The old friend noticed the earrings first. That was all it took. They were at a small fundraiser, her husband was talking to another couple, and this man she had known since college said, "You still do that thing where you choose one detail better than everyone else."

She told herself it was nostalgia, not flirtation. Maybe it was both. What stayed with her was the accuracy. He had not just said she looked nice; he had seen the part she had actually cared about. At home, the earrings had received no comment at all.