"When a marriage breaks up, there are numerous ways to cope." "You can cry, you can move." "It's left right, not right left." "Or, as Charlotte did, dive in to a new routine." "A tap routine." "I feel good." "I even signed up for sculpture and tap dancing class." " You can't do one without the other." " Everyone tells me to grieve." "I don't need time." "This divorce is going to be clean and swift." "Oh, my God!" "I thought that was you!" "There it was." "The unmistakable voice of Susan Sharon." " So what's new?" " Same old same old." "Just writing, gallivanting, eating." "The usual." "You're forgetting the most important thing." " They're engaged." " You're getting married?" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, Aidan." "Mazel tov." "Let me see." "Where's the...?" "It's here." "It's right here." "See?" "Why is it round your neck?" "Is that what people do now?" "No, it's just me." "It's closer to my heart this way." "So, spring wedding?" "Fall wedding?" " Where are you doing it?" " We haven't thought about that stuff." "You'd better chop chop, missy." "These places book up...years and years." "OK, the wedding..." "The next morning, a hotel mogul and his publicist began another gruelling day at work." " Can I help you?" " You're gorgeous." "Tell me something I don't know." "As intimate as their personal affair had become, when it came to business, Samantha remained cool and professional." "Guess Who?" "Sightings..." "In theory." " JJ Mitchell." " JJ, Samantha Jones." "I have your column." "I'm very disappointed." "I thought you'd suck my dick for getting Richard's name in the paper." "We'll talk about your dick later." "Richard and Bebe London?" "Bullshit!" "I know he's canoodling with one woman and it's not her." "Guess which publicist can't keep track of her client?" "Guess which two-bit columnist talks out of his ass?" "I'd rather be talking out of your ass, Jonesy..." "JJ Mitchell says you canoodled with Bebe London." "He's an idiot." "All press is good press, right?" " So you were canoodling?" " Is that a problem?" "No, I just need to get all the facts so I can do my job." "Take a break and get that sexy ass in here." "To drown out thoughts of Richard canoodling with Bebe London," "Samantha focused on her canoodle." "In a more modest shower uptown..." " Have we met?" " Can I get in?" "Got a guy coming round." "It's really coming along over there." "The walls are coming down, the wash-and-dryer's on the way." "Oh, the washer and dryer I've been dreaming about my whole New York life!" "Here's something else to chew on." "How about Hawaii?" " As what, the 50th state?" " As in we get hitched." "Grab a couple of friends, down some Mai Tais, tie the knot." " We can get Maui-ed." " Did you just pun in the nude?" "What did I tell you about that?" "Give me the soap." " What do you think?" " About Hawaii?" "Do I look like a surf's-up kind of bride to you?" " My grass skirt days are over." " How about Aspen?" "Christmas time in Aspen." "You, me, a polar bear, a judge." "How does that sound?" "For a shower with so little water pressure," "I felt a ton of it on my shoulders." "Here's the spine, right here." "Isn't that incredible?" "Here's the heart beating." " See?" " Kind of." "I think so." "Do you want to know the sex?" "Sure?" "It's a boy." "It's a boy!" "How do you feel?" "Great!" "A boy!" "Boy, oh boy." " I just faked a sonogram." " I'm sorry?" "I was lying there, getting a guided tour of my uterus." " She tells me I'm having a boy..." " Oh, my God!" "Miranda!" " You're having a boy!" " You see?" "That." "That's what she wanted, but I couldn't get it up so I faked it." "What does a fake sonogram look like in case I ever need to do it?" "Everyone is glowing about my pregnancy." "When will I?" "I get the same every time someone hears I'm engaged." "I'm supposed to be excited about picking a date and a place." "I just want to lie down and take a nap." " I feel like a deadbeat bride." " So don't do all that stuff." "I'd better do something soon." "I'm getting the feeling my grace period is O-V-E-R." "I don't even want to look for a dress." "Me!" "No dress!" "What's wrong here?" "Maybe it's like the dentist." "You put it off and put it off." "Finally you go and afterwards you feel great." "I have to go to the dentist." "Wait." "I'm having a radical idea." "There's a horrible bridal shop two blocks away." " We could go..." " How do you know this?" "Every time I pass by it, I go bleugh!" "You could try on the worst dress." "Face the dragon, get it over with." "Then I'll treat you to a Tasty Delight." "It's aversion shock therapy." "You want me to try on a bad wedding dress?" "You'll have to do better than Tasty Delight." "I'll try one on, too." "Ladies." "My friend Miranda is getting married, so we want something special." "We're in kind of a hurry." "For Carrie here, we were thinking of something with a lot of bows." "We want her to look like a giant cupcake." "Which one of you is getting married?" "We both are." "We do everything together." "Miranda has everything but the gown." "And the groom." "Is this a lesbian wedding?" "No." "It's a very straight-laced, conservative crowd." " A lot of Wall Street types." " I'll see what I can find." "Your rehearsal dinner's going to rock." "On