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The car aved forward by two security ot out first and, after consulting briefly with to headsets, motioned for Schiffer to coh the crowd, and the blazing flashes began

Schiffer found Billy Litchfield waiting just inside the door “Another night in Manhattan, eh, Billy?” she said, taking his ar woman from Women’s Wear Daily who asked if she could interview her, and then a young azine, and it was another half hour before she and Billy were able to escape to their table Making their way through the crowd, Schiffer said, “Philip is still seeing that Lola Fabrikant”

“Do you care?” Billy said

“I shouldn’t”

“Don’t Bruer is at our table”

“He keeps turning up like a bad penny, doesn’t he?”

“More like a million-dollar bill,” Billy said “You can have any man you want You know that”

“Actually, I can’t There’s only a certain kind ofthe event “And he’s not necessarily the kind of er, as seated opposite her on the other side of the centerpiece “Weher hands

“I should have come,” she said

“We had a great group on the yacht I’ive up easily”

“Please don’t,” she said, and went to her seat A plate of salad with a couple of pieces of lobster was already set at her place She opened her napkin and picked up her fork, realizing she hadn’t eaten all day, but the head of the ICSD ca her to a man whose name she didn’t catch, and then a woman cao, and then two young won their prograo backstage to get ready for her speech, and she got up and went behind the platfor lined up by handlers and ?” Karen asked, fussing “Water? I could bring you your wine from the table”

“I’an, and she stood by herself, waiting to go on She could see the crowd through a crack in the plasterboard, their eager and politely bored faces lifted in the se loneliness

Years and years ago, she and Philip would go to these kinds of events and have fun But perhaps it was only because they were young and so wrapped up in each other that every moment had the vibrancy of a scene in a movie She could see Philip in his tux, with the white silk scarf he alore slung over his shoulders, and she remembered the feel of his hand around hers,her out of the crowd and across the sidewalk to the waiting car Soe of half a dozen people, and they’d pile into the car, laughing and screao on to the next place, and the next place after that, finally heading ho She would lie halfway across the seat with her head on Philip’s shoulder, sleepily closing her eyes “I’d like to shoot those birds,” he’d say

“Shut up, Oakland I think they’re sweet”

Peeking once h the crack, she spotted Billy Litchfield at the front table Billy looked weary, as if he’d tilted his head too many times at too many of these events over the years He had recently pointed out that as once fun had becoht, she realized And then, hearing the MC announce her na that there was not even a war