you； too；？ she whispered back。
Dan felt like his whole body was smiling。 Who？d known this mundane Monday in February
would wind up so damned 。 。 。great ？
So much for flowery descriptions and poetic turns of phrase。
All of a sudden his cell phone sounded its startling； vibrating ring from where it sat on the
bedside table； only inches away。 Dan was pretty sure it was only his little sister； Jenny； calling to
plain about school again。 He turned his head to read the number on the little screen。 PRIVATE；
the message flashed； which only happened when Vanessa called him from home。
？It？s your sister。？ Dan propped himself up on one elbow as he reached for his phone。 ？Maybe
she？s calling to tell you to get your own damn cell phone；finally ；？ he joked。 ？Should I answer it？？
Vanessa rolled her eyes。 She and her twenty…two…year…old bass…guitar…playing sister； Ruby； shared
an apartment in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn。 Ruby had made three New Year？s
resolutions： to do yoga every day； to drink green tea instead of coffee； and to be more nurturing
toward Vanessa； since their own parents were too busy being art…hippie freaks up in Vermont to
nurture her themselves。 Vanessa was pretty sure Ruby was only calling to ask when she？d be
home so Ruby could have the meatloaf and mashed potatoes all done when she got there； but it
was so unlike Ruby to call Dan？s phone right in the middle of the school day that she couldn？t
resist answering。
She took the ringing phone from Dan and clicked it open。 ？Yeah？ How did you know where to
find me？？
？Well； good afternoon to you； darling sister o？ mine；？ Ruby chirped cheerfully。 ？Remember？ I
stuck your