the count of three." "One, two..." "Look at you!" "Stop!" "I'm going to pee in this thing!" "Look at you!" "Hold still!" "You need a veil." "Look." "Look!" "I look beautiful." "You can't tell I'm pregnant." "The sleeves balance out the tummy." "This is too tight." "I can't breathe." "Can you get it off me?" " Are you kidding?" " No, I'm not kidding!" " You don't want her to come back." " Get it off!" "I can't breathe!" "There's a million buttons." " Your back is all wet!" " Just get it off!" "Rip it off!" "Oh, my God." "What just happened?" " I can't get married." " This is all your fault!" " You took her to that dump?" " It was an experiment." " It went awry." " Let's just slow down." " Let's not do anything rash." " Rash." "Exactly." "Look at this." "My body is literally rejecting the idea of marriage." "Once you get a rash, it's time to go." "It's not him, it's me." "I'm missing the bride gene." "I should be studied." " I don't want to get married either." " Ever?" "Why do we have to get married?" "Give me one good reason." "Aside from not wanting to die alone, which is something to think about." "When it was good, it gave me a sense of security." "But I feel secure now." "Things are great with us." " "lf it ain't broke..."" " Don't marry it!" " What are you afraid would change?" " I don't know." "Nothing?" "Everything?" " Every bride feels that way." " Why aren't they speaking up?" "I'm going to ask you an unpleasant question." "Why did you ever say yes?" "Because I love him." "A man you love kneels in the street and offers you a ring." "You say yes." "Get married and hope it works." "If it doesn't, get divorced." "Take tap with Bojangles here." "I can't take a vow of forever if I mean for the foreseeable future." " I can't do that to Aidan." " Talk to him." "How do you talk about this?" ""Hi, Aidan." "I've been having some doubts." It will break his heart." "I shouldn't have said yes." "I'm a bad person." "In a court, reasonable doubt gets you off for murder." "In an engagement, it makes you a bad person." "Everyone has anxiety about weddings." "Maybe your anxiety threshold is low." "Interesting theory." "Do you think the dress is still in that dumpster?" "After being hit by a bridal wave," "I tried to get my mind around the concept of happily ever after." "As progressive as our society claims to be, there are still life targets we're all supposed to hit." "Marriage, babies, and a home to call your own." "What if instead of a smile, you break out in a rash?" "Is something wrong with the system or is it you?" "Do we really want these things?" "Or are we just programmed?" "In a crisis, people always tell you to listen to your gut." "Mine was telling me to start smoking again." "Marlboro Lights, please." "But I decided not to throw it all away." "Actually, just these." "While Aidan worked on the apartment," "I worked on reprogramming my attitude." "Could I be a spring bride?" "Happy bride?" "Peekaboo bride?" "Stop!" "Aidan, stop it!" " Did I knock something down?" " I'm freaking out." "I can't." "I cannot..." "I'm having a very strong reaction to all this change." " Don't freak out." " I am." "It all feels really fast." " I told you about the hole." " It's not just the hole!" " It's..." " What?" "It's the marriage stuff." "I love you and I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to talk to you about this, but I have to." "Come here." "Sit down on the floor." "What's happening?" "I didn't want to say anything, but then that thing came through my wall." "I don't think that I'm ready to get married yet." "Do you hate me?" "You're catching me a little off guard here." " I know." "I just..." " No, I hear you." "I need a minute here." "Is it because I said we could get Maui-ed?" "Thank you for making a joke." "Let's slow it down." "How much time do you need?" "Six months?" "Nine months?" " End of the year?" " Which year?" "Do you just need some time?" "Yeah." "I think so." "We'll get there." "Thank you, Aidan." "Thank you for listening." "See the washer-and-dryer out there?" "I love you." "The next day, Miranda enjoyed a moment of solitude with her bills and her cleaning lady." "Magda, I'm going to pay you for a whole month, OK?" "Look what I found on kitchen counter." "Is beautiful!" " Did they tell you boy or girl?" " Yes, it's a boy." "A boy!" "A boy is coming into the house." "The boy is highest blessing." "It's good luck." "Smile." "Smile." "Smile for a boy." "A boy!" "A boy!" "While Miranda had tea for one, Charlotte did "Tea For Two"." "You're coming across the floor." "Steps up a step for you, steps up a step for me." "Now two by two." "Go!" "Next pair." "Nice." "Very nice." "You with the flowers." "Go!" " I don't have a partner." " Just go it alone." "And go!" "I don't want to go it alone." "You'll be fine." "Come on, flowers." "I can't do this!" "I shouldn't have to." "I deserve a real partner." " And this song is hurtful!" " Should I stop?" "You should think about people who are getting divorced and come here to have fun and to feel good about themselves!" "In her attempt to skip over her grief," "Charlotte tapped into her pain." "The next week, we all gathered at the Black and White ball," "Richard Wright's charity fundraiser." "Aidan looks so handsome in a