“And look where I am now,” Rachael replied. “I got married because my parents didn’t want me running all over the world chasing men. And how did that turn out? Well, now I’m divorced.”

“But are you still chasing men?” Nina joked.

“I’ve given up.” Rachael sighed.

“You?” they mocked in unison.

“It’s slim pickings out there, girls. Even old Slim Pickens himself is no longer available.”

The women hooted. “I hear you loud and clear.” Frankie joined in. “I haven’t had a date—I mean a real date—in probably three years.”

“You can’t be serious.” Nina crowed. “Look at you. You’re stunning and successful.”

“Thanks, but that doesn’t seem to make for a great date, let alone girlfriend. My friend Ken once told me that I’m very intimidating.” Frankie shook her head. “I don’t get it. I’m so charming.” She smiled wryly.

“Honey, I’m in the same single boat,” Nina confessed.

“But you’re in the land of glamour and excitement,” Amy protested.

“It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. Trust me,” Nina replied. “If I were a high-powered producer or an agent, I’d have a new date every night. But unless you can do something for someone, you’re not dating material.”

“I don’t believe it,” Amy objected. “You, famous actress, can’t get a date?”

“I’m not that famous,” Nina said.

“Well, you are to us,” Amy insisted.

“Yes, you are,” Frankie added, and Rachael agreed.

All eyes were on Amy. “So? What about you? Have you found geek love?” Nina asked.

“Nah. Most of the guys I meet are asexual or indifferent.”

“Funny how things change. When we were in high school, we had to beat the boys away with a stick.” Frankie laughed.

“That’s because you weren’t so intimidating back then,” Rachael said, poking fun at her friend.

They leaned conspiratorially toward each other, ignoring everything that was going on around them, and caught up on the past fifteen years.

After high school, Rachael Newmark had attended NYU. After she graduated, she had traveled to South America, where she met a suave but unemployed Paulo. With her trust-fund maturity on the near horizon, her parents clamped down on her escapades, forcing her father to hire a private jet to bring her back home. Following weeks of pouting, Rachael realized that if she ever wanted the money left to her by her grandmother, she needed to think about settling down. The thought sent chills up her spine, but reality had set in. She took a job at a bank, working in their international department, and began dating one of the accountants. She wasn’t madly, passionately in love with Greg, but he was steady and would be a good provider. Love was not her parents’ main concern. Stability was. A year later, they got married.