It was about to storm,And Daisy and I were dressed like we were on our way to a croquetmatch. The first real thunderstorm of the summer and we weregoing to be caught in it--without umbrellas, raincoats, or even longsleeves. We were totally defenseless. We couldn't have cared less.

It was a quarter after noon on a previously gorgeous day, and mybest friend and I were headed out for lunch when the sun just, like,turned black. Daisy was wearing a pastel pink caftan, baby blue flip-flops, and enormous plastic Jackie 0 sunglasses from the drugstore.I was decked out in black stretch pants, a white cotton wraparoundtunic, and my favorite hot pink cowboy boots.