Tim: How'd you like to have dinner with my folks Tuesday night?
Elizabeth: I'd love to.
Carrie: On Tuesday, he called with some bad news.
Tim: My mother's not feeling very well.
Elizabeth: Well, gosh, I'm sorry.
Tim: Could we take a rain check?
Elizabeth: Of course. Tell your mum I hope she feels better.
Carrie: When she hadn't heard from him for two weeks, she called.
Elizabeth: Tim, from Elizabeth. That's an awfully long rain check.
Carrie: He said he was up to his
ears and that he'd call her the next day.
Elizabeth: He never did call, of course. Bastard.
Carrie: She told me one day over coffee.
Elizabeth: I don't understand. In England, looking at houses together would
have meant something.
Carrie: Then I realized no one had told her about the end of love in
Manhattan. Welcome to the age of "un-innocence." No one has breakfast at
Tiffany's, and no one has affairs to remember. Instead, we have breakfast at
7:00 a.m. and affairs we try to forget as quickly as possible. Self-protection
and closing the deal are paramount.
Cupid has flown the co-op. How the hell did we get
into this mess? There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of
women like this in the city. We all know them, and we all agree they're great.
They travel. They pay taxes. They'll spend $400 on a pair of Manolo Blahnik
strappy sandals. And they're alone. It's like the riddle of the Sphinx. Why are
there so many great unmarried women and no great unmarried men? I explore these
sorts of issues in my column and I have terrific sources: my friends.
Peter Mason: When you're a young guy in your 20s, women are controlling the
relationships. By the time you're an eligible man in your 30s, you feel like
you're being devoured by women. Suddenly, the guys are holding all the chips. I
call it the mid-30s power flip.
Capote Duncan: It's all about age and biology. I mean, if you want to get
married, it's to have kids, right? And you don't want to do it with someone
older than 35, 'cause you have to have kids right away and that's about it. I
think these women should just forget about marriage and have a good time.
Miranda Hobbes: I have a friend who'd always gone out with extremely sexy
guys and just had a good time. One day she woke up, and she was 41. She couldn't
get any more dates. She had a complete physical breakdown, couldn't hold on to
her job and had to move back to Wisconsin to live with her mama. Trust me-- this
is not a story that makes men feel bad.
Charlotte York: Most men are threatened by successful women. If you want to
get these guys, you have to keep your mouth shut and play by the rules.
Carrie: That day, Tim popped the question.
