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With a glance at Lola, as sitting blithely in the director’s chair, completely unaware of her faux pas, Schiffer stepped onto the set and tried to put Philip and his girlfriend out of hertook place in her office at thefe an office affair with the boss Schiffer sat down behind her desk and put on a pair of black-fralasses from the props department

“Settle,” the director called out “And action”

Schiffer stood up and took off her reading glasses as the young actress approached the desk

“Ohod It’s Ramblin Payne,” Lola squealed from behind the monitors

“Cut!” the director shouted He looked around, spotted the interloper in his chair, and strode over to confront Lola

Schiffer scooted out from behind the desk and tried to intervene “It’s okay She’s a friend”

The director stopped, looked at her, and shook his head, then saw Philip standing next to Lola “Oakland?” he said He went over and shook hands with Philip and patted him on the back “Why didn’t you tell me Oakland was here?” the director said to Schiffer

“I wanted to surprise you”

“How’re you doin’,Bridesmaids Revisited made”

“That’s right,” Philip said “We start shooting in January”

The director looked at Lola in confusion “Is this your daughter?” he asked

Schiffer tried to catch Philip’s eye, but he refused to look at her Poor Philip, she thought

Later, in the car going back to the city, a black cloud of ly unaware She chattered away, ignorant of his silence, nattering on and on about how she’d had an epiphany standing on the set It was, she realized, where she belonged She could see herself in front of the ca what Ramblin Payne did, which wasn’t so hard, really It didn’t look hard But maybe she’d be better off on a reality show They could do a reality show about her life—about a young wo city After all, she pointed out, she did have a glairls on reality shows And she was , she asked Philip, wasn’t she?

“Sure,” Philip said, his response autoe into lower Manhattan, which presented a very different view than the faray, low-slung, in disrepair; one thought of desperation and resignation as opposed to renewal and the fulfills caused Philip to have his own epiphany Schiffer Diamond had returned to New York and taken up her new life with ease; she was celebrated and had even found a relationship But what, Philip thought, of his own life? He hadn’t moved on at all; he’d taken no new steps in years The subject ed, but that was it Thinking ahead to Christmas, he became more aware of his discontent His Christmas would be spent with his aunt—usually, they went to the Plaza for dinner, but the Plaza was no longer the Plaza, under renovation as an exorbitantly priced condooing to Saint Barths Even Lola was going home to her parents’ He felt old and left behind and had to forcibly remind himself that this wasn’t like him And then he saay out of his depression

“Lola,” he said, taking her hand “Hoould you like to go to the Caribbean for New Year’s?”