第18部分(第1/7 頁)

and　handed　Elise　an　oversized　T…shirt　and　a　pair　of　sweatpants。　？Sleep　in　these；？　she　directed。

Otherwise　Elise　might　decide　to　sleep　in　the　nude；　which　would　be　very　uncool；　especially　if

Rufus　came　home　later　that　night　and　barged　into　Jenny？s　room　to　give　a　senseless　sermon　on　the

meaning　of　life；　as　he　was　sometimes　known　to　do　when　he？d　drunk　too　much　wine。　She　pulled

out　some　pajamas　for　herself　and　closed　the　drawer。　？I？m　going　to　take　a　shower。　You　can　use　my

cell　phone　if　you　want　to　call　your　mom。？

Elise　took　the　clothes　and　gazed　up　at　the　paintings　on　Jenny？s　wall。　Over　the　bed　was　one　of　the

Humphreys？　cat；　Marx；　dozing　on　the　stove；　painted　in　thick　oils。　Marx　was　a　deep　turquoise　color；

and　the　stove　was　red。　Near　the　window　was　a　self…portrait　of　Jenny？s　feet；　with　her　toenails

painted　orange　and　the　bones　in　her　feet　painted　blue。

？You？re　really　good。？　Elise　slipped　her　jeans　down　over　her　knees。　？Don？t　you　want　to　finish　my

portrait？？

Jenny　grabbed　her　pink　terrycloth　bathrobe　from　the　hook　on　the　back　of　her　door。　？Not　tonight；？

she　responded；　quickly　heading　down　the　hall　to　the　bathroom。　She？d　take　a　long；　hot　shower；　and

hopefully　by　the　time　she　came　out　Elise　would　be　asleep。　Tomorrow　they　would　eat　their　Eggos

and　go　sledding　in　the　park　and　goof　around　like　normal　girls。　No　more　experimentation。　As　far　as

Jenny　was　concerned；　experimentation　was　pletely　overrated。

nfacilitates　recovery　of　messed…up　orphan　heiress

？Hold　the　reins　in　one　hand　and　the　whip　in　the　other；？　Georgie　instructed　Nate。　They　were　up　in

Georgie？s　attic；　but　instead　of　hanging　out　inside　the　gorgeous　antique　carriage　and　smoking　dope