第27部分(第2/7 頁)

by　the　side　of　the　road　at　night　and　sleep　looking　out　at　the　stars。　It　was　going　to　be　soOn　the　Road。

He？d　even　brought　the　audio　book　to　play　on　the　car？s　outdated　tape　player。　He　was　going　to

spend　the　next　week　out　on　the　open　road；　looking　for　truth　and　the　meaning　of　life。

This　from　the　guy　who　couldn？t　figure　out　his　own　sexual　bent。

Vanessa　appeared　from　the　Humphreys？　ramshackle　apartment　building；　holding　a　plastic

container　of　Folgers　crystals。　She　looked　cool　and　fortable　with　her　shorn　scalp；　wearing　one

of　Dan？s　old　black　Raves　T…shirts　and　a　pair　of　his　black　boxers。

？Hot　enough　for　you？？　Dan　called　lightly；　even　though　the　sight　of　her　was　breaking　his　heart。

Vanessa　grabbed　a　bag　from　the　sidewalk　and　stuffed　it　in　the　trunk。　She　stopped　to　wipe　her　face

on　the　hem　of　her　T…shirt。　？I　hate　you；？　she　mumbled　grumpily。　？Don？t　forget　this；？　she　added；

handing　him　a　half…empty　Folgers　container。

？I　can？t　believe　I？m　actually　leaving；？　Dan　said　nervously；　to　no　one　in　particular；　mechanically

grabbing　the　coffee　from　Vanessa　as　his　mom　and　dad　stepped　out　of　the　apartment　building　and

onto　the　curb。　Jeanette　wore　a　bright　purple　satin　kimono　with　a　large　dragon　on　the　back

embroidered　in　gold　thread；　and　her　mousy　brown　hair　was　a　mass　of　snarls。　Despite　the　heat；　she

was　also　wearing　her　favorite　pair　of　purple　fuzzy　slippers。　Rufus　was　wearing　an　obscenely　tight

pair　of　electric　blue　spandex　bicycle　shorts；　and　a　canary…yellow　T…shirt　with　a　colorful　picture　of　a

sunset　on　the　front；　that　said　YOU　BETTER　BELIZE　IT。　Dan　was　certainly　going　to　miss　his

parents；　though　he　wasn？t　sure　whether　he？d　miss　their　bizarre　fashion　statements。