would be sorry。
He？s probably sorrynow。
？I mean；？ he stammered； ？my bedroom？s being repainted and the fumes are killer。？ Blair
narrowed her eyes and remained silent。 That was about the lamest excuse she？d ever heard。
？I didn？t even know it was scheduled to be done until I got home last night；？ Nate offered
weakly。 ？Really。？
？Let？s go to the Plaza； then；？ Blair suggested； doing her best to shrug off the nagging sensation
that things were just not right between them。 She knew Nate was lying； butwhy？
？Blair； I can？t。？ He was starting to get annoyed with her？she could hear it in his voice。 ？Itold you；
I have some stuff to do right now。 Maybe later？？ ？Fine。 Whatever。？ She closed her cell phone with
a hard snap and threw it across the room； where it landed with a thump on a pile of
needing…to…be…hand…washed Wolford stockings。Why was Nate being so secretive all of a sudden？
Blair heard the low murmuring of voices in the hallway and her bedroom door flew open to
reveal her mother； dressed in a gray silk Oscar de la Renta blouse； black Cynthia Rowley pencil
skirt； and gray suede Manolo sling…backs。 A woman in her early forties stood behind her carrying a
red crocodile Herm？s Birkin bag； her whip…thin body encased in a red…and…brown tropical…print
Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress。 Her definitely…not…natural…red hair was pulled back in a neat
chignon； and black； rectangular…framed Alain Mikli glasses perched on her nose。 She sniffed the
air delicately。
？Blair； this is Diana Riggs from Sotheby？s。 She？s the real estate agent in charge of selling our
apartment！？ The real estate broker？s eyes swept the room。 ？Another great bedroom； Eleanor。？ She
attempted to wrinkle her Botoxed forehead and counted on her fingers； ？One； two 。 。 。？ she
muttered distractedly； ？four beds total？？ She grabbed Eleanor？s arm for emphasis as she spoke。 ？I
know theperfect family for this apartment？they have the most gorgeous triplets！？
Blair stared at her mother in horror as she cooed appreciatively at Diana。Triplets？ She was being
forced out of the only home she？d ever known so a bunch of test…tube infertility treatment triplet
fuckfaces could slobber and vomit all over it？
？The Carlyles？do you know them？？ Diana asked。 ？Edie Carlyle？ I believe she grew up in the city
as well。？ ？Oh my goodness； of course！？ Eleanor squealed。 ？I attended Constance with Edie。
Where has shebeen ？ I haven？t see her since； well 。 。 。 it must have been seventeen years ago！？
Blair jumped off her bed and pushed past her mother and the broker standing in the doorway。 Who
cared if Nate was busy？ Fuck busy。 Wasn？t he supposed to be there for her in her time of need？
She was his girlfriend； and he was going to pay attention to her？whether he liked it or not。
She fumed all the way down in the elevator and into the bright Saturday afternoon； replaying the
scene over and over in her mind as she marched determinedly toward Nate？s house。 Triplets。
Living inher house？some annoyingly perfect family taking over her space？ She stomped along in
her new D&G coral ballet flats as cabs rushed by in the street。 As she turned away from the park；
she remembered how when she and Nate first got together； they？d meet in Sheep Meadow after
school and make out for hours； lying in the grass。 Maybe she？d yank him away from whatever the
hell he was doing and they could go over to Sheep Meadow and repeat history。
Then； just as Blair began crossing the street to Nate？s town house； avery familiar…looking blond
in worn True
Religion jeans and a black Tory Burch logo tank rounded the corner。 With her huge black Chanel
sunglasses covering half her face； Serena looked like she was dressed for a stealth mission。 And as
she pushed open the heavy door to Nate？s town house； Blair swore Serena looked just the tiniest
bit guilty。
Blair stopped in the middle of the street； not even caring if a taxi rammed into her。 She felt like
she？d been punched in the chest。 All the air rushed out of her lungs。 What was Serena doing
atNate？s ？ And why was Nate lying to her？ Why wouldn？t he rather see his own girlfriend than
that two…faced fake； Serena？
Good question。
Queasiness overcame her。 In fact； she thought she might be sick right there on the pavement。 She
took a few steps back until she found a fire hydrant to steady herself on。 She？d kill them both；
except then they？d be together in the afterlife and that would killher 。
A bus drove by； burping clouds of stinky black exhaust in her face。 Blair began coughing
furiously； and through the hot tears in her eyes； she saw Serena？s gorgeous； airbrushed face in
front of her； larger than life； staring out from the side of the bus； the words BREAKFAST AT
FRED？S in pink rolling script above her gleaming blond head； and below； in hot…pink letters
TRUE LOVE NEVER LIES。
Apparently； that depends on your definition of true love。
smile！ things can only get worse
？Surprise！？
Dan walked into the Humphreys？ apartment after a long day of stacking musty books at the
Strand and blinked in shock as the lights snapped on。 Multicolored balloons hung from the ceiling；
and rainbow crepe…paper ribbons twirled from one end of the room to the other。 Rainbow flags
hung from the doorway； waving in the early evening breeze that wafted through the open windows。
What the hell was going on？ He smiled as he looked around the room； crowded with so many
familiar faces？his parents； Vanessa； his dad？s Beat…poet friends； even the crazy old lady from
apartment 5F who liked to take her mangy cat for walks around their crumbling apartment
building？s hallways。 And wait； weren？t those dorky guys in the corner from his calc class at
Riverside？
？Are you surprised！？？ His mother sang； pulling Dan into the room。 She was wearing a candy
pink shirt that said PFLAG over a fuchsia…and…white batik…print floor length skirt。 Her electric
blue toenails peeked out from the straps of her battered Birkenstocks。
？What？s PFLAG？？ Dan demanded； staring at the front of her shirt。 ？And what？s all this 。 。 。 for？？
There were so many rainbows it made him nervous。
？PFLAG； my darling； stands for ？Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays？？？ Jeanette began。
？And it？s a party？to celebrate your ing out。？ Vanessa appeared at Jeanette？s side； holding a
ballpark frank festively slathered in mustard in one hand and a small digital video camera in the
other。 She was wearing a black tank top with the words HE？S MY GAY BOYFRIEND printed on
it in hot pink lettering。 ？Happy Gay Day！？ she called out from behind the camera。
For a second； Dan couldn？t help feeling a little touched at how supportive she was being。 Maybe
they could be like Harper Lee and Truman Capote？he？d be the gay； brilliant star of the New York
literary scene； and she could be his grounding； stabilizing force and literary muse； all rolled up
into one cute； bald…headed package。 Then he remembered where he was？apparently at his
ownsurprise ing…out party。 He tried to focus。
？I thought I？d video your journey into gaydom；？ Vanessa told him with a smirk。 ？Your mom
thought it was an