Justine and I sip our waters at the Club 32 with Jamie and Ginny. It had been one year since I had started to wear the cryx. We drink toast after toast as we recount our successes and failures this last year. "Here is to being perfect girls," I told Justine, remembering Alex and Jacob and their failures to make a cryx. "Here is to selling candy bars at gas stations in Illinois," I cheered. And Justine piped in, "And dresses in downtown Chicago." She smiles at me, and then reaches out her hand. "Let's have some fun," she says. I take her hand, jump up and off we go to the dance floor.

We return from another feeding and sit down together big satisfied smiles on our faces. And we are giddy with excitement. Then, we both thought back again on the year we had had. "This first year has brought a major change to our lives. We were ordinary men working ordinary jobs and living ordinary lives. We are now women, vibrant and full of life. We have so much to look forward to. The future will be exciting." Justine stopped after a moment.

I sat back to wonder. "What does the future hold? I hoped it would be as much fun as the last year has been." I wondered what I would be doing? Would I still be selling candy bars or dresses ten, fifteen years from now? Part of me wondered if there was more to this job then just selling candy bars and dresses. I sit back to consider.

Then, I come back from my reverie when I hear Justine talking to me again. Justine says to me, “I wonder how those boys are doing in the chamber of arches.” I nod my head. “I wonder if we will get nine or ten or eleven.” Justin giggles. Suddenly, Jaimee piped in. “It seems to change from year to year. The year I went through there were only five. The grumbles that went through they said through sales were heard for years.”

We discussed the possibilities for a while. We took a friendly wager - I guess that was the guy still left in us. Jamie said, "Five." Justine said, "Eight." I said, "All fifteen?" Everyone looked at me with a shock. I just laughed it off, even though I wondered to myself, "Why not? If we do it right?" Instead I said. "It is a crapshoot. Who knows?"

It would be later that night when Rachel gathers us around her table. “Ladies, I have an announcement. As you know, we will not be getting any new associates in Sales, Illinois division. We traded that pick away for Justine here. I think that is working out very nicely. But I thought you would be interested in knowing that we have eight new associates. Seven were unable to make a cryx. “I guess one guy dislocated his shoulder trying to get through the cement arch.” Justine said, “That isn't going to replace our numbers.” Rachel said, “It goes to show hard it is to create the cryx.”

When the speech was done, everyone gave Justine a hug. Then, they turned her out there. "You get your pick of the crop of men, Justine," Jaime said. She looked out there and picked. "That one," She said. Then, she was up and off. Everyone else wandered off shortly after her. Jaime lingered for a minute. She leaned in conspiratorially to me. "I for one agree. I can't see why we couldn't do all fifteen if we pick right." I nodded. "You bet." Then, I took her hand. "Let's go out and have some fun." Then, we both got lost in the music and lost to another year.