第5部分(第7/7 頁)

　He？d　never　had　trouble　talking　to　Vanessa

before？she　was　his　best　friend。　In　fact；　she　was　one　of　the　only　people　he　reallycould　talk　to。　In

less　than　a　week　he？d　be　driving　out　to　Evergreen　College　in　Washington　State　to　start　a　new

life？in　a　1977　Buick　Skylark；　no　less？and　he　had　to　figure　all　this　out　before　he　got　into　that　car

and　drove　away。　Why　couldn？t　he　talk　to　her　now；　when　he　needed　her　the　most？

Maybe　because　she　just　walked　in　on　him　reading　in　iambic　pen…maneater。

？So　。　。　。？　he　whispered　into　the　dark。　？Are　you　doing　okay？　I　mean；　with　Ruby？s　wedding　and

everything？？　Vanessa　snorted。　Dan　could　picture　the　face　she　was　almost　certainly　making？her

eyes　rolled　to　the　ceiling；　a　wry　twist　turning　up　the　corners　of　her　lips。

？Yeah；？　she　breathed。　？I　just　have　to　film　the　clusterfuck。？　He　heard　her　exhale　heavily　into　the

warm；　humid　air　before　she　spoke　again。　？You？rethe　one　I　feel　sorry　for？I　mean；　you　have　to　e

up　with　some　meaningful；　epic　fuckinglove　poem　about　those　two　morons。？　？Thanks；？　Dan

mumbled　sarcastically。　？You？ve　filled　me　with　confide