小说园

第18部分（第1页）

？You　didn？t　fail；　Dad；？　Dan　corrected　as　he　scarfed　down　a　forkful　of　sesame　noodles。　Rufus　and

Jenny　had　waited　outside　Hunan　92　on　Ninety…second　and　Amsterdam　while　he　went　in　to　buy

some　celebratory　takeout。　He？d　stayed　up　all　night　working　on　his　speech；　drinking　instant　coffee

after　instant　coffee　and　smoking　Camel　after　Camel。　If　he　didn？t　eat　something；　he　wasn？t　going

to　make　it　to　any　party　later。　Now　they　were　home；　sitting　at　the　dining　room　table；　staring　at　one

another；　with　an　unopened　bottle　of　champagne　on　the　table。　It　was　a　Monday　and　barely　four

o？clock？an　odd　time　to　all　be　home　together。

？At　least　he　got　into　college；？　Jenny　put　in　glumly。　She？d　worn　a　new　stretchy

lavender…and…pale…yellow　Pucci　print　wrap　dress　to　Dan？s　graduation；　and　there　were　two　huge

damp　spots　under　each　pendulous　boob　from　where　she？d　sweated　in　the　heat。　She　felt　disgusting

and　was　particularly　resentful　of　her　brother　and　father　for　being　in　such　equally　bad　moods　that

they　weren？t　even　going　to　try　to　cheer　her　up。　She　thought　about　calling　Elise；　but　she　was　at　her

country　house　in　Cape　Cod；　and　she？d　only　make　Jenny　feel　worse　by　moping　about　the　fact　that

they　were　going　to　be　apart　next　year。　That　is；　if　Jenny　was　actually　going　anywhere　next　year。　As

things　stood；　she　might　have　to　be　homeschooled。

She　glanced　at　her　father。　In　an　effort　to　fit　in　with　the　other　fathers；　he？d　worn　a　suit　to　Dan？s

graduation；　but　it　was　black　wool？too　warm　for　June；　and　all　wrong　with　the　weirdly　trendy；

tight…fitting　pumpkin　orange　shirt　he？d　borrowed　from　Dan　to　wear　underneath　it。　He？d　yanked

out　the　orange　ribbon　in　his　fury；　and　his　wiry　salt…and…pepper　hair　was　now　fashioned　into　a　sort

of　messy　chignon；　held　together　with　the　electric　blue　magnetic　bulldog　clip　they　used　to　keep

their　takeout　menus　on　the　door　of　the　refrigerator。　To　make　things　worse；　there　were　stray　pieces

of　pink　towel　lint　in　his　beard。

Maybe　homeschooling　wasn？t　such　a　great　idea。

？Isn？t　there　someplace　you　kids　need　to　be？？　Rufus　asked；　downing　the　remains　of　his　wine。

Obviously；　one　glass　wouldn？t　be　nearly　enough。

？e　on；　Dad；？　Dan　plained。　？It？s　not　like　I？m　never　going　to　college。　I　just　deferred　for　a

year；　that？s　all。？

Rufus　reached　for　the　uncorked　bottle　of　Sangiovese　in　the　middle　of　the　table　and　poured

himself　some　more。　？I　just　spent　eighty　thousand　dollars　on　your　high　school　education；　all

borrowed；　so　it？ll　probably　be　double　with　interest。　Excuse　me　for　not　being　ecstatic。？　His　gray

eyebrows　knitted　together　in　a　furry　single　line。　？Does　Vanessa　even　know　about　this？？　he

demanded　suspiciously。

Dan　ripped　open　a　clear　plastic　packet　of　fluorescent　orange　duck　sauce　with　his　teeth　and

squirted　it　onto　an　egg　roll。　？Not　really。？

Jenny　and　Rufus　both　stared　at　him　in　shocked　surprise。

Dan　looked　up。　？What？？

？Idiot；？　Jenny　breathed　across　the　table　at　him。　She？d　worked　with　Vanessa　Abrams　onRancor　；

the　Constance　student…run　arts　magazine；　and　had　hung　out　with　her　enough　times　to　know　that

she　was　fiercely　independent　and　not　at　all　into　this　sort　of　lovesick…puppy…dog　shit　Dan　was