Suzanne got a Diet Coke from a vending machine while Lucy got her hair and makeup done. It turned out Larry Walker was not going to be on the show—he was the canceled guest that Lucy was subbing for—but by the time she got out of makeup she was so self-absorbed she related this news to Suzanne with no sense of irony. Down the hall, the theme music for The Richard Collins Show began playing.

“I look okay?” Lucy said.

“You look fine,” said Suzanne. “You look great.”

“You won’t lie to me, right?” Lucy said. “You’re going to watch me and tell me how I am, and you’re not going to lie?”

“I won’t lie to you,” Suzanne said. “Look, there’s a cute guy over there, the one with the gray shirt. Why don’t you go talk to him?”

“I can’t,” Lucy said. “I’m too nervous about the show, and to add a guy on top of that . . . I can’t.”

“Oh,” said Suzanne, smiling. “Your priorities are sort of juggled around at this point, aren’t they?”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Lucy said. “You can make fun of me all night long, but don’t make fun of me now. It erodes my real sense of who I am.”

“All right, all right,” Suzanne said. “So, who’s out first?”

“I’m out first, and then the author, and then I think Emily Frye, that actress who got the movie neither of us did.”

“Top Priority?” Suzanne said.

“Yes, the girl who got Top Priority.”

“You’re kidding,” said Suzanne. “Well, try to be as great as possible.”

“Oh, good,” Lucy said. “The pressure isn’t on. That’s good. My buddy.”

A tall man came up to them and said, “Lucy, you’re on.”

“I’ll wait for you in the green room,” Suzanne said.

“You better,” Lucy said. “You better wait for me.”

Suzanne walked around the corner and went into the green room. There were several other people in there, among them an attractive-looking man who looked like he was from New York. He was wearing a green corduroy jacket with patches on the elbows, a multiplaid shirt and a tie, and jeans and Hush Puppies. He had brown hair and wore glasses. Suzanne thought he had an air of studiousness about him, of not stability but something near stability. Of calm, almost. She nodded at him slightly and walked past him to another tiny couch, where she watched the television monitor in the corner.