Sunday brunch had been a long-standing weekly tradition for Rory and her three besties, Madison, Tish and A.J. The four had been through good times and bad, always had one another’s backs during a crisis. And the weekend binge of mimosas and a ton of food at Madison’s house always served to end the week on a fun note, regardless of how the work week had gone.

And suddenly, thanks to romance and a bunch of cats that had basically played matchmaker, it was different.

Madison, the redheaded network television reporter most famous for rescuing and bottle feeding a litter of orphaned kittens, was engaged to a cop. Who loved her cat. Tish, the high-powered blonde attorney would soon create her own firm by marrying another lawyer. Who loved her cat. And A.J., the Sicilian gal who ran the family delicatessen on Staten Island, would walk down the aisle with a charming Brit who ran the business across the street. Who loved her cat.

Hence, Rory was the seventh wheel.

She pushed her food around the plate, not saying anything as she listened to her three friends discuss wedding plans. Suddenly they stopped talking. “Rory, you okay?” asked Madison.

“Sure. Just tired from a busy week.”

Tish looked at her two engaged friends, then turned to her and smiled. “We have something we’d like to ask you. An interesting idea.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

A.J. brushed her raven hair behind her ears. “Well, we were thinking that instead of setting separate wedding dates, we do it all together. A triple wedding.”

Rory slowly nodded. “Sounds like a cool idea. It would save a ton of money, if nothing else.”

“We think so,” said Madison. “And it would solve a lot of problems picking wedding parties. I mean, if we each got married separately, we’d each have to pick a maid of honor, which would be tough since we’re all such close friends. We couldn’t choose since we love one another equally. This way no one has hurt feelings.”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“We all want you to be the maid of honor. For all three of us. At a triple wedding.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “Wow. I’m honored.” She thought about it a moment. “So... does that mean I get my choice of three best men?”

A.J. got a gleam in her eye. “That’s the part we haven’t figured out yet, but I know you could handle three guys.”

“Very funny. Though right now I might take you up on that part. So, you guys set a date yet?”

“Nope, but about a year from now. Just thought of it yesterday and there’s no hurry. We want to enjoy our engagements. But we’d have to get something that works for everyone. And in a perfect world, we all go on honeymoons together. Everyone would love a cruise. The guys think it’s a great idea.”

“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. You guys will have a good time.” She tried to sound excited, but her friends obviously noticed she wasn’t.

Tish leaned over and refilled Rory’s mimosa. “What’s going on with you? You want us to wait till you find Mister Right so we can make it a foursome?”

“No, that’s not it at all. And you can’t put a deadline on finding a husband. I dunno... lately I’ve been thinking about Cathy, how we used to spend a lot of time with her. Remember?”

“Yeah, she was with us all the time.”

“And we haven’t seen her in ten years even though she just lives a few miles away.”

“I saw her last year leaving the grocery store,” said Madison. “Loading up a giant minivan with her five kids. Poor thing looked like she was herding cats.”

Rory shrugged. “It’s not the fact that you guys are getting married... it’s just that when people do tie the knot they want to do things for couples. And I’m worried I’ll be like Cathy and will lose you guys.”

A.J. shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. The reason we don’t see Cathy is because she has a bunch of kids and has no time. Hell, her husband probably doesn’t even spend much time with her. Though he’s obviously seen her five times.”

Madison gave Rory a soulful look. “We will never fail to include you in everything we do, Rory. And in case you hadn’t done the math, we’re all in our late thirties and I seriously doubt any of us will have five children.”

Tish smiled at her. “Besides, if I did have a kid, I certainly wouldn’t want to deprive that child of an incredible aunt.”

Rory exhaled. “I’m sorry, guys. I guess I’ve grown so comfortable with the relationship we’ve had for such a long time that I’m worried it might come to an end. You know how much I don’t like change.”

Madison looked around the house. “Do you see any of our guys here? No. Because they’re not the type of men who demand their women stay joined at the hip with their husbands. Nothing’s going to change, Rory. In fact...”

“What?”

“Along with the triple wedding and you being the maid of honor for all of us... well, a honeymoon with just the three of us wouldn’t feel right.”

Rory furrowed her brow. “You want me to tag along on your honeymoon?”

“Why not? It’s not like you’d be alone. Last time we all took a cruise you attracted men like moths to a flame.”

“Like you always do,” added A.J.

Rory nodded. “Sure, why not. It would help if you invited the best men.”

Tish clapped. “Yay. That leaves only one loose end. Someone to take care of four cats while we’re gone.”

“Not a problem,” said Madison. “Bring ‘em all over here and I’ll pay our friend at the shelter to cat-sit. The fur babies will have a ball. Plus we’ve got the vet next door if there’s an emergency.”

“Speaking of cats,” said Rory. “My supposed moths to a flame ability seems to have run into a snag as far as men are concerned. The last three guys I’ve dated hated cats. The most recent one comes to pick me up, spots Hemingway, rolls his eyes and says, Oh. You have a cat. And looks at me like I’m a leper. I never heard from him again. What the hell is it with some men? Do they somehow feel that loving a cat makes them less masculine?”

