小说园

第31部分（第2页）

body　as　if　picturing　what　it　would　look　like　on。　She　mouthed；　？Sorry；？　smiling　weakly。　？I　mean；　so

totallylame　；？　she　said　into　the　phone；　wiping　her　thighs　with　a　ratty　brown　kitchen　towel。

Ruby　laughed；　and　Vanessa　could　hear　her　mumbling　to

Piotr　in　the　background　in　some　insane　language　she　couldn？t　understand。　Probably　Martian。

？Don？t　worry　about　that。　The　ceremony　is　a　week　from　Saturday；　a　picnic　kind　of　thing　at

Prospect　Park？so　it？s　totally　casual。　Everyone？s　bringing　some　food　and　wearing　their　own

clothes　anyway。？　Vanessa　could　hear　the　click　of　her　sister？s　lighter　and　then　the　sound　of　her

exhaling　as　she　blew　out　the　first　drag。　Ruby　never　smoked　before　she　met　Piotr。Was　？Eurotrash？

a　contagious　disease？

And　is　there　a　vaccine？

？Thank　God。？　Vanessa　held　the　coffee　up　to　her　lips；　letting　the　steam　float　over　her　skin。　？You

really　had　me　worried　there　for　a　second。？　？Listen；　the　bachelorette　party　is　on　Thursday。　You？re

kind　of　supposed　to　plan　it。　I？ve　got　some　ideas　though；　so　don？t　worry　too　much。？　Bachelorette

party？Plan　it？　？Yeah；？　Vanessa　managed　to　mumble　while　taking　another　sip　of　her　coffee；　which

tasted　like　ass。　？I　guess。？　Was　there　some　unwritten　rule　that　all　coffee　in　the　Humphreys？

apartment　had　to　be　terrible？

？Of　course　you？re　going　to　film　the　whole　wedding；　too。　And　before　I　forget；　listen？can　you　ask

Dan　if　he？ll　write　a　poem　to　read　at　the　reception？　You　know；　something　about　love；　that　kind　of

thing。　Piotr？s　friends　are　planning　some　performance　art；　but　we？d　like　someone　to　read

something　and　don？t　know　any　other　poets。　It　would　mean　a　lot　to　us。？　Vanessa　snorted　into　the

phone。　Straight　love　poems　weren？t　exactly　Dan？s　thing。

？Anyway；　listen；　I　have　to　run？I　have　a　dress　fitting　at　Kleinfeld　first　thing　in　the　morning　and　I

gotta　get　some　sleep。　Oh；　and　my　last　gig　as　a　single　woman　is　on　Monday　at　the　Galapagos　Art

Space？if　you？re　free；　e　check　it　out！？　There　was　a　click；　and　then　the　dial　tone　began　buzzing

rudely　in　Vanessa？s　ear。　Waking　up　early　for　adress　fitting？　Ruby　reallyhad　been　abducted　by

aliens。

？My　sister？s　getting　married；？　Vanessa　intoned　flatly；　staring　at　a　postcard　of　some　really　old

building　in　Prague　that　Jenny　had　sent。　The　building　was　so　pletely　covered　in　pigeon　shit　it

looked　like　it　was　made　of　wax。

？Are　youserious　？？　Ruby　was　the　last　person　Dan　ever　thought　would　get　married？except　for

maybe　Vanessa。　Vanessa　had　told　him　once　that　she　thought　marriage　was　all　about　money　and

status　and　that　it　always　had　been；　all　throughout　history？in　the　Middle　Ages　it　was　practically　a

form　of　slavery。　Still；　Dan　had　always　believed　that　someday　he　would　get　to　watch　Vanessa　walk

moodily　down　the　aisle　in　a　long　black　dress；　carrying　a　bunch　of　brilliant　white　daisies。　He？d

even　written　a　poem　about　it。　But　now　he　was　gay；　and　gay　marriage　wasn？t　evenlegal　in　New