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way from now until they climbed into her brand new bisque…colored BMW and drove away；
leaving her crazy family behind。
In the corner； Serena laughed again； and Nate ran his hands through his wavy； salty hair。 Clearly
they were in their own little world； with no clue what the hell was happening to her。 Blair clutched
her stomach。 Projectile vomiting was a distinct possibility。 Her family was seriously moving？
What would it be like on Thanksgiving or Christmas break？ She？d be in L。A。 with her stupid
family； hiding out in their bomb shelter or wherever the fuck people went during earthquakes and
Nate would be 。 。 。 here。With Serena。
She heard her mother calling after her as she clutched her stomach and ran down the hall to her
old bedroom。 Baby Yale was lying in her white wooden crib； her head topped with a Mohawk of
strawberry blond peach fuzz。 She smiled delightedly at her big sister as if to say； ？What？s all the
fuss about？？ Blair went over and picked her up； glad to see her chubby little friend after almost a
month away。 Then she noticed that Yale was wearing a tie…dyed onesie with the words
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN？ stenciled on the front of it。
Without a moment？s hesitation； Blair whisked her tiny sister over to the changing table； yanked
off the offending article； and replaced it with the adorable pink DKNY onesie she had bought for
her at the DKNY flagship store on Madison Avenue。 Yale giggled as Blair tickled her in all her
favorite spots。
？There。？ She dropped the tie…dyed onesie into the airtight Diaper Genie； where it would be lost
forever。 ？Much better！？ Yale clung to Blair？s shoulder as Blair carried her over to the
celery…colored cashmere throw rug to play with blocks。
At least someone was happy to see her。
s and n？s mission impossible
？So； what have you been doing here all by yourself？？ Nate asked。 He shook the sand…colored hair
from his eyes。 Across the elegant burgundy…and…ivory living room； Blair was arguing with her
mother； as usual。
？Nothing much。？ Serena hoped she didn？t look as nervous as she felt。 ？Nothing？ was the
truth？she？d spent the past month doing a whole lot of nothing； bumming around on her couch；
wandering the streets of New York aimlessly； iced latte in hand； going to movie theaters alone。
Just trying to distract herself from the gnawing； anxious feeling inside her。 ？You know； hanging
out？the usual。？ She couldn？t tell Nate what she？d been up to？it was too pathetic。 She took a deep
breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her cutoff skirt。 Why was she so nervous？ This wasNate；
the guy she？d chased around this very living room when she was six because she wanted to wear
his new Superman Underoos。
Has anything really changed？
？What about you guys？you？re the ones who went on this big adventure！？ Serena looked into
Nate？s eyes and edged her fingers closer to his on the settee where they were huddled together。
She smiled shyly； her blond hair curling slightly around her temples。 She wasn？t trying to flirt； but
when it came to Nate； she couldn？t seem to help herself。 ？Captain Archibald；？ she said with a sly
smile。
？Don？tever call me that！？ he laughed。 ？Seriously； though； being out on the water all that time
was amazing。 Sun every day； and the stars at night？you just can？t imagine how great？？ ？That？s
awesome； Natie。？ Serena cut him off distractedly。 She turned to stare as Blair got up from her seat
and stormed out of the living room； holding her stomach with one hand and wiping her face with
the other。 Throwing a tantrum five minutes after ing home wasn？t exactly unusual for Blair；
but Serena wondered if she should she go and check on her friend。Wait； shouldn？t that be Nate？s
job now？ she wondered。 Wasn？t checking on your girlfriend kind of a boyfriend thing to do？
Serena turned to look at him。 He was gazing straight at her； pletely oblivious to the fact that
Blair？the supposed love of his life？had just run of the living room in tears。What the hell did that
mean？
Umm 。 。 。 maybe that he？s stoned？ Again？
？So；？ Serena started again； focusing her gaze on the gray Abercrombie T…shirt Nate had had for
as long as she could remember？anything to avoid looking up into his glittering green eyes。 She
shuffled her flip…flops against the floor and steeled herself for the question she knew she had to
ask； no matter how much the answer hurt。 ？Did you find？？？ ？We found so much cool shit。？ He
grinned widely。 ？Little sandbar islands； these caves up in Maine？we even saw fuckingpuffins ！？
