第17部分(第6/7 頁)

a　howled　with　laughter　as　snow　went　down　the　back　of　her　jeans。　That　was

the　great　thing　about　being　so　beautiful　and　so　carefree。　It　didn？t　matter　who　you　were　with　or

what　silly　thing　you　were　doing？you　always　had　a　fabulous　time。　In　fact；　you　didn？t　even　have　to

be　in　love　with　just　one　person　when　the　world　was　already　so　in　love　with　you。

experimentation　may　be　overrated

Jenny　and　Elise　were　still　kissing　when　Rufus　called。

Ring；　ring！

？Shit！？　Jenny　threw　Elise　off　of　her；　leaped　off　the　couch；　and　sprinted　into　the　kitchen。　It　wasn？t

like　anyone　could　see　them；　but　she　still　felt　like　she？d　been　caught　doing　something　incredibly

embarrassing。

？Everything　okay？？　Rufus　growled　cheerfully　into　the　phone。　？I？m　stuck　down　here　with　Max

and　Lyle　and　the　rest　of　these　losers。　The　snow？s　a　bitch。？　Rufus　spent　most　Friday　nights　down　in

the　East　Village　at　an　old　bar　with　his　munist　writer　friends。　He　sounded　jolly；　the　way　he

always　sounded　when　he？d　had　two　or　three　glasses　of　red　wine。　？You　girls　staying　out　of

trouble？？

Jenny　blushed。　？Uh…huh。？

？Well；　tell　that　friend　of　yours　to　stay　put。　No　one　in　their　right　mind　should　try　to　get　anywhere

tonight。？

Jenny　nodded。　？Okay。？　She？d　been　kind　of　hoping　Elise　would　go　home　so　she　could　take　a　hot

bath　and　collect　her　thoughts；　but　she　couldn？t　very　well　ask　her　to　leave　when　there　were　four

feet　of　snow　on　the　ground　and　it　was　still　ing　down。　？I？ll　see　you　later；　Daddy；？　she　said；

almost　wishing　she　could　tell　him　how　confused　she　was　about　what　had　just　happened。　She　might

have　been　a　budding　artist　but　that　didn？t　mean　she　had　to　experimentall　the　time。

Jenny　hu