1998

The first time they had met -in Grace's office- had been fun, but Karen had quickly forgotten about their meeting. Two weeks passed since they spoke or saw each other again, and in the midst of her faltering marriage, her struggle to get pregnant, and everything else that was going on in her life, the cute little gay boy that had captured her interest for an hour on a random Tuesday afternoon was pushed into a dusty corner of her mind.

And then, out of nowhere, she had received a most unexpected invitation from Grace.

"Karen?" Grace's timid voice broke the silence of the office.

"Yeah, honey?" Karen replied, not looking up from the blood red polish that she was sweeping across her fingernails. Her foot toyed with the curly telephone cord underneath her desk.

"Will and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night, and I was wondering if maybe you would like to come with us?" She tapped her pencil against the table in front of her where she had been looking at various carpet samples.

The nail polish brush froze in Karen's hand, and without moving her head she directed her eyes up towards Grace.

"Will's friend Jack is going to come, too," Grace continued, "I thought maybe it would be fun for the four of us to…"

"I don't know, honey," Karen interrupted, looking back down at her nails. A flush was rising in her cheeks. "I know Will doesn't really like me and I mean I barely know Jack." As thrilled as she was to be asked (although she would never show it), Karen knew she didn't fit in with this group of friends.

"Oh come on," Grace whined, "Will does too like you! And he said Jack really liked you. Please come!"

Karen rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oh ok," she consented. Grace smiled. "It will give me a good excuse to get away from Stan for a few hours."

"Good," Grace told her. "Why don't you meet us around 8 then." Grace walked to the end of Karen's desk and leaned across it to give her a small sheet of paper. "Here's the address."

Karen nodded and set the folded piece of paper down on the desk in front of her without even looking at it. She quickly turned her attention back to her nails as Grace sighed quietly and walked back to her desk, not entirely sure that Karen would show tomorrow night.

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"Driver, what time is it?" Karen called towards the front of the limo, the tinted glass divider cracked just enough so that when he looked into the rearview mirror, Driver could just see Karen's anxious eyes.

"About 8:15, Mrs. Walker," he replied. Her eyes darted to the left, towards the window next to her, and she rolled the divider back up.

Normally, Karen aimed to be fashionably late. But tonight, her first night out with these new people, she had hoped to be on time. Now that she was 15 minutes late - by no fault of her own, traffic had been a bitch - she felt like she was being just plain rude. If she had been going out tonight with Stanley, or one of her high society friends like Beverly Leslie, she wouldn't have cared. But these people were different; they were real, decent. She didn't want to be the odd man out.

Five minutes later, Karen found herself approaching a small round table with Will, Grace, and Jack seated around it, talking and laughing, completely oblivious to her approach. Will's back was to her, and as she handed the restaurant host her coat, she very plainly heard the words he was speaking.

"Come on, Grace. Did you really expect her to show?"

Karen froze as Grace slapped Will's arm, giving him a harsh look.

"Will!" she chastised him as he rubbed the sore spot where she had hit him. "At least give her a chance."

Jack toyed with the lemon slice he had pulled from the side of his water glass. His eyes wandered upward, and locked with Karen's. She was standing now, four five feet behind Will, clutching her purse in front of her awkwardly. She had clearly been standing there for some time, and Jack realized she had more than likely heard their conversation. He had taken an instant liking to Karen, failing to notice her brashness as a negative, and rather, embracing it as a fun quirk that made her dazzlingly different than other person he had ever met.

"Karen!" he exclaimed happily, upon seeing her. He was glad she had come, and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable before she even sat down with them.

Upon hearing her name, Grace snapped her head in Karen's direction and stood, welcoming her to the table. Will remained seated and rolled his eyes at Jack, taking a sip from his wine.

"See, Will?" Grace addressed him, as she guided Karen to her chair. "I knew she'd come." Will smirked at Grace before turning his attention to Karen.

"Karen, good to see you." His tone of voice obviously betrayed the meaning of his sentiment.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Will," Karen shot back as she sat. She smiled at Jack. "Hi, Jack!"

"Hello, Mrs. Walker," he playfully replied. "I'm glad you came."

Karen toyed with her hair, sizing up the restaurant Grace had chosen before answering. No, she wouldn't see anyone she knew here.

"Well, I like to be the big finale," she told him. Another eye roll from Will. It would've been just as easy for her to tell them the truth, that she had gotten stuck in traffic and that she was sorry for being late. But that wasn't Karen - she wasn't about to show any sign of weakness. This was something Jack and the others would soon learn, and that they would spend the next several years working to break down.

The rest of the evening flew by for Karen. The initial awkwardness had soon disappeared, and soon Karen was enjoying the company of her three new friends. When the talk turned to Will and his recent break up with his boyfriend of seven years, Michael, Karen was only halfway listening. Her eyes glazed over, and she offered the occasional head nod to show she was keeping up with the conversation, but she was really engrossed with the dynamic of these three people.

Here was Grace, her boss at the office who dressed horribly and was as easy to walk over as an oriental rug. Grace was undoubtedly a scatter brain, at times a bit flaky, but she always meant well. Of course she had some hang ups, but Grace had a big heart. Just the fact that she had bothered to even think of inviting Karen out to dinner with them tonight was proof enough of that. Grace had no reason to think so highly of Karen, but for some reason, she was persistent in trying to form a friendship with her.

Next, Karen's eye wandered to Will and she sized him up. A gorgeous gay man, she understood his personality. Although they often butted heads on the surface, of the three of them, his personality was the closest to hers. He was well-liked by everyone, a loyal friend to those he loved, and almost overly confident. But she knew that there was more to him than that - that underneath his strong and capable façade, he had some heartache. Whether it was from his failed attempts to find love or from some bad experience dealing with his sexuality in his past, she wasn't sure. But she knew that, unlike Grace, there was more to Will than met the eye.

And then, there was Jack. Instantly sweet, loveable Jack. The contrast between his childlike personality and his physique, which was definitely all man, was charming, and Karen easily found him the most interesting. Jack didn't exist in the world of serious emotion, drama and heartache - he was pure fun and joy almost all of the time. She liked that about him. She was lacking that "fun" element in her life, and his playful ways were a welcome relief from her straight-laced socialite lifestyle. Better than that, he seemed to absolutely adore her, despite the fact they had basically just met.

"Karen?" Will's voice interrupting her thoughts made her jump. "Do you want to come?"

"I'm sorry," she smiled at him. "Come where?"

"Back to my place, for some drinks?" he answered slowly, obviously this conversation had already been had while she was zoned out. She looked at Jack and Grace who looked back at her expectantly.

"Sure, honey," she answered softly. They all stood to leave, and as she reached around the back of her chair to grab her purse, Jack caught her eye and flashed her a huge smile. She had a good feeling about him - about all of them, really. She thought that next time Grace invited her somewhere, she would be much more willing to accept.