?Male。 Ball。 Male; ball。 Male balls。?
Dan groaned and flopped over in the soft; once…white; now coffee…and…nicotine…stained sheets of
his bed。Male balls? Sweating profusely; he rocked his head from side to side。
?You awake in there?? Rufus Humphrey; Dan?s
boisterous…and…eccentric…editor…of…lesser…known…Beat…poets dad banged on the bedroom door
urgently。 ?Mail call! Mail call! Are you listening??
?Mail call!? Dan sat upright in bed。Mail call; you idiot; not male balls。 ?I?m awake;? he
announced; his voice cracking。
?Remind me to tell you about the early bird and the worm sometime!? Rufus stormed into Dan?s
bedroom purpose…fully; clad in a typically demented outfit: a pair of carpenter?s pants splattered
with the same dingy off…white paint that cov…ered the apartment?s walls?making them around
nineteen years old?and an officialBreakfast at Fred?s crew jacket he must have pilfered from a pile
of Vanessa?s dirty laundry。 It was unzipped; revealing a chest of furry gray hair。 He held a massive
cardboard box that someone had haphazardly sealed with twine; butcher paper; bubble wrap; and
two kinds of tape。The word FRAGILE was scrawled all over the box in five different languages。
Rufus dropped the package onto the bed。 ?You?ve got mail。?
?Jesus。? Dan picked up the ungainly box。 He could have tossed it into the air; it was so light。 ?It
doesn?t feel like there?s even anythinginside here。?
?Open it; open it;? Rufus urged。 ?Your sister sent it all this way and the shipping could not have
been cheap; so I?m guessing there?s something good in there。?
?Sure。? Dan started tugging at the twine。
?I didn?t hear you e in last night。? Rufus grinned down at Dan。 ?Guess your first meeting
went pretty well; huh? Stayed up late; debating the merits of the minor Shakespeare plays; did
you??
?Something like that。? Dan burrowed through another layer of paper before finally reaching the
flaps of the cardboard box。 If there had been any discussion at all the previous night; he couldn?t
remember it。 He could barely remember anything except the sensation of Greg?s tongue on his;
the fuzz of Greg?s facial hair against his own stubble。
Eek。
?I remember my old salon days。? Rufus perched on the windowsill and watched as his son
reached into the depths of the cardboard box。 Dan pulled out fistful after fistful of crumpled…up
newspaper。 ?We had some pretty crazy times back then。?
?It wasn?t so crazy;? Dan replied defensively。 At last his hand gripped something firm inside the
mush of newspaper。 Grabbing hold tightly; he pulled on the narrow object until it popped out and
the loose cardboard shell fell to the ground; showering balled…up newspaper all over his floor。
Rufus laughed。 ?Too bad。 You kids today。 No passion; no guts。 I remember back when I was your
age; me and some friends; we?d go out to the lakes; up in New England。 Camp out; write poetry;
stay up all night talking。?
Dan half…listened as he pondered the object in his hands: it was about two feet long and wrapped
tightly in a cocoon of bubble wrap and packing tape。 He dug at the wrapping with his fingernail;
anxiously going over the events of the night before。 How far had he gone with Greg exactly? How
had he gotten back home? He had almost no memory of putting himself to bed。 And he?d woken
up in just his favorite pair of red Gap boxer shorts?had he been wearing them yesterday? He
couldn?t remember。
Rufus had a faraway look in his eye as he continued: ?I remember this one afternoon; out on the
lake; things got pretty heated。 We were all out skinny…dipping and I had this very passionate
argument with Crews Whitestone?you know; the playwright。 We were arguing about the elemental
nature of truth; and things just got so heated; wouldn?t you know it; before long there we were;
rolling around on the beach; wrestling one another to the ground; each trying to get the other to
admit that his conception of the truth was the superior one。?
Dan was only half…listening to his dad?s pornographic mumblings。 He?d found a gap in the
bubble wrap and unwound it from the long; ceramic 。 。 。 thing。
?Yeah; your literary get…togethers today are probably much more dignified; aren?t they?? Rufus
went on。 ?But that?s how we liked it then: naked; vibrant; duking it out over the truth。 God; those
were the days。?
