his fawn…and…white purebred boxer； Mookie； together； except the twins were even more eager to
get outside than that dog had been。 If they？d had tails； they？d have been wagging them insanely。
？Christ；？ muttered Vanessa。 ？Slow down； please！？
Eighteen dollars an hour； eighteen dollars an hour。She？d already made thirty…six dollars that day；
not a fortune； but it would go right in the coffers for her next project。
How about her nextapartment ？
Vanessa stumbled a little as the boys stopped short in front of an umbrella…covered cart。
？Can we get ice cream sandwiches？？
She highly doubted that their mother had ever in her life taken the kids to the park； let alone
bought them ice cream。 Vanessa hadn？t even set eyes on her since their bizarre job interview； and
Ms。 Morgan didn？t seem like the kind of woman who would tolerate ice cream dripping on her
boucl？ Chanel suits。 The Abramses had always kept her and Ruby on a strict sugar…free diet when
they were kids； preferring Tofutti and fruit to ice cream and candy； but she didn？t care what these
two ate。
？Sure； ice cream sandwiches； whatever； you got it；？ she agreed； wriggling free of the boys？ death
grips and pulling a crumpled twenty out of her jeans pocket。 ？Three ice cream sandwiches； please；？
she told the vendor； who had a handlebar moustache and was wearing a tie…dyed T…shirt circa
1972。
The boys leapt up and down； grabbing at the ice cream。 They tore the wrappers open hungrily；
then raced away into the confines of the playground； screaming and laughing through gooey
mouthfuls of ice cream。
？Wait up！？ Vanessa yelled after them halfheartedly。 She wasn？t sure she cared if they
disappeared and she lost her job and went to prison。 Had it really been only three days since she？d
started work as the principal cinematographer on a major Hollywood production？ Or was this
whole thing some kind of horrible nightmare？
She sank onto a bench under a tall； gracious oak and watched the twins scarf down their treats
and toss their wrap…pers onto the ground。 Oops。 Then they started a dizzying game of tag； racing
under the slide； between the swings； narrowly avoiding collisions with teetering prewalkers and
their menacing minders。
？Stay close！？Vanessa called out weakly。 She finished her ice cream and leaned back onto the
surprisingly fortable wood…and…concrete bench。 Cars whizzed by on their way through the
park at Ninety…seventh Street； a nice； sleep…inducing sound。 The sun was strong but there was
plenty of shade； and for one brief second she almost didn？t mind that she was there as a nanny； not
just as some other adult enjoying the park on a nice Sunday afternoon。 Her eyes closed and she
tuned out for a moment。
Then she heard a familiar high…pitched yelp and her eyes flew open。
Who knew she had a maternal instinct？
There was a motion not far in the distance； and Vanessa recognized two familiar blond heads。
She got to her feet and hurried over to where one of the twins was sprawled out on the sidewalk；
clutching his skinned knee and crying。 His brother stood at his side； pointing an angry finger at a
rollerblader lying prone on the sidewalk。
？What？s going on？？ Vanessa demanded； trying to sound authoritative。
？That big boy ran into Edgar！？ cried Nils。
A freckle…faced blond nymphet cheerleader type in hot pink short shorts and a plicated
electric blue sports bra rolled athletically up to the scene。 ？What？s going on；？ she snapped； ？is that
you？re not controlling your kids； and we？re trying to get some exercise here！？
？They？re notmy kids；？Vanessa retorted； kneeling to pat the sobbing Edgar on his head。 ？And you
don？t have to be rude。？
？Vanessa； Vanessa； let？s go home now；？ Nils whined； pulling on her arm。
？Maybe that？s not such a bad idea；？ Lycra Girl mented； kneeling to tend to her fallen
rade。 She looked like she？d rollerbladed right out of a Coors Light mercial。
？Hey。？ Vanessa was in no mood to take crap from some bimbo stranger。 ？Next time watch where
you？re going。？
？Vanessa？？ Mr。 rollerblader…who？d…fallen…on…his…ass demanded； struggling to sit up。
Vanessa？s eyelids flapped up and down in disbelief。 Was she seeing things？
There； splayed out on the asphalt under the oaks； in the middle of Central Park； wearing
rollerblades； dorky athletic shorts； and a clingy white spandex tee； plus wristbands； kneepads； and
elbow pads； with a flushed face and messy； sweaty hair； was Dan。 Her Dan。
？Dan？？she gasped with so much horror and confusion in her voice that Edgar actually stopped
blubbering and stood up。
？Hi。？ Dan grinned sheepishly。 The blond bimbo in the skimpy jog bra extended her hand and
helped him to his feet。 He swiveled unsteadily on his blades。？Hey Vanessa 。。 。 what？s up？？
？What？s up is she？s not paying attention to these little animals running around；？ the blonde
started； tugging her shorts so high she was in grave danger of causing some severe camel
toe。 ？And I？m really trying to be very Zen about this； but？？
？Whoare you？？Vanessa demanded。
