第21部分(第3/7 页)

Blair　paused　for　a　moment。　？I　should　really　get　going；　Nate。　I？ve　got　to　run　some　samples

uptown　to　the　set。？

？Okay。？　Nate　was　disappointed。　？That　sounds　important。？

？It　is　important。　Have　fun　at　the　beach。？　Blair　hung　up。

Nate　pressed　end　and　dropped　the　receiver　onto　the　floor；　then　turned　over　and　stared　at　the

ceiling。Have　fun？　Suddenly；　the　Hamptons　didn？t　seem　fun　at　all。　His　whole　summer　stretched

before　him　and　he　felt　lonely　and　isolated。　He　missed　the　city；　he　missed　his　friends；　he　missed

Blair。

And　no　island　babe　could　ever　make　him　forget　that。

v　finds　a　father　figure

Slamming　the　heavy　door　behind　her；　Vanessa　stormed　into　the　foyer　of　the　Humphrey

homestead；　dropping　her　battered　army　surplus　knapsack　onto　the　creaky　parquet　floor　and

upsetting　a　stack　of　old　newspapers　in　the　process。

？Damn！？　She　knelt　and　restacked　the　newspapers　as　tidily　as　she　could；　but　the　apartment　was

always　in　such　a　state　of　disarray　it　hardly　seemed　to　matter。

？What？s　that？？　a　booming　voice　called　out。　？Who？s　there？？

Vanessa　stood　and　looked　around　guiltily。　She　was　so　exhausted　from　her　afternoon　with　the

tireless　twins；　so　humiliated　and　pissed　off　from　her　run…in　with　Dan　and　his　tight…butted

rollerblading　slut；　so　furious　about　getting　fired　by　the　psychotic　Ken　Mogul；　that　she　had

forgotten　that　she　wasn？t　at　home：　she　couldn？t　just　stomp　around；　slamming　doors。　She　was

technically　a　guest。

？What？s　all　this　racket？？　Rufus　Humphrey　shuffled　into　the　dimly　lit　foyer；　clutching　a　sheaf　of

loose…leaf　papers　to　his　barrel　chest。　His　thick　tangle　of　frizzy　gray　shoulder…length　hair　was　tied

up　in　a　green　twist…tie；　the