himself；　the　gaytastic

designer　she？d　crossed　paths　with　on　the　set　ofBreakfast　at　Fred？s　the　day　before　she　was

exmunicated；　and　the　host　of　the　party　she　just　happened　to　be　crashing。

？Hi！？　She　smiled　enthusiastically；　hoping　to　make　him　forget　he　hadn？t　invited　her　to　his　soir？e。

？Oh　dear。？　The　designer　produced　a　floral…printed　silk　hankie　from　the　breast　pocket　of　his　navy

blue　linen　blazer　and　dabbed　at　his　red　eyes　with　the　tip　of　it。　？I？m　all　at　sixes　and　sevens。　My

cushions；　you　see？they？re　ruined。？

Vanessa　frowned　at　the　booze…stained　ivory　cushions　perched　at　the　edge　of　the　pool。　？That？s　too

bad。？

？Oh；　every　cloud　has　a　silver　lining；　honey；？　he　announced　dramatically；　his　tears　spontaneously

drying　up。　？And　dare　I　say；　I　think　you　are　positively　sterling！　Who　are　you　and　where　did　you

e　from？　You？re　just　the　most　delicious　little　thing。？　Still　clutching　his　handkerchief；　Bailey

Winter　reached　up　and　caressed　Vanessa？s　cheek。

Silk　and　snot。　How　lovely。

？I？m；　um；　looking　for　some　friends　of　mine。　Blair　and　Serena？？

？Yes；　those　two　vixens；　well；　who　knows　where　they？ve　gone　off　to？and　who　cares！？　He　gripped

her　upper　arm　tightly　with　his　small　hand。　？You？re　what　I？ve　been　looking　for。You？re　the　newnew

new　look。　At　last！？

？Excuse　me？？　Vanessa　wanted　to　back　away；　but　if　she　did；　she？d　fall　into　the　pool。

？You　must　stay　with　me　this　summer；？　he　continued；　enraptured。　？Your　energy；　your　profile；

your　。　。　。　baldness。　They？re　positively　inspiring！　Say　you　will；　my　dear。　Spend　the　night。　At　least

one　night。　Please。　Don？t　make　Uncle　Bailey　beg；？

？Stay　here？？　Vanessa　surveyed　the　scene　once　more：　a　modern　glass…and…