Maizie stood at the vanity in the women’s lounge at the Downtown Marriott staring at, but not really seeing, her reflection. She was thinking about how Bob was nothing like her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend, Sid.
Sid was a handsome man with well-proportioned features. He’d traveled widely and appreciated the finer things of life. He was charismatic, successful. People said he was sharp, in the know. It seemed he had everything on her list.
Since the age of 15, Maizie had been crafting the list—titled “The Ideal Mate,” tucked away in her top dresser drawer—with equal parts pencil and eraser. Through the years she had been misled by rebels and bad boys, outdone by workaholics and strivers, and exhausted by thrill-seekers and hedonists. On the day Sid parked his sleek black car in front of her shop, the time had come to lift up the quality of her life and settle down. […]
