Nancy peered across the table to see a man pawing Rita rather boldly, as Rita laughed and pointed at her. "She's my friend and I gotta take her to the party and the premiere!" Rita called out.

"Hey, the party! The premiere!" The call went up around the table, and Nancy found herself being helped to her feet. Everyone was talking at once as the men settled the bill among themselves, and it appeared to Nancy that everyone was talking at once… and she really couldn't understand what anyone was saying. She let herself guided among the tables and led along as Rita laughed and shouted something to her, and they were suddenly out on the street where Nancy found herself gulping in hot night air and her face felt the sultry heat of a Chicago summer night. They were out of the cooling air conditioning, and it was dark outside. The loop was awash in light from cars and taxis and the great office buildings that towered over them. Nancy stood a little tipsy, feeling strong men's hands holding her up, as she realized it was night! She wondered how long they had been in the bar?

Laughing, shouting, jostling, they all crammed into a cab. Nancy couldn't see the man who had whispered in her ear. Apparently he was gone, lost in the semi-drunken shuffle. The cab lurched along and Nancy found herself crammed between two men. She felt their strong warmth engulfing her, and she laughed at jokes and said senseless things.

Her mind was miles away.

The words of the stranger growled in her ear were still ringing in her head. The very audacity of it! He had suggested they go off somewhere and do obscene things together, and she didn't even know his name! Her mind mused on all the hotel rooms in Chicago and, perhaps, in some of them, there were men and women in them; strangers, just meeting and getting together and stripping naked and drinking too much and doing obscene things together.