Free Nancy’s Theory of Style by Unknown

drinks.
    Nancy took a sip of coconutty-pineapplely
goodness. “Yummy. It’s a drink and a dessert,” she said. “Your event has got to
be so incredible that people are clamoring to come even though we’ll triple the
cost of a table. The best tables, of course, will require a long-term museum
sponsorship that we can work out.”
    “How do you plan to get people to fork
out?”
    “We’ll give them something that’s unique
and thrilling.”
    “You have no idea, do you, little miss?”
Mrs. Friendly said and then laughed. “Well, you couldn’t do any worse than me. Spend
what you need to spend, but don’t take me for a fool. I’m not about to give
away the Koh-I-Noor diamond as a party favor.”
    Nancy smiled and said, “I’ll draw up a
proposal and get back to you in a week.”
    When she and Derek left the house, Nancy felt dizzy with
happiness, or possibly that second piña colada. “Derek, with your help, I’ll
make this an event that everyone will be talking about.”
    When Derek left at 5:00, Nancy was still on the
phone with Sloane Seitz, reviewing plans for Gigi’s slumber party. Sloane had
been a popular grad student when Nancy was a sophomore, but she got married and left. Now Sloane was a single mother
who patched together freelance jobs to make ends meet.
    “Let me read back my notes,” Sloane
said, “I’ll pick up the robes and the gifts, and make sure that the linens will
be delivered. I’ll meet the spa manager to review the schedule. I’m lucky the boys
are visiting Grammy this week so I can stay late at the party.”
    “Lovely, Sloane. Ciao!” She hung up
before Sloane could recite another endless saga about her children.
    Nancy pulled out one of the six photo albums
from her wedding. Her cousin Sissy had designed the tulle and peau de soie
dress that made Nancy look like a beautiful and kind fairy princess. The photographer hadn’t done a
good job with the groom, though. Todd looked blockier in the pictures than she
remembered.
    She was considering having Lizette
digitally removed from all her photos when the phone rang.
    “Hello, Nanny,” Hester Carrington said.
    Nancy had given up objecting to the nickname
that had caused endless confusion when the family had employed nannies.
    “Hello, Mommy. How are you and Daddy?”
    “Wonderful!” Hester said too cheerfully.
“Todd told us you’re at the Château, and we decided to come into town. We’d
like to take you out for dinner tonight.”
    Nancy glanced at the time. It was 5:20 p.m.
and her parents calculated this call to ambush her. “Dinner would be lovely!”
    “Lovely! Daddy’s already made
reservations at the hotel for six.” Hester and Julian Chambers, who were so
right in so many other ways, ate at a geriatrically early hour.
    “Lovely! I’ll see you then. Love you!”
    Nancy freshened her makeup, revived her curls,
and put her shoes back on. Lint roller in hand, she inspected herself in the
mirror and removed stray hairs and particles of lint.
    Traffic was awful, forcing Nancy to blare her horn
once, swerve dangerously around a cable car and cut off an eco-freak in an
electric car as she sped up Nob Hill. As wrong as Todd was on so many things,
he was right about the Mini; it was zippy.
    There was a line of cars waiting for the
valet in the brick entry courtyard, so Nancy parked in front of a fire hydrant and hurried through the majestic glass portico
of the old hotel.
    Even though Mr. and Mrs. Carrington
lived less than 40 miles away, they stayed overnight when they visited San Francisco , booking a
suite at the hotel where they’d met decades ago at a tea-dance.
    Nancy walked through the cream and gilt lobby
and glanced at the clock above the reception desk. It was 5:55. She waited anxious
minutes for the elevator to the restaurant on the top floor.

Chapter 6: The Fluid Rules of Today’s Fashion
     
    Nancy ’s parents were waiting at the host’s
station. They looked exactly the way they should, like nice