It had been nearly twenty-five years since Gabrielle first met Fabienne by happenstance
at Caffe Dante on a Sunday morning in Greenwich Village. During that period the two women
had quickly become close friends and even once ventured briefly beyond the boundaries
of mere friendship. At the time of their first encounter they were neighbors in the Village
enjoying and sharing the milieu of talented actors, writers, artists, and artisans
that formed a community within the community.

Both women had been rather recently divorced; Gabrielle from an actor—now remarried—
with whom she kept in contact; Fabienne, from a Dutch book publisher, whom she preferred
to forget. Gabrielle had since had a series of brief liaisons with recently immigrated
Italian restaurateurs; Fabienne had turned to find her lovers from among the women of the
New York artistic scene. Nonetheless, she retained some sexual interest in men; she was
an irrepressible flirt especially with men who understood that it was just a game that
would not actually lead to a physical relationship.



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