it had been for weeks。 One of the back doors was missing； and the seats were piled with garbage
bags and old blankets。 Someone must have been living in it； which would explain the stench of
urine that surrounded the car。
Nice。
Vanessa unlocked the building？s plicated array of dead bolts and latches and clomped up the
stairs； hesitating halfway up。 There were voices ing from inside her apartment。 Had she left
the TV on？ She tiptoed to the door and listened； not breathing。 Yes； it wasdefinitely voices； they
weredefinitely ing from inside； and there was something very familiar about one of the voices。
Vanessa？s older sister Ruby had been on a whirlwind tour of Europe with her band； SugarDaddy；
for eight weeks。 An occasional postcard from Madrid or Oslo had appeared in the mailbox； and
they？d spoken on the phone once； but the touring…rock…girl lifestyle wasn？t all that conducive to
staying in touch。
Vanessa threw the door open excitedly。 ？Ruby！？ Vanessa cried； taking in her sister in her purple
leather pants and her new matching shade of hair。 It looked almost iridescent。 ？I can？t believe
you？re back！？
？Hey；？ Ruby greeted her casually from the couch。 She was straddling a skinny； stubbly…faced guy
wearing black leather pants just like Ruby？s purple ones。 Ruby touched the tip of her cigarette to
the tip of his to light it。 She didn？t get up to hug her sister； and her tone of voice was pletely
nonchalant； like Vanessa had just been at the grocery store to buy milk or something。
？Um； hi？？ Vanessa was slightly taken aback。 She closed the apartment door behind her。
？What？s going on； sis？？ asked Ruby； puffing on her Marlboro as she surveyed the apartment？s
Blairified decor。 ？I see you did some redecorating。？
Vanessa didn？t want to make small talk about Blair？s renovations。 Ruby was back just when she
needed her most！ ？Hello； you？re back！ That？s what？s going on。 How was the tour？？
Her older sister shrugged。 ？Berlin； London； Paris； Budapest。 We rocked。 It was incredible。？
？All hail the conquering rock star。 I？m Vanessa。？ She clomped over to the guy Ruby was
straddling。 He hadn？t looked at her once。
？This is Piotr；？ Ruby explained； wiggling her purple…leather…clad ass as she said his name； as if
just saying it was a real turnon。 ？We met after our show in Prague。？
？Hallo；？ Piotr replied in a stiff accent； exhaling a long plume of smoke as he spoke。
Charming。
？The apartment looks cool。？ Ruby sounded skeptical。 She glanced around the room。 ？But how
could you afford all this？ The furniture； the drapes？？
？It？s a long story；？ Vanessa answered； leaning against the lavender…painted wall and trying to
look anywhere but at the fawn…colored suede couch where the filthy； scrawny Eastern European
stranger was stretched out underneath her sister。
？Like the story of where you got those shoes？？ Ruby asked； throwing her purple hair back。 It was
the same color as Willy Wonka？s hat。 ？And that top？ Jesus； look at you。 You？re a real fashion
plate。？
？I had a meeting。？ Vanessa felt hurt。 Why was Ruby being such a bitch？ If only the slimebag
between her legs would get lost so they could order some sushi and have one of their sis…terly
heart…to…hearts。
？A word？？ Ruby climbed down off of Piotr？s lap。 She nod…ded toward the kitchen。
Vanessa followed； wondering how long Ruby was going to be home。 They leaned against the
Formica countertop。 ？You two look pretty 。 。 。 serious；？Vanessa observed。
？It？s love；？ Ruby murmured wistfully； sounding surprisingly un？rocker chick。 She did a little
half…pirouette then stopped； pseudo…embarrassed； and leaned against the counter again。
？That？s cool；？ Vanessa responded； irritated。 It didn？t look like they were going to be doing any
sisterly bonding after all。 She fiddled with the ceramic Statue of Liberty salt and pepper shakers
Dan had given her in a fit of romantic corniness。
？Well； the apartment does look good； even if it？s not what I expected to e home to；？ Ruby
mented。 ？But I hate to think that you went to all this trouble when 。 。 。？
？When what？？Vanessa asked suspiciously。
？Not to be the bearer of bad news； but 。 。 。 Piotr is going to be here for a while。 Some local
galleries are interested in him？he？s a painter； did I mention？ He does monolithic nudes with their
canines。 He？s huge in the underground Prague scene； and he？s hoping to break into
Williamsburg。？
Vanessa wasn？t exactly sure what ？monolithic nudes and their canines？ meant； but she could
imagine Ruby borrowing somebody？s pit bull and posing for him butt…naked； teeth bared。 ？Good
for him。？
？Well； I kind of thought he？d stay here； with me；？ Ruby mumbled。
？That？s kind of a tight fit；？ Vanessa muttered back。 ？But that？s cool。 We？ll work it out。？
？That？s the thing；？ Ruby corrected her。 ？Piotr needs a studio。 And since he can？t afford to rent
one； we were thinking 。 。 。 we？d turn the other room； your room； into his studio。？
Ex…squeeze me？
？So； what； you？rekicking me out？ ？ Vanessa stopped fiddling and turned to face her sister。 She？d
