第11部分(第4/7 頁)

went？to　the　Central　Park　pond；　to　feed　the　mallards；　to　the　mod　boutiques　on　Little　West　Twelfth

Street；　to　shop；　to　the　steps　of　the　Met；　to　drink　coffee；　even　her　one　venture　into　Brooklyn　to　see　a

warehouse　art　show？reminded　her　of　her　friends。　They？d　grown　up　together　and　experienced　the

city　together；　and；　supposedly；　they　were　leaving　it　behind　together。　But　here　she　was；　pletely

alone。　？Just　the　usual。　Nothing　special；？　Serena　finished；　noticing　how　lean　and　tanned　Eleanor？s

legs　were。　Maybe　she　should　take　a　Pilates　class　too。

？Nothing　special！？　Eleanor　exclaimed　in　the　way　that　only　mothers　can。　？May　I　remind　you　that

your　first　feature　film　is　going　to　be　released　very　soon；and　you？re　starting　Yale　in　a　week　and　a

half！？　She　squeezed　Serena？s　knee　so　hard　it　hurt。

Serena　knew　that　she　had　a　lot　to　be　excited　about；　but　she　just　couldn？t　seem　to　match　Eleanor？s

enthusiasm。　Maybe　it　was　because　the　thought　of　heading　to　Yale　in　ten　days　with　Nate　and　Blair

and　watching　them　be　blissfully　in　love　for　four　torturous　years　loomed　over　everything。　？Has

Blair　。　。　。　mentioned　me　at　all　when　you？ve　talked　to　her？？

Eleanor　grabbed　a　white　silk　handkerchief　from　the　antique　coffee　table　and　began　to　frantically

pat　her　brow　with　the　soft　cloth；　then　sprayed　herself　thoroughly　with　an　Evian　facial　mister　and

dabbed　at　her　face　again。　？I？m　sorry；　dear；　but　is　it　hot　in　here？　I？m　telling　you；　never　turn

forty…seven。　The　hot　flashes　are　unbearable！？　She　sighed　dramatically；　throwing　the　now…damp

hanky　behind　her。　？Now；　sweetheart；　what　were　you　saying？？

Serena　shrugged　her　shoulders；　not　at　all　fazed　by　Eleanor？s　outrageous　behavior。　At　least　there