Bridgette’s voice softened as she turned to look at her friend, crestfallen at the thought of their inevitable separation. Hardly a day had passed since the first day in kindergarten that she and Gladys Bradbury had not been together. They were as close as sisters. Even when the Bradbury family went on vacation, Gladys wrote to Bridgette every day, and sometimes her father would allow her to make a long-distance telephone call just to hear Bridgette’s voice. Her friend had been thrilled when Bridgette was offered a position with Hudson in Detroit. Gladys had accepted a job as an elementary school teacher in one of the suburbs of the city, and her middle brother, Mike, who’d always had more than a brotherly interest in Bridgette, was an architect in a firm that catered exclusively to the wealthy Grosse Pointe area. For years, Gladys had dreamed of Bridgette becoming her sister-in-law, but now it was not going to happen.

Bridgette put a consoling hand on her roommate’s shoulder. “We always knew we’d go our separate ways once we graduated from college, but that doesn’t mean we can’t visit each other. That’s what planes are for.”

Gladys flexed her shoulder irritably. “Oh, you’ll forget about me once you’re among all those rich and famous movie stars, hobnobbing with the likes of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.”

“I doubt very seriously I’ll be keeping that kind of company. I’ll be like a little mole slaving in the back room and never see the stars I’m sewing for. But that’s just my dream talking, and we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. For all we know, Edith Head may be here only to judge the show and not to scout for interns, and I may not get an invitation even if she is offering. I’ll have plenty of competition.”

“Oh, if she’s offering, you’ll get it. You and Miss Head both speak French.”