All right, she said, taking a deep breath for courage. It's a long story. Remember the night we went to dinner with Mrs. Needleman? Well, when I got back, Lucio we I well, it started when I went out to sit in the dark and look at the moon. I guess I got a little tipsy.

Let me get this straight, Bea said, looking incredulous. You went out therealone'to get drunk and howl at the moon?

To look at the moon, Ginger said. She was about to assure Bea that there'd been no howling that night, but that wouldn't have been entirely truthful. And I was only a little, you know, uninhibited at the time.

Who cares about the moon? Roxie said, bugging out her eyes. What happened with you and Lucio?

Ginger sighed. Well, remember the sex buffet Bea talked about?

Bea's eyes widened.

Day-um, Roxanne whispered.

No! Josie yelled, clearly confused. I have no idea what you're talking about! What sex buffet? I don't even know what a sex buffet is! Somebody fill me in!

At that moment, a guy walked by with his border collie, chuckling to himself.

Keep it down, will you? Ginger groaned, flipping her hair away from her face. Maybe we should just go get a cup of coffee. That way the entire San Francisco dog-walking community won't have to hear the lurid details of my outrageous sex life.

I'll meet you at Starbucks, Bea said, who clucked for Martina to heel and turned to leave the park.

But you hate Starbucks! Roxanne called after her. What happened to the whole ‘global enslavement through caffeine intoxication' theory?

Bea shook her head but didn't look back. Fuck that, she mumbled. I'm going to need to alter my brain chemistry in some way before I hear the rest of Ginger's story.

The other women gathered their dogs and followed after Bea.

It's not really that bad, is it? Josie's hopeful face scanned Ginger's as they headed to the park exit.

Ginger tried valiantly to smile, but gave up. God, Joze. I can't lie. It's pretty bad. Or good. However you want to look at it.

Roxie frowned at her. On a scale of one to

Sixteen, Ginger interrupted.

But the scale only goes to ten.

Sixteen, Ginger said.

Day -um, Roxie repeated.

But what do I know about sex, really? Ginger let loose with a desperate laugh. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now that I've had sex like that! I have no frame of reference for what's happened to me in the last few weeks! I'm realizing that I've been cheated my whole life, that I didn't know the first thing about sex or love while married to Larry. I had no idea it could be the way it is with Lucio!

Whoa, Josie said, bringing Ginger to a stop. Take a breath, sweetie.

Ginger waved her hands around frantically, tears filling her eyes. I don't want to breathe! I want to scream! For twenty years Larry's been telling me I was dining on chateaubriand and now I find out that it was freakin' Spam the whole time!

Roxie and Josie stiffened and leaned backward, as though they were being hit with gale-force winds.

You know who I feel like? Ginger continued to wave her hands around, a lump of desperation growing in her chest. I feel like that woman in the vegetable juice commercial, you know, the one who smacks herself in the forehead and says, ‘I coulda had a V8!' only I'm a lot more pissed off about it than she was!

Roxanne and Josie exchanged glances. Day-um! they said in stereo.

I'm going home to take an extremely cold shower now, Roxie said, sighing.

I really need to call Rick, Josie said, squirming.

I should go to work, Bea said, checking her cell phone for the tenth time.

Because Ginger's friends were trying to avoid eye contact as they sat around the sidewalk table, she knew she'd been smart to leave out most of the details from her and Lucio's sexual smackdown. The general overview had left them plenty uncomfortable.

It wasn't as if the group didn't discuss sexthey did. Often. But Ginger knew her story of lust on the lawn and panties in the pocket and getting naked on the foyer floor and bubbles and candles and earthquakes had left them a little shaky. She knew how they felt.

Ginger sighed, noticing how Roxanne had started wiping her overheated forehead with a Starbucks napkin. Josie was fidgeting in her chair and stroking her neck. Bea just looked smug, no doubt mulling over the information Ginger had shared about Lucio's steady diet of world travel and brief encounters.

Don't even think of saying it, Bea, Ginger warned, pointing in her direction.

What? You mean I shouldn't say ‘I told you so'?

Lucio is not the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, Ginger said. I don't know what he isyet. He might turn out to be the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Or, not. Bea shrugged.

The four women sat in silence for a while, their dogs asleep at their feet. They'd been talking for nearly two hours. The conversation may have been hot, but Ginger's latte had long ago gone cold.

Well, what does everybody think? Ginger asked. You now have a pretty good idea what I'm dealing with here. What do you think I should do?

Everyone looked blank.

Should I listen to my heart and not my fear, like Mrs. Needleman said? Or should I just chalk this up as a once-in-a-lifetime bit of insanity and get out before my heart gets flattenedlike Bea thinks it will?

I never said that. Bea folded her hands on the tabletop.

But you want to, Ginger said.

Roxie shook her head slowly. Look, I can't tell you what to do, but I'll tell you one thingI'm not getting within a hundred yards of that crazy old Mrs. Needleman again. She's put some kind of weird mojo on you and Josie, and I want none of it.

Let me ask you this, Bea said to Ginger, her voice quite serious. What exactly is your biggest fear about Lucio?

Ginger fiddled with the cardboard coffee sleeve on her cup while she thought that through. Oh, you knowthat he'll leave, she said with a shrug. That one day he'll fly off somewhere, the way he's done all his life, and I'll be left here insanely in love with a man I can never have. Ginger looked around the table. That scares the hell out of me.

And rightly so, Bea said with a nod.

But he made a promise to you, didn't he? Josie bit her lip before she went on. He promised he'd stay here long enough for the two of you to get to know each other. He said he wouldn't go unless he talked it over with you.

He did, Ginger said with a bitter laugh. But all that means is he's willing to give me a heads-up before he disappears!

Bea laughed, too. In an overexaggerated Spanish accent she said, Adios, senoreeeta. I will be sure to send a postcard from Arr-ghhhhhen-teena.

Ginger rolled her eyes.

But do you trust him? Josie asked.

With what?

With everythingyour kids, your dog, your heart? Do you trust him?

Actually, yes, Ginger said. That's another scary thingthere's no real reason for me to trust him, but I do. I don't even know his whole story yet. But somehow, trusting him feels right. He feels right. I can't explain it.

I think that's what Mrs. Needleman was getting at, Josie said, smiling wistfully. It was the same for Rick and me. I had to decide if I trusted him. I had to listen to what my gut was telling me.

I hate to be the one to add some reality into this conversation, but someone has to do it, Roxanne said, ending a long stretch of silence. Here's the deal, Ginger. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between gut feelings and below-the-belt crazy-monkey-lust, do you know what I'm saying? So just be sure that when you're listening to your gut, it isn't some other organ doing the talking.

Bea wagged an eyebrow and chuckled.

Roxanne continued. In my experience, the hotter the sex, the harder the fall. She tilted her head to study Ginger. And sooner or later there's going to be a fall. Trust me on this oneyou can't have great sex and a great relationship with the same man. You're going to have to settle for one or the other. It's a universal law.