第12部分(第5/7 頁)

portantly。　？Rusty　Klein　invited　me。？

The　woman　didn？t　seem　that　impressed。　？What　have　you　published　lately？？　she　asked

suspiciously。

Dan　tucked　his　notebook　under　his　arm　and　smoothed　down　his　new　set　of　sideburns。　One　of　the

goats　had　gotten　loose　and　jumped　off　the　runway。　Four　security　guards　ran　after　it。　？Actually；　one

of　my　more　recent　poems　is　in　this　week？s　issue　ofThe　New　Yorker　。　It？s　called　？Sluts。？？

？No　way！？　the　woman　gushed　in　a　loud　whisper。　She　pulled　her　lavender　leather　Better　Than

Naked　tote　bag　into　her　lap　and　retrieved　her　copy　ofThe　New　Yorker　。　Flipping　through　it；　she

turned　to　page　forty…two。　？You　don？t　understand。　I　read　this　poem　over　the　phone　toall　my

girlfriends。　I　can？t　believe　you　wrote　it。？

Dan　didn？t　know　what　to　say。　This　was　his　first　encounter　with　an　actual　fan　and　he　felt

simultaneously　embarrassed　and　thrilled。　？I？m　glad　you　liked　it；？　he　replied　modestly。

？Liked　it？？　the　woman　repeated。　？It　changed　my　life！　Would　you　mind　signing　this　for　me？？　she

asked；　thrusting　the　magazine　into　his　lap。

Dan　shrugged　and　retrieved　his　pen。Daniel　Humphrey　；　he　scribbled　just　beside　his　poem；　but　his

signature　looked　a　little　plain　and　impersonal　so　he　added　a　squiggly　little　flourish　underneath　it。

He？d　scribbled　over　a　few　lines　of　the　Gabriel　Garcia　Rhodes　story；　which　seemed　kind　of　like

sacrilege；　but　who　really　cared；　when　he？d　just　signed　his　first　autograph。　He　was　famous？a　real；

genuine　writer！

？Thank　youso；　so　much；？　the　woman　said；　taking　the　magazine　back。　She　pointed　to　his

notebook。　？Now　you　go　ahead　and　keep　writing；？　she　whispered　reverently。　？Forget　I　bothered

you。？

German　fol