第31部分(第2/7 頁)

　to　her　less…than…peppy　response。

？。　。　。　maid　of　honor；？　Vanessa　heard　her　sister？s　voice　say　over　the　low　hum　of　the　microwave。

She　sat　up　straighter。　？Maid　ofwhat　？？　she　asked　incredulously。　？Who　are　you？　Where？s　my

sister？？　Ruby　cackled。　？e　on；　you　know　you？re　dying　to　wear　a　big　Laura　Ashley　dress。？

Vanessa　got　to　her　feet　just　as　the　microwave　beeped　noisily。　No　fucking　way。

？So；　will　you　do　it？？　Her　sister？s　voice　rang　in　her　ears。　Slowly；　she　removed　the　mug　from　the

microwave；　handling　it　carefully　so　that　the　water　wouldn？t　spill　over　and　burn　her。　Although

maybe　a　third…degree　burn　would　get　her　out　of　any　wedding…related　duties。

Tempting。

Vanessa　sighed。　She　knew　she　couldn？t　say　no　to　her　sister；　even　if　Piotr　did　have　horrible　teeth

and　bestiality　issues。

？Yeah；　fine。　Whatever。　I？ll　do　it。？　She　took　a　sip　of　scalding　coffee　and　promptly　spat　it　out　all

over　her　cargo　pants。　？But　only　if　I　can　wear　my　own　clothes？there？s　no　way　in　hell　I？m　putting

on　one　of　those　totally　gay　pastel　bridesmaid　dresses。？　She　glanced　over　at　Dan；　who　had　pulled

the　hot　pink　silk　jumpsuit　out　of　one　of　his　mom？s　bags　and　was　holding　it　in　front　of　his　skinny

body　as　if　picturing　what　it　would　look　like　on。　She　mouthed；　？Sorry；？　smiling　weakly。　？I　mean；　so

totallylame　；？　she　said　into　the　phone；　wiping　her　thighs　with　a　ratty　brown　kitchen　towel。

Ruby　laughed；　and　Vanessa　could　hear　her　mumbling　to

Piotr　in　the　background　in　some　insane　language　she　couldn？t　understand。　Probably　Martian。

？Don？t　worry　about　that。　The　ceremony　is　a　week　from　Saturday；　a　picnic　kind　of　thing　at

Prospect　Park？so　it？s　totally　casual。　Everyone？s　bringing　some　food