第25部分(第4/7 頁)

B。　suit；　a　gift　from　his　former　agent；　back　when　he？d　been　poised　to　be　the　literary　world？s　next

big　thing。

Not　a　fickle　almost…college…dropout　who　cheats　on　his　live…in　girlfriend。

？Hey　beautiful；？　he　called　boldly；　springing　off　the　last　step　and　onto　the　sidewalk。　Taking　the

stepswas　easier　since　he？d　started　his　exercise　regimen。

？Thanks。？　Bree　kissed　his　cheek。　？Feeling　centered？　You　look　good。　I　hope　I？m　not

underdressed。？

？No；　you？re　just　right。　Should　we　go？？

They　strolled　down　Lexington　amid　clouds　of　bus　exhaust。　The　early　evening　light　shimmered　on

the　windows　of　Starbucks。

？So。？　Bree　wrapped　her　arms　around　herself　as　she　walked。　？I？m　still　not　sure　I　understand　why

you　were　invited　to　this　party。？

？I？m　not　sure；？　Dan　admitted。　？I　know　Serena　from　way　back。。。。　Or　maybe　Vanessa　put　me　on

the　list？　Who　cares？　Party？s　a　party；　right？？They　turned　onto　Seventy…first　Street。

？That？s　true。？　Bree　nodded　stiffly。　She　looked　a　little　nervous　and　uptight　for　someone　who　was

usually　so　Zen。　？Speaking　of　Vanessa　。　。　。？

？Right。？　Dan　dug　instinctively　into　his　pockets　for　his　Camels。

Too　bad　he　forgot　his　wheatgrass…and…ginseng　cigarettes。

Bree　sighed。　？I　think　maybe　you　need　to　think　this　through。　Meditate。　Breathe　deeply。　Center

yourself。　Eventually　you？ll　find　clarity。　I　can？t　tell　you　what　to　do；　you　know。　It？s　your　life。　But

I？d　like　to　see　you　find　some　answers。　That？s　all　we　want　in　life；　after　all；　isn？t　it？？

？Sure；　right；？　Dan　mumbled；　looking　both　ways　before　they　crossed　Third　Avenue。　Maybe　a　taxi

would　just　plow　him　down　and　he　wouldn？t　have　to　have　this　conversation。

？I　don？t　know。？　Bree　sighed；　abs