I sat down to put on my socks and shoes. “So did not gossiping, and yet . . .”

“And yet,” she agreed.

“Look, I get it. I’m a woman. I have eyes and ovaries or whatever, and I can see how hot he is. But you are getting your hopes up a little high. Like, that castle in the clouds from ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ high.” I tightened my laces. “You know I’m on a man sabbatical.”

“It’s not a sabbatical when you’ve never dated. That’s like saying you’re taking a sabbatical when you’ve never actually had a job. It’s not a sabbatical. You’re just unemployed.” She said this gently and I knew what she was hinting at, but she wasn’t getting any answers from me about it.

“Why are you so interested in my love life?” I asked, getting to my feet and going into the bathroom to brush my hair and put it up in a ponytail.

She followed me there, too. “Somebody has to be!”

I went back to my old standby. “I’m focusing on building up my business right now. I don’t want to worry about dating.”

“No one wants you to worry. Dating is actually in the fun section of the program. I’m just saying that whatever happens tonight, maybe you should try pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.”

“Which I don’t want to do, because it’s my favorite zone in the whole world. Much better than demilitarized or twilight. I prefer staying in it.” I got my toothbrush, put some toothpaste on it, and quickly brushed my teeth.

“You know,” she mused, “the one thing I regret is that we didn’t get a picture with Noah. Because no one’s going to believe that we met him.”

“We know, and outside of us, who is going to care?” We had been best friends since our mothers met in a Mommy and Me playgroup, and whatever other friends we’d made over the years all fell by the wayside when Shelby got sick.

“That’s true. Allan pretended like he was excited when I told him about it, but the only way he would actually care is if Noah got drafted by the 49ers.”

I considered putting on makeup, but I knew what a mess I was about to make of myself, so there was no point. After a moment of internal wrestling, I reached for a pale-pink lip gloss and spread it across my mouth.

Her eyebrows lifted in excitement at my small effort, and she said, “You know I still plan on us having a double wedding, and I’ve got two years to make it happen.”