第9部分(第7/7 頁)

　The　cabbie？s　rude；　grating

voice　lingered　in　her　ears。　Did　he　sayman　？　Vanessa　smiled　smugly　to　herself。Well　；　she　thought；

picking　up　the　pace；that？s　what　you　get　for　having　such　a　sleek；　aerodynamic　hairstyle。

Doesn？t　she　mean　androgynous？

She？d　gone　downtown　around　noon　to　film　some　of　Ruby？s　East　Village　hangouts　in　the　daylight；

but　now；　faced　with　the　sweltering　heat　of　the　day；　she　was　ready　for　a　break。　She　rubbed　her

stubbly　head　with　one　hand　as　she　waited　for　the　light　to　change。

The　Strand　bookstore　was　half　a　block　away；　its　carts　of　moldy　discount　books　parked　out　front。

Vanessa　wondered　if　Dan　was　working？she？d　been　avoiding　him　the　last　few　days　after　the　whole

romantic…gay…poetry　incident；　but　maybe　she？d　just　stop　by　and　say　hi。　She　watched　the　little　red

hand　warning　her　to　stay　put。

College　was　just　around　the　corner；　and　soon　Dan？along　with　just　about　everyone　else？would　be

gone。　Well；　Ruby　would　be　around；　but　it　wasn？t　exactly　the　same　between　them　anymore？now

that　she　spent　every　waking　second　with　Piotr。　Vanessa　co