Serena looked up into his beach…glass green eyes； her heart thumping crazily in her chest。 She
kept replaying Blair？s sudden exit over in her mind。 What was she so upset about？ Had Nate
found the letter and said something to her about it？ Or what if Blair had found it and toldhim ？ Or；
worse yet； what if Blair found it anddidn？t tell him？ What if Nate loved her too and that was why
he wasn？t running after Blair？ Or what if the letter was still nestled in the glove partment of
Nate？s father？s Aston Martin； unread； all her questions unanswered？
？It was really amazing；？ he said； speaking slowly； the way Nate always did when he was happy
or relaxed or stoned； which was basically all the time。 ？I didn？t want to e back。？ Just looking
at his angelic face； she couldn？t stand not knowing what had happened to her letter？not knowing
whether or not he knew。 She had to saysomething。
Serena smiled weakly。 ？Nate； did you ever find？？？ ？Just a minute； you two！？ Eleanor appeared
before them and sat down； wedging her skinny butt between them on the way…too…small…for…three
settee。 Serena and Nate both inched over？not that they had a choice。 It was either move or have
Eleanor sit on their laps。 She linked one arm through Serena？s and the other through Nate？s； a
mischievous look on her face。 The overpowering scent of Eleanor？s Chanel No。 5 made Serena
feel like she was in a department store。
？I？m so glad to get the two of you alone；？ Eleanor whispered conspiratorially； as if they were all
planning some kind of top…secret mission。 ？I？m working on a surprise for Blair for the party。 It？s a
slide show of Blair？s life？kind of like a…greatest…moments…so…far thing。？ She smiled brightly；
turning her head back and forth to look at Serena and Nate as she spoke； like she was watching a
tennis match。 ？But the problem is that I don？t really have the time to go through thethousands of
snapshots of Blair I？ve amassed over the years？and that？s where you two e in！？ She squeezed
each of their knees with her hands。 ？I need you to go through thisimmense stack of albums and
choose some appropriate photographs。 But I？m afraid we？re on a bit of a deadline？I need them by
next Friday at the latest。？ Serena tried to glance at Nate over Eleanor？s head； but when she leaned
back on the couch； Eleanor leaned back too； fanning herself with her hand。 ？But remember？this
has to be a top…secret mission； you two； so no telling Blair！？ Eleanor？s loud whisper reverberated
off the living room？s paneled walls； and she held her finger up to her mouth。
Hush…hush！
Serena tried not to giggle。 Eleanor was terrible at keeping secrets？she always managed to tell her
children what they were getting for Christmasbefore she？d even bought their presents。 Most likely
she？d tell Blair by tomorrow？ifBlair hadn？t already heard their entire conversation。 Nate just
nodded mutely。 He never said much in Eleanor？s presence： she was far too overwhelming。
？We？d be happy to do it；？ Serena answered for the both of them。 ？And we promise to keep it a
secret from Blair。？ Yeah。 They？re good at that。
a very short engagement
？I am just too pooped to pop！？ Dan？s mom stretched her arms overhead and wiggled her butt
back and forth on the lumpy brown leather sofa in the living room； her mouth open in a yawn。 It
was only eight o？clock； and Rufus was at one of his anarchist poet jamborees in the West Village。
She looked around； blinking like a sleepy Siamese cat。 Her mousy brown hair was sticking out in
every direction； and her watery blue eyes were now red and bloodshot。 ？Jet lag really gets you at
my age。 And cocktails on the plane are only a temporary fix！？
She looked at Dan and then turned in the direction of the kitchen doorway； where Vanessa was
standing； obviously expecting them to say something。 Dan sat stonily in the tattered armchair
across from his mom； still not sure what to make of her。
？But you kids really shouldn？t be drinking！？ She wagged a finger back and forth； apparently
unaware that she was chastising them for somethingshe？d done。 ？Although if you want to taste
some？just a taste？you just let me know； okay？ Because that would be fine。 So； where am I
sleeping？？ she added to her rambling。
Dan attempted to exchange a what…the…hell？ glance with Vanessa； but she just stood there； lazily
licking the remains of the penis cream puff from her fingers。 The contrast of her snowy； white skin
against her close…cropped dark hair； the curve of her red lips； her slightly mocking brown eyes？she
really was beautiful。
？See？？ His mother leaned forward and prodded his knee with he