tux!" " How's he doing?" " He's good." "Still a little thrown by the change in plans, but good." " I hope I did the right thing." " You followed your feelings." "That's always the right thing to do." "I'm drinking Seltzer." "I'm in a formal gown with elasto waist." "I really fit in here." "Do you realise you're growing a tiny penis inside you?" " That's so sci-fi." " My God, you're having a boy!" "Are you so excited?" "Two glasses of French fizz and a soda for you." "Did you know Miranda's having a boy?" "I'm going to hurt myself." "I trust you're finding something noteworthy for your column?" "Look at you!" "I can think of a few other places to put my column." " Dream on." " Never hurts to ask." "I'm sure you know, but guess which hotel king is having very private relations with a very public woman?" "The cat's out of the bag." "It's out of the bag." "Look at them together." "Judith McBain, she's insatiable." "Word is, they've done it in every one of his hotels." " Excuse me." " Good chatting with you, Jonesy." "Samantha could handle the press, but not the truth." "Fucking Richard is fucking everyone." "For the first time, I actually give a shit." "I think I have monogamy." "I must have caught it from you." "There are a lot of guys here, but I don't want to fuck them!" "Not him or him." "What about this guy here?" "He asked if I knew you." "No, I'm not interested." "Dammit, I'm not well." " At least you're not divorced." " Tell Richard how you feel." "I can't do that." "He likes me because I'm immune to this bullshit." "There goes Judith McBitch heading for Richard." "I'm going to go over there and be completely calm and completely professional." "Millions of people suffer from monogamy." "There is no known cure." "I'm so sorry." " Great turnout." " This is purely professional." " How many women are you fucking?" " This isn't the Black and Blue ball." "As your publicist, I must tell you all this bed hopping is tacky." "It makes investors nervous..." " It makes you nervous, too." " As your publicist, yes, it does." "So grow up." "Stop fucking other women." "Just fuck me." "Come on." "We're not the monotonous..." "I mean, monogamous type." "Maybe I am." "Gorgeous, I'm not." "Fine." "Got any good dish for me?" "In fact, she did." "Samantha gave JJ an exclusive, just to prove to herself that she was not." "Shit!" "Just a minute." "It wasn't the first time a guy went soft on Samantha, but it was the first time she didn't care." "This never happens to me." "I can give you a list of women it's never happened with." "That won't be necessary." "I want you to call Anna Bonny at 9577297." "Or Lisa Yelland at 459..." "There you are." "I was too quick back there." "If someone can keep monotony interesting..." "Man of the hour." "You'll never change." "I wouldn't want you to." "Let's stay as we were." "This doesn't count." "He couldn't even stay hard." "Good seeing you, JJ." "Don't say it, Limp Dick!" "That's a very good look for you." "I think we both look sharp tonight." "You've never looked prettier, my friend." "Let's get married tonight." "You've got this beautiful white dress on," "I've got this tux for another 13 hours." "Let's just do it!" "Let's get in a cab." "Airport." "Vegas." "No muss, no fuss." " Aidan, this isn't funny." " Seriously." "Come on!" "We can get married tonight." "We wake up tomorrow, it's done." "We're still us." "We don't even have to tell anybody." " What about what we discussed?" " You're just scared." "Yes, I'm scared." " We talked about this." " No." "You talked and I listened." "I looked at you tonight from across the room and I thought: "l love her." ""She loves me." "What are we waiting for?"" "Because I need more time." "What's going to change?" "I don't have any tricks up my sleeve." " This is who I am." " This isn't about you." "I'm not ready for marriage." "I am." "I'm sorry if that scares you, but I am." "People fall in love, they get married." "That's what they do." "Not necessarily." "Why can't we just keep things the way they are?" " Just live together." " I don't want to live together." "I've had girlfriends for 20 years." "I want you to be my wife." "You're pushing me." "Maybe you need to be pushed." "It's just a piece of paper." "If it's just a piece of paper, then why do we need it?" "Because I need it!" "I want to make this official, lock this thing down." "I want the whole world to know that you're mine." "Who else's would I be?" "Oh, my God." " You still don't trust me." " The ring's not even on your finger." "I am yours." "There is nobody else!" "I love you, but I can't marry you to make you trust me." "Look at me." "Look at me before we make a huge mistake." "If you don't want to marry me now, you'll never want to marry me." " That's not true." " I think it is." "I'll sleep in the other apartment tonight." "Really?" " Yeah, really." " Just for tonight?" "I can't believe I'm back here again." "We had left the land of black and white." "Now everything was grey." "On the outside, Miranda's maternal gene might never kick in." "But that night, she felt a real kick from deep inside." "There are some walls you can push through and some you can't." "That was the only night we would ever spend on the other side of the wall." "The next day, Aidan moved out."