The Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting.

Three of my friend’s sorority sisters were already at her house when I arrived on Friday and I quickly realized the five of us would be spending the day together on Saturday. I was glad I had my rain wear on Saturday. To say it poured all day is an understatement. We weaved our way in and out of the stores and stalls on Canal Street in the pouring rain. Same drill in each store. There’s a young Chinese girl in the front. You make eye contact with her and then suddenly you’re being hurried through a little door in the corner into a backroom so packed with so many women you can barely breathe and you find yourself gawking at a large group of knockoff bags that differ only slightly from those at the previous store; Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Fendi, etc. They walkie talkie each other in an operation that’s so covert you’d think they had some kind of security clearance. Fake is fake to me but the fervor that this situation elicits in some women is absolutely mind boggling. Two of the girls made quite a haul. I don’t understand why someone would want a knockoff of a $1200 Louis Vuitton Murakami bag. When you see a $30,000 millionaire at J. Buck’s with one you know it’s not real. She didn’t suddenly jump to the top of the waiting list and spring for one or receive a complementary one after her photo shoot. Sorry for that tangent. No knockoffs for me but I can’t get enough of those beaded slippers in Chinatown. They’re the best thing ever. A few more blocks and we’re sitting in Little Italy and having a nice lunch out of the rain. After lunch I insisted on a stop at Ferrara’s because when you’re right near the best desserts in New York you really need to give in and go for it.

Saturday night was the bachelorette party. The maid of honor planned the party and she did a great job coordinating drinks and dinner at the house for 16 women and had a sex therapist as the entertainment. Sunday was the shower at Ruby Foo’s Uptown. There were over 50 people at the shower, they served a 4 course meal, and it was a beautiful affair. I even got to be the mediator when a brawl broke out amongst some of the other bridesmaids. You have to love a group of New York women in their late twenties. They can’t be accused of being afraid to tell you what they think. By Monday morning it was just the two of us and we were exhausted so we leisurely strolled through the upscale Americana Manhasset shopping area in Long Island and hit the Westbury Century 21 in the afternoon. Nothing wakes you up like the thought of real designer clothing at discount prices!

As it turns out my anxiety over this weekend was all for not. I got to spend some quality time with my friend and even made an interesting new connection. We’ll see where it takes me if anywhere at all. I had a nice time and actually enjoyed *some* of the sorority girls I went to college with. We’re all adults now and that sleepy town in Western Massachusetts, in that little valley in the Berkshires, seems like a lot more than ten miles behind me and I know I have a lot more than ten thousand more to go but I’m on my way.