Still trying to tune out his dad; Dan tossed the excess wrapping aside and considered the vessel in
his hands: it was a long; hollow; tapered column of white ceramic; finished in a soft; inviting glaze。
It was about eighteen inches tall; and open at the top; so it must have been a vase。 At the base were
two small; rounded pieces; one on either side; which helped stabilize the tall; central shaft。 It was a
vase。 It was some…thing。 It was 。。。well; a nicely glazed penis。
Thiswas his sister?s idea of a present? He put the vase? or whatever it was?on his bedside table
and eyed it warily。
?Well; I?d recognize that anywhere。? Rufus chuckled; interrupting his reminiscence。 He picked
up the vase and stroked it gently。 ?You know who made that; don?t you? Your mother。That?s her
handiwork。?
?Really?? Dan took the vase back from his father and studied it more carefully。 Maybe he was
mistaken: maybe it resembled a rocket ship in flight; or an alien; or maybe it was an abstract
representation of an earth mother flanked on either side by her children。
Nope。 No matter how he squinted at it or turned his head; it just looked like a big wang。
He turned the vase over to study the base; where he found a tiny; hand…carved inscription: ?A
totem for my son。 Imparted with love。?
Atotem? What the hell did that mean? Was his mother trying to tell him something; something
about himself that he?d somehow never managed to figure out before? He hadn?t seen his mom in
years; and then this?a penis…shaped vase coincidentally shows up in the mail just hours after he?d
made out with a guy? But he wasn?t gay。 How could he be gay? He loved girls。 He had loved
Serena van der Woodsen。 He had loved Bree。 And he had loved Vanessa most of all。
Right: the girl who looks like a boy。
Was it possible that he was gay and that everyone but him had known it all along? Was he one of
those obviously gay little boys who like to have tea parties with their stuffed animals and carry
their mothers? old cast…off purses to school?
Sighing as he placed the vase on the floor by his bed; Dan looked up at his Dad; who was lost in
thought。 ?So; you were telling me about the skinny…dipping and the literary discussion。? Dan
paused。 ?Was that like; um; normal? For your literary conversations to end up 。 。 。 with you; like;
naked with some other guy??
?Normal!? Rufus laughed heartily。 ?Believe me; when it es to literature there?s nothing more
normal。 Passion。 Fire。 When you?re young; you?re just filled with it。 It?s got to play out
somehow。?
Dan nodded; brow furrowed。 ?So you?re saying that; in your experience; it?s not unmon for
a literary salon to turn into a naked same…sex orgy??
?More mon than you think; sonny。? Rufus ruffled his son?s mussed bed…head
affectionately。 ?Too bad times have changed。?
Yeah; too bad。
s and b peek into the fun…house mirror
?Hello? Hello?? Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen swept into the sparsely decorated
foyer of Bailey Winter?s East Hampton midcentury…modern retreat。 Outside the hydrangeas were
blooming; the pollen was flying; and the temperature was rising; but inside it felt cool; clean; and
crisp。 Blair dropped her salmon…pink leather Tod?s carryall onto the zebrawood floor and called
out again; ?Hellooooo??
?Anybody home?? Serena pushed her vintage wood…paneled Chanel sunglasses on top of her
head。 She was used to houses full of antiques; but if she had a summer house; she?d want it to
look just like this?sleek; clean; and antiqueless。
?You?re here; you?re here; you?re here!? The couturier to the jet set glided down the polished
ebony staircase like an oversize toddler on Christmas morning; clapping his hands delightedly and
shouting over the chorus of yelps from the five pugs following in his wake。
Blair sped three air kisses with the designer and noticed; for the first time; that he was so
short his head was exactly level with her chin。 After providing the costumes forBreakfast at Fred?s;
the teen remake of the Audrey Hepburn classicBreakfast at Tiffany?s starring none other than
Blair?s oldest and best friend; Serena; Bailey had invited Blair and Serena to be his muses at his
Georgica Pond estate for the summer。 They would inspire his new line; Summer/Winter by Bailey
Winter; a one…show…only collection of his most exciting summer and winter looks。
?Thank you so much for having us;? Blair purred as the five little dogs sniffed enthusiastically at
her pale pink South of the Highway?polished toes; clad that day in?of course? white linen Bailey
Winter espadrilles。
?Don?t be shy!? the designer cried over Blair?s right shoulder; startling Serena; who was still
standing on the threshold; taking in the scene。 ?e here and give me a big kissie…p
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