第33部分(第3/7 页)

　cool。　I　get　it；　I？m　all　grown　up　and　on　my　own　now。　I　get　it。？

？Don？t　be　like　that；？　Ruby　pleaded　guiltily。　？e　back　and　sit；　let？s　talk　things　over　a　little

more。？

？No；　it？s　cool；　really。　Let　me　just　grab　my　stuff　and　I？ll　be　out　of　Pita　Bread　or

whatever…the…hell…his…name…is？s　hair　immediately。？　Shaking　a　little；　Vanessa　stormed　out　of　the

kitchen　and　into　the　living　room；　where　Pizza　Face　sat　smoking　some　rotten…smelling　Czech

cigarettes。　Vanessa　snatched　her　still　photograph　of　a　dead　pigeon　off　the　wall　above　his　head　and

tucked　it　under　her　arm。　It　was　her　favorite；　and　she　wasn？t　about　to　leave　it　behind　so　he　could

copy　it　in　one　of　his　paintings。　She　could　see　it　now：　he？d　bee　known　as　the　？dead　pigeon？

artist；　when　all　along　it　had　beenher　dead　pigeon　andher　freaking　apartment。

A　few　minutes　later；　Vanessa　crashed　down　the　stairs；　lugging　her　camera　equipment　and　one

giant　black　duffel　bag。　She　burst　out　into　the　late　afternoon　sun　and　stumbled　down　Bedford

Avenue；　dodging　indifferent；　funkily　dressed　passersby　and　piles　of　dog　shit　and　wondering　where；

exactly；　she　was　going　to　go。

She　dropped　her　duffel　on　the　ground　and　sat；　using　the　fully　stuffed　bag　as　a　perch。　Digging　her

cell　phone　from　her　pocket；　she　hit　speed　dial。　There　were　two　rings　and　then　the　familiar　sound　of

Dan？s　voice。

？What？s　up？？

？My　sister　kicked　me　out。？　Her　voice　cracked。　She　tried　desperately　not　to　cry。　？And　I　don？t

have　any　money；　and　I　don？t　have　anywhere　to　go；　and　I　don？t　know　what　I？m　going　to　do。？

Guess　she？ll　be　taking　that　job。

s　is　for　spirituality；　among　other　things

？Hey；？　Dan　whispered　into　his　black　Nokia　cell　as　he　du