？Who areyou ？？ the girl retorted bitchily。
？I？m hisgirlfriend ；？Vanessa replied。
Lycra Butt recoiled a little。
？Wait；？ Vanessa insisted。 ？What are youdoing ？？ She studied Dan critically。 His outfit was so
pletely ridiculous she could barely look at him。 She turned back to the girl。 ？You must be the
reason I never see Dan around the house any…more。？
？You guyslive together？？
The words from Dan？s poem flooded into Vanessa？s head：
Pure love。 Pure lust。 Trust trust。
Buddha was no Jesus。 Neither am I。
I？m just a guy。
？Who are these kids； anyway？？ Dan wondered aloud。
？We？re her friends；？ snapped one of the twins？Vanessa still couldn？t tell them apart？sticking his
tongue out at Dan。
？Your friends？？ Dan repeated。
？Right；？ Vanessa snapped。 ？Kind of likeshe？s your friend； right； Dan？？
A church bell rang down on Fifth Avenue。 The sound was so pure and so totally inappropriate for
the moment； it made Vanessa want to scream。
？Vanessa？？ The other twin tugged on her hand。 ？I don？t feel so good。？
？Not now；？Vanessa responded sternly。
？I？m confused；？ Dan stuttered。 ？Why aren？t you on set right now？？
？I was fired。 Not that you？d care。？
？Let？s just pause before we say anything we？re going to regret；？ interrupted Short Shorts。
Pigeons were picking at the sticky remains of the twins？ ice creams。 If only one of them would
peck the bitchy blonde in the ass。
？Vanessa？？ the same twin whined。 ？Ireally don？t？？ But before he could finish his sentence； he
vomited chewed…up ice cream sandwich all over Dan？s acid green Nike rollerblades。
Sothat？s the definition of bad karma。
he？s lost that lovin？ feelin？
Nate？s legs felt a little shaky； the way they did when Coach caught him goofing off at practice
and sentenced him to run laps as punishment。 It had been a long day of ferrying new fence posts
from the driveway； where they lay piled up higher than he stood； to various points around the yard。
He lurched into the house； arms aching and knees wobbling。
Weak in the knees？and not even because of a girl。
On his way to his bedroom he stopped in the bright； white…and…steel kitchen and rummaged in
the refrigerator。 Regina； his parents？ maid/caretaker/chef； kept the place well stocked but Nate
pushed aside the terrine of homemade pat？ and the heirloom…tomato…and…orzo salad to grab a
bottle of Lorina orangeade。 It had always been his favorite when he was a kid； but for some reason
they only ever had it when they were out in East Hampton； so he associated the light； fizzy taste
with the carefree summers of his childhood； when he？d hosted out…rageous skinny…dipping pool
parties and cleaned out his par…ents？ wine cellar。
Those were the days； he thought to himself as he made his way into his bedroom。 There？d been
nothing to worry about except whether it would be sunny enough to spend the afternoon at the
beach； or if he was high enough； or if he？d ever manage to hook up with Blair。
These days life was so much more plicated。 Even though it was summer vacation； Nate was
stressed out about a bunch of stuff： what Tawny？s townie buddies would do to him if he ever ran
into them without Tawny； what he would say to Blair when he saw her at Yale； whether what
Chuck Bass had told him about her was true。
Clutching the open bottle； Nate collapsed into his soft； unmade bed with a groan。 He closed his
eyes and tried to clear his head； but there was one person he couldn？t stop picturing。
Guess who？
Suddenly he wished he hadn？t returned the moss green cashmere V…neck Blair had given him the
spring before last when her dad took them skiing in Sun Valley。 He？d put it on； close his eyes； and
remember simpler times； when he and Blair were together and all seemed right with the world。
Because； except for those times when he？d pissed her off by saying the wrong thing or getting
baked and flaking out on plans； being with Blair？ however difficult she was？made Nate feel
plete； like everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be。 Now Blair was going to
marry that English guy。 Was it really true？ Suddenly； Nate had to know。
He sat up； took a swig from the chilly bottle of orangeade and reached for the black Bang &
Olufsen telephone on his bedside table。 He hesitated for a second before dialing those familiar
digits。
？It？s Blair。？ She answered after a couple of rings。 She sounded curt； professional； like she hadn？t
recognized the number。
？Hey。？ Nate turned over onto his stomach and fiddled nervously with the sheets。
？Nate？？ she yawned； sounding bored already。 ？God； I？m sorry。 I？m sotired 。？
？Yeah； it？s me；？ he replied sheepishly。 He suddenly couldn？t remember why he had thought
calling Blair would be a good idea。
？I？m working；？ Blair explained。 ？It？s been a crazy week。？
？That？s cool。？ Blair had ajob ？ Wow； things really had changed。
？Yes；？ she agreed。 ？Bailey Winter has really been busting my ass。？
Nate had no idea what she was talking about but decided he should try to be
sympathetic。 ？That？s too bad。？
？It？s just life in fashio