第14部分(第2/7 頁)

　with　surprise。

？Jenny！？　she　exclaimed　rushing　over　and　folding　her　daughter　into　her　tentlike　arms；　？You？re

here！　You　didn？t　burn　my　apartment　down；　did　you？？　？Nope。　I　just　wanted　to　be　with　you　guys。？

She　squeezed　her　mother　back。　Dan　watched　as　his　mom　smoothed　back　Jenny？s　unruly　nest　of

hair　and　kissed　her　on　the　forehead。　He　couldn？t　help　but　be　touched　at　Jenny？s　optimistic；　girlish

enthusiasm。　If　his　being　gay　had　brought　his　family　together；　maybe　it　wasn？t　such　a　bad　thing

after　all。

？Such　a　sweetheart。？　Jeanette　touched　Jenny？s　face　with　her　palm。　？I？ll　make　some　oolong。？　She

breezed　past　Dan；　stopping　to　smooth　his　hair　like　a　mother　who？d　been　smoothing　hair　all　her

life。

Tea？　That　probably　meant　girl　talk。　And　Dan　wasn？t　sure　he　was　ready　to　be　one　of　the

girls。　？I？m　going　to　bed；？　he　announced；　shuffling　toward　his　room。

？See　you　in　a　few　hours；？　Jenny　replied　with　a　yawn；　stretching　as　she　followed　their　mom　into

the　kitchen。

？？Night；　baby！？　Jeanette　called　out　from　the　kitchen　sink；　where　she　was　busily　filling　the　kettle

with　water。

Dan　walked　into　his　room　and　shut　the　door；　then　climbed　into　the　empty　bed。　He　could　hear　his

mom　and　sister　chattering　away　in　the　kitchen；　whispers　interspersed　with　the　occasional　giggle。

How　could　they　have　so　much　energy　this　late　at　night？　He？d　never　understand　women。　But　then

again；　he　barely　understood　himself。　Dan　sighed　and　watched　the　night　change　from　purple　to　gray

in　the　early　morning　light　as　he　finally　drifted　into　sleep；　still　wondering　sleepily　where　Vanessa

was　and　if　she　was　okay。

Aren？t　we　all。

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ABC　Ambe