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Detroit.”
    “ Detroit? How can being from Detroit make somebody fun?”
    “He sort of has that sexy working man thing going on,” she said sulkily.
    “Morgan, he’s not exactly blue-collar, he’s an architect for chrissake,” I said. “You’re talking like he wears overalls to work.”
    “He actually did work at GM one summer,” she added.
    “Oh, well there you go—you don’t like his personality or his friends, but he worked on an assembly line for one month and that makes him somehow more noble than the spoiled overachievers you usually date.”
    “Now you get it!” she laughed. “Evie, it’s not that I don’t like him, I do—he’s just not someone I plan to get all crazy about.”
    “Just because his friends aren’t your thing doesn’t mean he’s not a nice guy,” I said, trying to get back to the point. “I hate Bruce’s friends, and look at us.”
    “I know, but I don’t really give a shit about Billy’s friends anyway. Come to think of it, I don’t really care if he’s a nice guy or not. If he can get me to forget about work and take me out for a few drinks and a good meal, and then not want to spend the whole night cuddling, that’s all I want. I don’t give a good goddamn about anything else right now.”
    “Are we still talking about Billy?” I asked. “He’d want to cuddle with you if you had leprosy.” The guy is so bloody crazy about her that he turned down a better job in Philadelphia to wait around for her scraps of affection. And he is a nice guy, no matter how hard she tries to pretend he isn’t. I suddenly realized how much fun it would be if Morgan and I were engaged at the same time. If I could get her to see what a good idea marriage is, and if Billy didn’t scare her off too soon…
    “He told me that he wants me to stop seeing other guys,” she sighed. So much for picking out wedding dresses together.
    “Gee, what a surprise. What did you say?” I asked, knowing the answer.
    “I told him to piss off and then let his best friend do body shots off my stomach.”
    “Seriously, Morgan.”
    “I said that he knew what I was all about when we got into this thing, and that I wasn’t really willing to date one guy exclusively—take it or leave it.”
    “But you have been dating him exclusively. It’s not like you have someone else waiting in the wings,” I pointed out, pouring my third cup of coffee.
    “I know, but he’s definitely not someone I want to get tied down to.”
    “Why not?” Did she think getting tied down was a bad idea in general? Would she think I was making a bad choice?
    Morgan sighed. “Evie, I’m sick of having this conversation with you. Why are you pushing me so hard about this?”
    “Bruce asked me to marry him,” I blurted out.
    Silence.
    “And I threw up.”
    More silence.
    “Morgan?”
    “We’ve been talking about Billy for ten minutes and now you tell me this? What the hell’s the matter with you?” she shrieked. “So old Brucie finally got around to it! I knew he would, you know. I knew it! I just had this feeling. I really did. Last week when you were talking about how you wanted to take a leave of absence in June as soon as Bruce finishes school and go trekking through South America for the summer and he just didn’t say anything. Aw, I knew it! It was either that or he was dumping you!”
    I guess she realized then there might be a little more to the story. “You said yes, right?” she asked, in a much smaller voice.
    “Of course I said yes. Why didn’t you tell me you suspected?” I snapped, relieved. It sounded like she thought it was a good idea. Morgan has always believed that I was meant for monogamy. She doesn’t think I have the emotional fortitude to handle dating more than one person. Know thyself, she says.
    “Oh, come on. I can’t believe the thought hadn’t occurred to you. Tell me everything! Did you really throw up?”
    “I did,” I said proudly, and told her the whole story. She