　Anyway；　she　tell　me　how　she　and　you？？he　pointed　at　Vanessa

with　his　full　glass？？make　tea　party　with　apple　juice？？　She　burst　out　laughing；　trying　not　to　spit　a

mouthful　of

Guinness　all　over　the　table。　That　wasnot　what　she？d　been　expecting　Piotr　to　say。　She　remembered

how　she　and　Ruby　used　to　play　dress…up　in　their　mother？s　closet　for　hours；　putting　together

outrageous　ensembles　of　feathers；　beads；　and　long；　tie…dyed　hippie　dresses　before　sitting　down　at

the　kitchen　table　to　drink　Red　Cheek　apple　juice　from　their　mother？s　special　china　cups。　They？d

sit　there　for　hours；　talking　in　fake　British　accents　and　giggling　as　they　said　things　like　？Pass　the

bloody　crumpets！？　and　？Hand　me　me　bloomin？　bloomers！？　even　though　that　one　didn？t　even

make　sense。

？So；　I　look　all　day；？　Piotr　continued；　refilling　his　and　Vanessa？s　now…empty　glasses；　？for　antique

tea　set　for　her；　and　I　finally　find　one　this　afternoon。？　He　looked　up　worriedly；　his　forehead　a　mass

of　wrinkles。　？You　think　she　will　like？？　Vanessa　looked　at　the　concern　in　Piotr？s　blue　eyes；　the　love

that　was　so　obviously　there　for　her　sister；　and　something　inside　her　melted。　He　obviously　loved

Ruby？only　a　guy　in　love　would　run　around　New　York　all　day　to　find　a　freaking　tea　set。

？Yes。？　Vanessa　nodded；　raising　her　camera　to　her　face　and　pointing　it　toward　the　stage　to　check

the　exposure；　but　mostly　to　hide　the　fact　that　she　was　touched。　？I　think　she　will　likevery　much。？

Seeing　Piotr　so　obviously　in　love　made　Vanessa　feel　kind　of　。　。　。　romantic。　She　closed　her　eyes　for

a　moment　and　pictured　Dan　at　home；　sprawled　out　on　the　lumpy　brown　leather　sofa；　writing

poetry　in　his　beat…up　notebook。　She　knew　he？d　been　having　a　hard　time　with　the　poem　for　Ruby

and　Piotr？s　wedding；　and　the　idea　of　him　trying　so　hard　to　find　the　right　words　for　her　sister

warmed　her　chest。

You　sure　that　isn？t　the　booze？

Maybe　when　she　got　home　later　they　could　really　talk。　She？d　tried　to　be　supportive　of　Dan　when

he？d　e　out；　but　seeing　how　unfortable　he　was　at　his　surprise　party；　she　still　had　her

doubts　。　。　。　not　to　mention　her　hopes　about　his　supposed　gayness。　Maybe　she？d　be　able　to　tell　him

how　she　felt　。　。　。　and　try　to　help　him　figure　out　what　he　was　really　feeling。

Yes；　and　just　exactly　how　would　she　do　this？Naked？　Vanessa　smiled　as　SugarDaddy　took　the

stage　in　a　clamor　of　guitars。　Ruby　wore　her　signature　purple　leather　pants；　her　black；　chin…length

hair　sticking　out　in　every　direction；　like　she？d　blow…dried　it　upside　down？or　electrocuted　herself

with　her　blow…dryer。　She　spotted　Vanessa　and　Piotr　sitting　together　and　waved。　Then　she　stuck　her

tongue　out　between　her　pinky　and　pointer　fingers。　？What？s　happening；　fuckers！？？　she　yelled　into

the　microphone；　and　the　crowd　cheered；　wildly。

Vanessa　smiled。　Everything　was　going　to　be　okay。　Her　sister　was　still　her　sister；　her