第21部分(第4/7 页)

re　were　peanut　shells　in　his　salt…and…pepper　beard；　and　his　glasses　had

slid　all　the　way　down　his　broad　red　nose。　He　was　wearing　a　tattered　pair　of　beige　cargo　shorts　with

several　pens　and　highlighters　sticking　out　of　one　of　the　pockets；　a　light　blue　way…too…tight

wine…stained　polo　that　Vanessa　recognized　as　one　of　Dan？s　discarded　school　shirts；　and　a　pink

plastic　apron　embellished　with　daisies。

？I？m　so　sorry；？　Vanessa　apologized。　？I　didn？t　mean　to　dis…turb　you。？

？What　day　is　this？？　Rufus　demanded；　staring　at　her　intently　without　any　hint　of　recognition。

She　wondered　if　she　should　remind　him　who　she　was。　？Sunday。？

？Sunday；　yes；　Sunday。？　Rufus　nodded；　tearing　off　his　rim…less　reading　glasses　and　tucking　them

into　one　of　his　many　pockets。　？So；　are　you　home　late　or　early？　Should　I　scold　you　or　something？？

Vanessa　laughed；　relieved　that　he　seemed　to　know　exactly　who　she　was。　？Don？t　worry。　I　can

assure　you　I？ve　been　behaving。？

？e　in；　then；？　he　urged；　turning　and　retreating　to　the　steamy　and　disorderly　kitchen。　？I？ve

been　working　on　dinner；　and　I　need　a　fresh　palate　to　sample　what　I？ve　e　up　with。？

As　if　she　hasn？t　had　a　rough　enough　day　already。

Vanessa　stationed　herself　on　one　of　the　rickety；　uneven　chairs　at　the　kitchen　table；　sipping　a　glass

of　murky　tap　water　and　watching　Rufus　Humphrey　busy　himself　at　the　stove。　Whatever　he　was

cooking　it　was　very　fragrant　and　it　made　her　stomach　growl　noisily。　The　only　thing　she？d　eaten

that　day　was　her　hastily　scarfed　ice　cream　sandwich；　after　the　whole　scene　in　the　park　she　just

hadn？t　been　in　the　mood　for　lunch。

？Taste　this；？　Rufus　manded；　handing　Vanessa　a　wooden　spoon。

She　blew　on　the　st