ve　made　Vanessa　feel　kind　of　。　。　。　romantic。　She　closed　her　eyes　for

a　moment　and　pictured　Dan　at　home；　sprawled　out　on　the　lumpy　brown　leather　sofa；　writing

poetry　in　his　beat…up　notebook。　She　knew　he？d　been　having　a　hard　time　with　the　poem　for　Ruby

and　Piotr？s　wedding；　and　the　idea　of　him　trying　so　hard　to　find　the　right　words　for　her　sister

warmed　her　chest。

You　sure　that　isn？t　the　booze？

Maybe　when　she　got　home　later　they　could　really　talk。　She？d　tried　to　be　supportive　of　Dan　when

he？d　e　out；　but　seeing　how　unfortable　he　was　at　his　surprise　party；　she　still　had　her

doubts　。　。　。　not　to　mention　her　hopes　about　his　supposed　gayness。　Maybe　she？d　be　able　to　tell　him

how　she　felt　。　。　。　and　try　to　help　him　figure　out　what　he　was　really　feeling。

Yes；　and　just　exactly　how　would　she　do　this？Naked？　Vanessa　smiled　as　SugarDaddy　took　the

stage　in　a　clamor　of　guitars。　Ruby　wore　her　signature　purple　leather　pants；　her　black；　chin…length

hair　sticking　out　in　every　direction；　like　she？d　blow…dried　it　upside　down？or　electrocuted　herself

with　her　blow…dryer。　She　spotted　Vanessa　and　Piotr　sitting　together　and　waved。　Then　she　stuck　her

tongue　out　between　her　pinky　and　pointer　fingers。　？What？s　happening；　fuckers！？？　she　yelled　into

the　microphone；　and　the　crowd　cheered；　wildly。

Vanessa　smiled。　Everything　was　going　to　be　okay。　Her　sister　was　still　her　sister；　her

brother…in…law…to…be　was　weird　and　European　but　also　sort　of　sweet；　and　she？d　talk　to　Dan　tonight。

He？d　tell　her　he　was　just　confused；　that　he　wasn？t　gay；　and　that　he？d　been　in　love　with　her　all

along。　And　maybe　someday；　years　from　now；　he？d　be　the　one　givingher　an　antique　tea　set。

She　pointed