ittle。 ？Of course。？
On the up side； the longer Serena fumbled through her rehearsals； the more time Vanessa had to
experiment with her camera work。 She was going to give him something better。 She was
determined to do something truly avant…garde and unusual； something that would really wow Ken
Mogul and his producers。 He？d mentioned Godard。 But she was the master of mixing humor with
tragedy。 She would show the used condom stuck to Holly？s shoe； the tarnished side of the party
princess！
？Where？s your dad？？ she asked； changing the subject。 It was only a matter of time before she ran
into Dan？s Beat poet dad； Rufus； wearing his usual stained Mets T…shirt and too…snug tan cargo
shorts。 She was hoping to see him before they had a middle…of…the…night runin。 Who knew what
he？d be wearing then？
He shrugged。 ？You talk to Ruby？？ He dug into his pockets and retrieved a battered old pack of
Camels； lit one； and then lay back on Jenny？s lumpy； narrow bed。 ？I hope you guys made up。
Life？s too short； you know？？
？Huh？？Vanessa asked lazily； lying down next to him。 Ruby had sent a couple of apologetic text
messages； but Vanessa was too mad to bother reading them all the way through。 She could
imagine Ruby squeezing Piotr？s back zits while they did it in his paint…splattered studio？aka her
old room。 She snuggled her almost…bald head into Dan？s ropy neck and whispered； ？I can？t really
deal with it now； you know？？
？That？s too bad；？ he observed solemnly。 ？I always admired your relationship。？
？Sure。？ She couldn？t resist giggling a little。 ？Are you feeling okay？？
Dan turned toward her so their noses were almost touching。 Vanessa kissed his smoky…tas