？Damn！？ She knelt and restacked the newspapers as tidily as she could； but the apartment was
always in such a state of disarray it hardly seemed to matter。
？What？s that？？ a booming voice called out。 ？Who？s there？？
Vanessa stood and looked around guiltily。 She was so exhausted from her afternoon with the
tireless twins； so humiliated and pissed off from her run…in with Dan and his tight…butted
rollerblading slut； so furious about getting fired by the psychotic Ken Mogul； that she had
forgotten that she wasn？t at home： she couldn？t just stomp around； slamming doors。 She was
technically a guest。
？What？s all this racket？？ Rufus Humphrey shuffled into the dimly lit foyer； clutching a sheaf of
loose…leaf papers to his barrel chest。 His thick tangle of frizzy gray shoulder…length hair was tied
up in a green twist…tie； there were peanut shells in his salt…and…pepper beard； and his glasses had
slid all the way down his broad red nose。 He was wearing a tattered pair of beige cargo shorts with
several pens and highlighters sticking out of one of the pockets； a light blue way…too…tight
wine…stained polo that Vanessa recognized as one of Dan？s discarded school shirts； and a pink
plastic apron embellished with daisies。
？I？m so sorry；？ Vanessa apologized。 ？I didn？t mean to dis…turb you。？
？What day is this？？ Rufus demanded； staring at her intently without any hint of recognitio