steady　himself；　Greg　hopped　off　the　couch　and　took　a　seat　on　the　battered　wooden　floor　at　Dan？s

feet。

？Thank　you；　Greg。？　Dan　wobbled　a　little　as　he　studied　the　group。This　is　it。This　is　our　salon。And

you？re　their　Gertrude　Stein。　？Gadies　and　lentlemen；　wele　to　our　first　meeting　of　our　first　salon

of　the　inaugural　meeting　of　our　group。？　He　burped　quietly。　？I？m　so　pleased　to　excite　you　and　tell

you　about　exciting　and　books。　These　things　I　believe　and　you　believe　and　we　all　believe　together

that　about　books　and　books　are　good　and　change　our　lives　and　make　us　happier。　And　it　matters　to

us；　doesn？t　it？　It　really　does。？

Dan　paused。　The　only　sounds　besides　the　clink　of　ice　were　a　couple　of　muffled　titters　from　across

the　room。　His　tongue　felt　thick　and　dry　and　he　knew　he　was　having　trouble　with　his　pronunciation；

but　he　was　determined　to　get　his　opening　remarks　out。　He？d　spent　so　long　drafting　their　mission

statement　and　fielding　e…mails　and　had　gone　through　revision　after　revision　of　his　speech？he

wasn？t　going　to　go　and　blow　it　just　because　he？d　had　one　drink　too　many。

One？

？We　were　going　to　start　today　with　the　reading　from　the　book　that　I　liked　that　I　found　that　day　at

the　Strand。　That？s　where　I　work。　Where？s　that　book？　Greg；　do　you　know　where　I　left　that　book？？

？Hey；　hey。？　Greg　laughed。　？Why　don？t　we　put　off　the　reading　for　now　and　maybe　just　go　around

the　circle　or　some…thing？　We　can　all　introduce　ourselves。　Dan　and　I　have　been　reading　your

e…mails；　but　we？re　looking　forward　to　a　chance　to　getting　to　know　you　guys　in　real　life。？　Greg

helped　ease　Dan　back　into　his　seat　on　the　couch。　？Why　don？t　you　go　first？？　He　nodded　at　a　girl

sitti