“Oh Albert, stop it!” Judy swatted his arm.

“You know Albert’s not so way off. We were at Samantha Acton’s house the other night, and she really did serve chicken à la king and then snowball sundaes. I was in heaven!”

“You know Samantha Acton?” Judy almost choked. She had more important things to do now than pretend to be interested in her food.

“Because of Jennifer, my oldest daughter, I’m very involved in the School of American Ballet, and Samantha is too. She went there as a child, and I’m hoping she’ll help me get my youngest into Spence. After my disaster with Alex and the ongoing schools, I’m not taking any chances.” Pippa spoke quickly, “Judy, I just assumed you knew her.”

Judy covered for herself. “Well I do, of course. Did you see the piece in Manhattan magazine? So flattering! And I had another friend in that issue too, Francesca Weissman. Best Pediatrician.”

“She’s ours. We love her.” Pippa smiled.

“Adrienne Strong-Rodman says she’s more interested in the welfare kids than ours.”

“Honey!” Albert preferred that Judy stay off the topic of politics or social equality.

“We swear by Frankie Weissman,” Joe piped in. “When our daughter Jennifer couldn’t dance because of strange pains in her leg, Dr. Weissman was the only one who really diagnosed it.”

Pippa shook her head. “She’s definitely worth the wait, the schlep uptown, and I happen to approve of her politics. I think she’s a friend of Samantha’s too, or at least when I mentioned her to Samantha she knew her.”

Judy was stumped. “But Samantha doesn’t even have children.”

“They were at Spence together.”

“Of course”—she was quick to cover—“I knew that.”

Judy was excited. Finally, she saw a way to get Samantha to her table. Albert would make a respectable donation to the ballet school in honor of Pippa Rose plus put in a good word for her at Spence. Pippa Rose would be forever grateful, and reciprocate by inviting them to an A-list dinner including Samantha Acton. Judy would make contact with her and in no time Samantha would be singing barefoot in the Tremonts’ living room after dinner.

Albert had a habit of saying good night to Judy after the guests had gone and coming downstairs to read. It was the time of day Albert most looked forward to because the stillness made it finally possible to concentrate. Immediately after the World Trade Center disaster Judy decided they should begin building a house in Aspen as a security alternative. But Albert had never felt more entrenched. New York was their home. It was the city where his father had made his fortune. And he, more than ever, wanted it to be the city where his children would be raised. In fact, after 9/11 Albert decided he wouldn’t send his daughters to Deerfield like his sons. The challenge would be not to run away but to persevere. Life presented Albert with very few external obstacles, so he was determined to look this one in the face.