The Book of Jane Read Online Free PDF Page B

boyfriends that they hated, it’s something of a relief.
    â€œI want one,” Jim yells from a raft in the middle of the pool. Jim is technically my older brother, but he acts like he’s five. He’s currently applying to an alternative medical program where he’ll learn ancient Chinese medicine, but this summer he’s living in his childhood bedroom again and playing World of Warcraft. He says he doesn’t want to be “on the great hamster wheel of life” like me. He has already tired of being a volunteer firefighter, a real estate man, a tennis pro at the club, and a food co-op produce manager, but not one of them made him “want to get up in the morning.”
    â€œAre your legs broken?” Mom says to Jim over her shoulder as she laughs and strides away. Mom’s happy to have Jim home, but she’s also hilariously sharp-tongued.
    â€œJane, get me one,” he says from the center of the pool. “Please?”
    â€œWhat, am I your slave?” I laugh. “I’m nobody’s slave. Except maybe Zac Posen.” I take a sip. “But you’re no Zac Posen. Zac Posen has a job.”
    â€œAw, come on,” he whines, paddling his raft slowly to the edge of the pool. “She comes home for one day and suddenly she’s royalty?” he yells, grabbing the pool wall.
    â€œWe’ve got a crown we’re presenting her with later,” Dad says from behind the grill. He’s wearing a very tall, white chef’s hat and an apron. He’s grilling today with a new birthday present—an electric meat thermometer.
    â€œWhy is she so special?” Jim huffs as he gets out of the pool. “Because I’m employed,” I say, as he passes by me, dripping wet.
    â€œYou’ve really lost that old humor I used to love in you,” Mom says to Jim, who is wrapping a towel around himself and pouting.
    â€œThat’s why I’m home,” he says. “To get it back.”
    â€œReally? And here I thought it had something to do with Patrice Lovell next door,” I laugh. Patrice, our next-door neighbor, was Jim’s first girlfriend.
    He rolls his eyes and walks inside. I look at Ty, who is turning a gorgeous bronze in the sun. “Aren’t you glad my family just lets it all hang out when you’re around? I mean, some families might actually try to be normal around guests.”
    I look back at Mom and Dad. They still make a handsome couple, after all these years. My dad has the über-blond hair my brother and I inherited, although his has turned a respectable snowy white. My mother keeps her chestnut hair in a fashionable low ponytail. Mom always stayed home with us when we were kids and took us to church every Sunday, but since we moved out (in Jim’s case, for the first time), they’ve reinvented themselves. Mom now works part time at the church, and Dad retired last year. They’re happier than they ever have been, and they’re more in love. But they’re still completely dorky.
    Tyson gets up and walks over to my father and the two men begin chatting about sports, and Mom comes over to take his chair for a moment.
    â€œI’m so excited about your World Aid thing,” Mom says.
    â€œThanks,” I say. “I still can’t believe they agreed to my proposal. It’s going to be such a big account for me.”
    â€œI can believe it,” Mom says and nudges me. “You’re the best publicist in all of New York. They’re lucky to have you. And you’ll be working with that Matt Sherwin, right? I can’t wait to tell everyone I know about that little tidbit.”
    â€œYeah,” I say and blush a little. It’s still sinking in that I am now the official publicist for World Aid and will be spending a lot of time with an A-list celebrity. Matt Sherwin is as Hollywood as it comes. And World Aid is doing so much to feed the developing world. It’s the