Chapter 8: Changing Appearance

The truth is, when I say that from the day of the pool party onward Roxie and I became inseparable, I am not exaggerating. It was rare for Roxie and me not to see each other on any given day, and in fact, most days we were together for a substantial portion. As a result, Roxie and I spoke a lot about our lives, and I mean constantly. We talked about everything: friends, family, my new job, our pasts, our husbands, our dreams, aspirations, and yes, sex.

It was only natural that I now had a close friend, really the closest friend I could ever remember, and she had become that way so quickly; the speed was mind-boggling. After months of feeling cooped up and alone with a nine-year-old and a three-year-old, I finally had someone other than my husband to confide in, and I told her everything. Roxie became my confidant, my priest, my conscience. She always listened and didn’t judge me. Instead, she encouraged me to grow and not be content with the status quo. She led by example, and I found myself envious not only of her poise, strength, and independence but also of her refusal to settle for anything less than exactly what she wanted. She was willing and able to address and solve any problem, big or small, that I brought up in my life. So it was only natural that I went to her with the topic of Nick and my intimacy problems to see what she would recommend.

At first, she just asked questions, trying to get to the root of our problem before she offered advice. Many of her questions were of a highly personal and sexual nature, and I had a very hard time answering them openly and honestly, but I tried. When she finally felt she had a grasp on what was going on and what she felt our problems were, she went into action, like everything else I had seen from Roxie, trying to solve them.