“Real men love cats,” said A.J. “At least the guys we’re marrying do. Beckett adores Gypsy. Plays with her all the time.”

Madison nodded. “My guy is great with Bumper. Love you, love your cat. You and Hemingway are a package deal, Rory.”

Tish leaned back in her chair with her drink. “Speaking of said moths that you have attracted, I do note you have dated plenty of guys who had no problem with your cat. But you cut ‘em all loose because you always find some little thing that’s wrong with them. Honestly, Rory, sometimes you’re like an episode of Seinfeld.”

“What are you talking about?”

“On that show Jerry would always find some insignificant trait he’d consider to be a flaw with a woman. Low talker. Man hands. A re-gifter. Think about the guys you had relationships with and why you broke up with them. What about Brad? He was nice. I thought you two were getting along and all of a sudden you broke up. Why’d you dump him?”

“We got into this big argument and I ended it.”

“What was the argument about?”

“Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff? You’re not giving us the whole story.”

“Fine.” She looked down. “He, uh... insisted Star Wars was better than Star Trek.”

Everyone laughed. “You’re kidding. Seriously? And you broke up over that?”

She looked up, eyes wide. “Star Wars makes no sense! I mean, these people have the ability to kill with their minds using that force thing and they have sword fights? They travel in floating cars but live in adobe huts? And then three prequels to the first movie? That’s like starting a novel in the middle of the book. Don’t even get me started on that stupid Jar-Jar character. Anyway, he insisted Luke Skywalker was a better hero than Captain Kirk. You can’t reason with someone who uses that kind of fractured logic.”

Tish laughed a bit. “Yeah, I can see where that would be a deal breaker. Who’d want a guy like that?”

Madison pulled out a pad and pen. “I think we need to see if there’s a pattern here. What happened with the blond guy you were seeing last year that you were head over heels for when you first started dating. Jessie?”

“Oh. Him. We were at his apartment one day and he was making lunch. So he’s putting sandwiches together and the guy actually cut the crusts off the bread. And it was a loaf of that great Italian bread from A.J.’s deli. I said, ‘What are you, ten years old?’ and he got upset. Big argument because I think the crusts are the best part of the bread and he would feed them to the ducks down at the park. I walked out.”

“Good God.” A.J. shook her head. “My bread causes a breakup. Hey, I liked the tall guy with the beard you dated a few months ago. I thought you were getting serious. What happened with him?”

Rory dropped her head and her voice. “Toothpaste.”

“What?”

“He, uh, stayed the night and the next morning he left the cap off the toothpaste tube and it ran all over the vanity. I sorta... got pretty mad.”

Madison continued to take notes. “I think we’re getting somewhere. How about my personal favorite of your boyfriends. Eddie. What was wrong there?”

Rory looked away. “You know why I broke up with him.”

“Refresh my memory.”

She rolled her eyes. “You just want to hear me say it. Fine. He was a Yankee fan. They’re so damn arrogant with all their Word Series wins, and they like to rub it in around Mets fans.”

Madison finished writing and looked at her pad. “Well, it’s pretty clear why you haven’t found Mister Right.”

“And that would be?”

“You’re a perfectionist in your career and you’re carrying that over to your personal life. There’s never going to be a guy who checks off every single box.”

A.J. started to laugh. “I think we should fix her up with a guy wearing a Star Wars t-shirt who takes her to a Yankee game and brings sandwiches with the crusts cut off. She’d probably go into a meltdown situation.”

“Leave me alone,” said Rory. “But fine, I get your point. I have kicked some decent guys to the curb over stupid stuff. I just want what I want and don’t think I should settle for anything less.”

Madison handed her the pad and pen. “I’m giving you homework. Write down every little quirk about yourself that might annoy a guy.”

“You can’t be serious. I’m supposed to write down all my possibly annoying traits?”

“We could do it for you, if you want,” cracked A.J.

“Are you implying I have qualities that may annoy men?”

“You mean like your habit of always sending back something in a restaurant?”

“Hey, if a steak isn’t cooked right, I send it back. I want what I paid for. What’s the big deal?”

“You once sent back a fork because it didn’t match the knife and spoon!”

Rory slumped down in her chair.

Madison shook her head. “No, she needs to do this by herself. By next Sunday, we want a list. Trust me, Rory, this will help. We all have flaws and crazy quirks and once you realize you have them as well, you’ll be more accepting.” Suddenly she reached down and picked up her tortoiseshell cat Bumper. “Look at our cats. I’ve got one that’s blind in one eye and has a deformed leg. You have one with extra toes. But we love them just the same, don’t we?” The cat leaned up and nuzzled Madison’s chin. “They love us unconditionally despite our flaws. Which checks off the most important box. Our cats are perfect in our own eyes. And so are the people we love.”

***

RORY’S BEDTIME READING was interrupted by Hemingway, who stuck his head under her paperback, demanding attention. “You’ve always hated it when I read. Fine, I’ll give you some love.” She put the book on the nightstand and started to pet the tabby. Then looked at his front paws. “You don’t care that you’ve got a bunch of extra toes, do you? Personally, I think it’s cool. You’re the best looking cat in the world.”