being　gay　would　mean　actually　kissing　guys　and　not　girls？her　in　particular？well；　she？d　be　in　the

bedroom　right　next　door。

？Look；　Dan。？　Vanessa　poured　the　rest　of　her　bitter　coffee　into　the　crowded　sink　and　left　her　mug

on　the　countertop。　？You　need　to　stop　being　so　hard　on　yourself。　I　mean；　there？s　nothingwrong　with

being　gay；　is　there？？

？Of　course　not！　Thomas　Mann　was　gay。　And　he　won　the　Nobel　Prize。？

？Right。？　Vanessa　grinned；　pleased　to　hear　Dan　sounding　a　little　more　like　himself。　So　predictable；

so　easily　influenced。　Let　him　get　this　gay　stuff　out　of　his　system；　she　could　wait。　？So　。。。I？d　love　to

meet　this　Greg　guy。？

？Yeah？？　Dan　responded　skeptically。　？Really？？

？Yeah。？　Vanessa　squeezed　his　shoulder。　Now　that　Dan　was　gay；　she　could　do　things　like　sit　on　his

lap；　right？　She　decided　to　try　it。　？Really；？　she　added；　perching　on　Dan？s　bony　knee。　Dan　slipped

his　arms　around　her　waist　and　buried　his　nose　between　her　shoulder　blades。

？Thanks；？　he　said；　his　voice　muffled。　？You？re　my　hero。？

Hey；　maybe　he　reallyis　gay。

nice　e…mail　address；　buddy　。　。　。

TO：　Song　of　Myself

FROM：　Greg　P。

Re：　Song　of　Myself？s　Next　Meeting！

Dear　Friends；

I　hope　you　enjoyed　getting　together　as　much　as　I　did。　I？m　happy　to　report　that　our　first

get…together　has　already　resulted　in　some　burgeoning　romances？a　happy　consequence　of　bringing

together　so　many　like…minded　creative　individuals。　I　hope　we　can　continue　to　inspire　and　excite

one　another　at　all　ourmeetings！

For　our　next　get…together；　please　bring　along　your　favorite　work　of　Shakespeare　and　we？ll　take

turns　reading　aloud。　You　show　me　yours　and　I？ll　show　you　mine！

Your