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Chapters (45)
  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. Permissions Acknowledgments
  44. Also by Wendy Wasserstein
  45. Copyright Page

“Mom, there’s drugs and stupid dances in Philadelphia, too.” Venice looked at her mother as if she had Styrofoam in her brain.

“I know. But stories like this…” Clarice took a sip of cold tea.

“Want to hear some good news?”

“Yes. That would be nice.”

“I’m going to be in the School of American Ballet workshop of a Christopher Wheeldon ballet. Jennifer Rose is in it, too.”

Clarice embraced her daughter. “Honey, that’s wonderful news!”

“So we can’t move to Philadelphia.”

“No, honey.” Clarice held on to Venice. “We’re staying here. We deserve a very good year.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear.” She pushed her daughter’s hair out of her eye.

“Would you tell Daddy to stop calling me.”

“I thought Yvonne calls you.”

“No. He calls every half hour. He says, ‘What’s new?’ He was easier to deal with when he lived here. Then he never bothered me.”

“He just loves you, honey.” Clarice didn’t know exactly what to say.

“Mother.” Venice pulled away from her.

“What?”

“Stop being such a simp.” Venice walked out of the room.

“I’m planning on that, dear!” Clarice smiled.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

·CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX·

Barry

Barry had Julian drop him off in front of the playground on East Sixty-seventh between Third and Second.

“Are you sure this is it?” Julian asked him as he opened the door.

“Yeah. I’m meeting one of my kids here,” Barry answered quickly. “And you don’t have to wait. Go get a cup of coffee.”

“Mr. Santorini, I don’t mind. I’ll wait.”

“Julian, I said come back in two hours,” Barry yelled at him in a way he mostly reserved for assistants and development girls.

“Yes, Mr. Santorini.”

When the car pulled away Barry walked down the street to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Urology. Barry knew that Julian was discreet but his fuckin’ prostate was his own business. He wasn’t risking his balls for anybody.

Barry went to his doctor for his annual checkup feeling absolutely fine. In fact, things were going great. He was deeply in love with Samantha, the remake of The Maltese Falcon was up for six Golden Globes and was the dark-horse choice for the Oscars, his kids seemed to be taking his leaving in stride and were being cast in ballets, and Clarice wasn’t particularly getting in his way—in fact, her kicking him out would definitely work to his legal advantage.