A Very Good Life by Lynn Steward Page B

everywhere!”
    “Indeed,” said Andrew, lifting his glass.
    “This place has an almost hypnotic charm,” Dana remarked after the toast. “I think I’m going to ask for a tour when we finish lunch. I bet the rooms are adorable.”
    “We’ve already made great strides, thanks to the UN report last year on sexist attitudes around the world,” Nina continued without missing a beat. “The report found that the universal image of women was either that of a sex idol needing masculine approval or a merry homemaker fussing over dust mops and laundry. And who do we have to thank for that? The ad men of Madison Avenue! Now that we have all this good information, we can develop a plan of action! We won’t be second-class citizens any longer!”
    Lunch arrived, and Nina continued to talk about Betty Friedan, her idol and a woman who many considered to be the founder of the modern women’s movement.
    “Friedan’s
The Feminine Mystique
should be given to every college freshman woman!” Nina said, her voice growing louder with each sip of chardonnay. “They’ll quickly learn that the Mrs. degree they are frantically working towards is not all it’s cracked up to be!”
    Andrew smiled, looking at Dana and then at Nina. “We’re behind you, Nina. It’s good to get these things off your chest, but maybe we should speak a little lower. I think the waiter has been giving us the eye for the past few minutes.”
    “I’ll tell you what I got off my chest today, Andrew. Clothing! I’m not wearing a bra! What a symbol of oppression, as if women need to wear harnesses. Pour me another glass of wine please.”
    “I think I’ll go to the ladies room,” Dana said, whispering to Andrew. “She’s all yours.”
    Andrew winked, indicating that he’d try to calm the indefatigable and slightly tipsy Ms. Bramen.
    Dana smiled at Nina’s passion as she asked the waiter if someone were available to give her a tour of the guest rooms. Brett’s birthday was in January, and Dana thought she would surprise him by booking a romantic weekend getaway. It would be a harbinger of good things to come and an excellent way to ease into spending time away from the city. The country life was growing on Dana by the hour. It was exactly what she and Brett needed on a regular basis: some quiet time when neither the store nor the firm could impinge on their life together.
    Dana thought that the rooms were irresistible. Her favorite had a brass bed, a colonial writing desk, a window seat with a view of the river, and a ceiling covered with tiny print fabric to give a canopied effect. It was cozy, warm, and romantic. She dreamed of a snowbound Sunday morning in January and breakfast in bed with her husband.
    Back at the desk, she learned that the inn was near the James A. Michener Museum and the Peddler’s Village, which had seventy specialty shops. Hot air balloon rides were also available just a few miles away. Before returning to the dining room, Dana asked the proprietress if she would please translate the writing over the fireplace. A quotation by the Roman poet Horace, it read, “Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes angulus ridet.” Moved when she heard the meaning—”This corner of earth smiles for me beyond all others”—Dana knew she had found the idyllic getaway and booked the weekend in January without hesitation.
    Dana rejoined Andrew and Nina, who were waiting at the front desk of the inn. Andrew had paid the check and convinced Nina to surrender the keys to the Beetle.
    “I feel perfectly capable of driving,” Nina declared. “The brisk air outside will clear my head immediately. I once drank my fill of rice wine in Burma and then traveled ten miles through the jungle on an elephant.”
    Andrew didn’t doubt Nina’s Burma adventure for one second, but he still thought it best that he drive back to Manhattan. Five minutes later, they were once more inside the VW, Nina already sleeping in the backseat, her head tilted against the