小说园

第12部分（第4页）

？Isaid；　I　need　totalk　。？　Ruby　had　to　shout　over　the　frantic　fiddle　of　the　Charlie　Daniels

Band？s　？The　Devil　Went　Down　to　Georgia。？　？I　don？t　think　I　can　do　this！？　？Do　what？？　Vanessa

asked；　pouring　another　shot　into　her　glass　from　the　half…empty　bottle　of　J&B　Ruby　clutched　in　her

hand。　？Drink？？　She　held　up　the　bottle　to　her　sister？s　face。　？？Cause　you　seem　pretty　good　at　it　to

me。？　Ruby　waved　the　bottle　away　impatiently。　？I　don？t　think　I　can　marry　Piotr。　I　don？t　know　if　I

can　go　through　with　it。？　Ruby？s　face　crumpled　like　a　used　Kleenex。

？Wait？what？？　Vanessa　bent　down　to　place　the　bottle　of　J&B　on　the　floor；　then　she　stood　back　up

to　put　her　arms　around　her　sister。　？Why？　What？s　going　on？？　？Well；？　Ruby　sniffed；　？he　gave　me

this　gift　today？he　said　it　was　in　honor　of　our　future　life　together　or　some　bullshit。？　Vanessa

wrinkled　her　brow　in　confusion。　？Soooo？？　？V；　he　bought　me　this　Suzy　Homemaker　antique　tea　set

for　a　fucking　wedding　present。　He　doesn？t　fucking　know　me　at　all。　I　mean；　if　that？s　what　he？s

expecting　。　。　。？　She　trailed　off　and　poured　herself　another　shot；　knocking　it　back　expertly　and

wiping　her　mouth　with　the　back　of　her　hand。　？Does　he　think　I？m　going　to　be　this　perfect；

stay…at…home　Stepford　Wife？　Because　that？s　not　what　I？m　about　at　all；　and　he　shouldknow　that！？

Ruby　filled　her　shot　glass　again；　and　this　time　Vanessa　held　her　own　glass　out　for　a　refill。

When　in　Rome　。　。　。

？I　mean；　how　can　I　marry　a　guy　who　obviously　doesn？t　even　know　who　the　hell　Iam　？？　Ruby

shook　her　head　in　sadness　and　disgust。　Behind　them　a　couple　stumbled　out　of　the　ladies？　room；

looking　around　guiltily。

？He　knows　who　you　are；？　Vanessa　heard　herself　saying？much　to　her　surprise。　？And　I　think　he

really　loves　you。？　？Why　do　you　say　that？？　Ruby　asked　suspiciously。

？Listen。？　Vanessa　took　her　by　the　arm　and　was　grateful　when　the　music　changed　to　a　less　noisy

Bonnie　Raitt　ballad。　？I　had　a　long　talk　with　Piotr　the　other　night　at　your　gig。？　？You　did？？　Ruby

asked。　？I　mean；　so　what？？　she　added；　as　if　reminding　herself　to　be　bitter　and　angry。

？Just　stay　with　me　here；？　Vanessa　said　impatiently。　？He　mentioned　that；　back　when　you　guys　first

met；　you？d　told　him　about　how　we　used　to　have　tea　parties　when　we　were　little。　Remember？？

Ruby　nodded　and　Vanessa　kept　going。　？You　told　him　that　we？d　drink　apple　juice　out　of　those

pretty　china　cups　mom　had　and　pretend　it　was　tea？　Well；that？s　where　he　got　the　idea　to　buy　you　an

antique　tea　set。？　Up　on　the　bar；　the　red…stilettoed　bartender　was　lining　up　one　polo…shirted　guy

after　another　and　forcing　them　to　do　shots；　then　dousing　them　with　water　as　a　chaser。　？That？s　the

sweetest　thing　I？ve　ever　heard；？　Ruby　responded　quietly；　filling　her　shot　glass　again？along　with

Vanessa？s。　？I？m　an　ass…hole；？　she　declared；　one　lone　tear　spilling