After they dropped Dan off, Sam asked Nicole if she and her mother weregoing to the conference in San Francisco."Mom and I've talked about it," she sa...id. "We're probably going to go.But we don't know for sure yet." I hope you go," Sam said. "It's always helped me." I'm going to be going," Sara said. "I think it would be really cool ifyou went." Well, we're here," Julia said, pulling up to Nicole's house."Can I walk you to the door?" Sam asked."I would be offended if you didn't," Nicole said.. Well, more than completely gone. I lifted my shirt and could see that I actually had something of a waist. My hipbones were visibly sticking out and they were probably the only things stopping my trousers from falling to the floor."Keep up the good work sweetie!" Joy said.She punched me playfully on the stomach, quickly turned and left the room almost skipping. What's gotten into her, I wondered. Sitting back down at the computer I hitched my trousers up and tried to focus on the monitor. A. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" she said now hurrying to put everything away, dress and head off to work before she really was late.Patti loved Fridays. Not because it was the end of the workweek, though she looked forward to that too, but because only she and Scott stayed until closing on Friday. Not only were they friends and co-workers. But equals as well. It was their job to see to it that things were straightened, organized, and prepared for Saturday's opening. But even more importantly, she looked. " I had. It's down her right calf, the result of a tumble over a picket fence at age eight. "Mom didn't make me stop riding bicycles. She and Dad lectured me about risks and about the limits of 'I double-dog dare you' from your friends."And deep down I hoped that Terri would be as balanced as Susan. Well, make that the 'now' Susan, not the slightly naïve Susan I'd met at the beginning of high school last year. Today's Susan? Confident, fulfilled. Still funny, bubbly, a little flighty in.