"Older guys are gross," said Camilla. "I won't go out with them anymore. A couple of years ago, I realized, why do I need to go out with these ugly, rich old men, when I can go out with gorgeous, rich young guys? Plus, these old guys don't really understand you. No matter how much they think they do. They're another generation."
"I don't think older guys are so bad," Kitty said. "Of course, when Hubert first called me up and said he wanted to go out with me, I was like, 'How old are you and how much hair do you have left on your head? He really had to woo me. The first time he came to pick me up, I walked out with dirty hair and no makeup. It was like, If you want me so much, get a look at the real me. And after that, the first time I spent the night with him, the next morning I woke up, and he had a bouquet of my favorite flowers in every room. He found out who my favorite author was, and he bought all the books. On the mirror, he wrote in shaving cream, 'Hello, Kitty. "
The women squealed. "That is so adorable," Teesie said. "I love men."
"I love men too, but sometimes I need a break from them," Shiloh said.
"Hubert loves it when I mess up," said Kitty. "He loves it when I buy too many clothes, and I can't pay the bill. He loves to step in and take care of everything.
"Men are needy, and we're the goddesses that give to them," Kitty said triumphantly. She was well into her second margarita. "On the other hand, men are. . bigger. Larger. They're comfort."
"They give you something that women can't," Shiloh said, nodding. "A man should provide for his girlfriend."
"Hubert makes me feel really safe. He's allowing me to have the childhood I never had," said Kitty. "I don't buy this whole feminist idea. Men have a need to be dominant—let them. Embrace your femininity.
"I think men can be complicated, but I always know there's another one out there if this one doesn't work out," said Teesie. "Men are not high maintenance."
"It's other women who are really the problem," said Camilla.
"At the risk of sounding obnoxious, being beautiful is such a power, you can get whatever you want," said Kitty. "And other women know that and don't hke you, especially older women. They think you're invading their territory."
"For a lot of women, when they reach thirty, they start to realize their age," said Camilla. "Men have given women this stigma. Obviously, a woman who looks like Christie Brinkley is not going to have a problem."
"But they get mean," said Kitty. "They make comments. Women just assume that I'm an idiot. That I don't know anything. That I'm stupid. That I'm with Hubert for his money. You get spiteful and wear an even shorter skirt and more makeup."
"Nobody bothers to ask. They just assume," said Teesie.
"Women are so envious in general," said Shiloh. "It doesn't have anything to do with their age. It's disgusting. They see an attractive girl, and they give attitude. It's so sad and shocking. It's so telling of
where women are in their hves. They're so insecure and unhappy about where they are, they can't stand it if it seems hke another woman has it better.
"That's why most of my friends are men." The three other women looked around the table and nodded.
What about sex? someone asked.
"I tell every guy they have the biggest thing I've ever seen," said Kitty. The women laughed nervously. Kitty slurped up the last bit of her margarita through a straw. "It's survival," she said.