been living with Ruby since she was fifteen。 It was her home too。
？Well； this was always just a temporary solution。 You know； like； while you were in high school。
But now that you？ve graduated； it？s time to strike out on your own； like I did when I was
eighteen。？
？Fine；？ Vanessa snapped。 ？That？s cool。 I get it； I？m all grown up and on my own now。 I get it。？
？Don？t be like that；？ Ruby pleaded guiltily。 ？e back and sit； let？s talk things over a little
more。？
？No； it？s cool； really。 Let me just grab my stuff and I？ll be out of Pita Bread or
whatever…the…hell…his…name…is？s hair immediately。？ Shaking a little； Vanessa stormed out of the
kitchen and into the living room； where Pizza Face sat smoking some rotten…smelling Czech
cigarettes。 Vanessa snatched her still photograph of a dead pigeon off the wall above his head and
tucked it under her arm。 It was her favorite； and she wasn？t about to leave it behind so he could
copy it in one of his paintings。 She could see it now： he？d bee known as the ？dead pigeon？
artist； when all along it had beenher dead pigeon andher freaking apartment。
A few minutes later； Vanessa crashed down the stairs； lugging her camera equipment and one
giant black duffel bag。 She burst out into the late afternoon sun and stumbled down Bedford
Avenue； dodging indifferent； funkily dressed passersby and piles of dog shit and wondering where；
exactly； she was going to go。
She dropped her duffel on the ground and sat； using the fully stuffed bag as a perch。 Digging her
cell phone from her pocket； she hit speed dial。 There were two rings and then the familiar sound of
Dan？s voice。
？What？s up？？
？My sister kicked me out。？ Her voice cracked。 She tried desperately not to cry。 ？And I don？t
have any money； and I don？t have anywhere to go； and I don？t know what I？m going to do。？
Guess she？ll be taking that job。
s is for spirituality； among other things
？Hey；？ Dan whispered into his black Nokia cell as he ducked behind an aging metal bookshelf at
the Strand。 It was the kind of place only a guy who had readHamlet five times could love。 ？I was
just thinking about you。？
He couldn？t quite make out Vanessa？s response： she sounded out of breath and near tears。
？Wait； wait；？ he soothed。 He stacked up a pile of Ronald Reagan biographies and sat down on
them。 ？Slow down。 I didn？t catch any of that。？
？I said I？ve been kicked out of my apartment；？ Vanessa shouted。 ？Ruby？s back from Europe and
she has this new asshole Czech painter bullshit boyfriend and she told me to get lost。？
？Shit；？ Dan muttered； looking around。 He wasn？t really supposed to be on his cell phone on the
job。
？What am I going to do？ Where am I supposed to go？？
？What about my place？？ Dan asked； before he even had a chance to think about what he was
saying。 He fingered an old dusty hardcover about Walt Whitman and considered taking it home。
？Your place？？ Vanessa repeated； pitifully。 Dan wasn？t sure he？d ever heard her sound so weak；
and even though he kind of knew it was wrong； he sort of liked how it made him feel。
Like he was some macho stud and she was frail and helpless。 He made a mental note to use the
feeling for a poem。
Rice paper girl； I？m the quill； the ink； the well。 。 。 。
？It？ll be fine；？ he assured her。 ？Take your stuff； get on the subway； go to my place。 The door？s
unlocked？you know my dad always leaves it open。 I？ll be home in a couple of hours。？
？Really？？ Vanessa asked tentatively。 She？d always been so fiercely independent。 Dan knew she
hated asking for any favors。 ？Are you sure it？s okay with your dad？？
？It？ll be fine。？ He rubbed some dust off the top shelf and it sprinkled in his eye。 ？You？ll see。 I？ll
be there soon。 Don？t worry。？ He rubbed his eyes； listening to Vanessa breathe on the other end of
the phone。
？On the plus side； Ken Mogul offered me a job today。？ Vanessa laughed bitterly。 ？It looks like
I？m going to have to take it。？
？That？s awesome！？ he cheered； though he couldn？t help feeling a little disappointed。 He was
working； and now Vanessa was going to work too。 That would definitely put a damper on his
romantic plans。 When would they have time to ride the tram to Roosevelt Island and drink sake in
the park？
？Shit； that？s my call waiting；？ she mumbled。 Dan heard her take the phone from her ear。 ？It？s
Ken。 I better get it。 I？ll see you at home； then？ Your home； I mean。？
？No；？ he corrected her。 ？Yours too。？
Aw。
Dan pressed the end button on his cell and slipped back into the narrow aisle of the biography
section。 He smiled。 Maybe Vanessa getting kicked out was actually the best thing that could
happen to them。 Living together would make their last summer before leaving for college
sointimate 。 It would be even more memorable。
He grabbed a few of the Reagan biographies and crouched； trying to find a place for all of them
on a shelf。
？Excuse me； I？m looking for a copy ofSiddhartha and I just can？t seem to find one。 Can you help
me？？
Dan rose from his crouching position；