Jan, Sue and Mary rediscover each other on a re-union web site after many years. They arrange to meet for lunch in a wine bar. They haven't met for years.
Jan arrives first, wearing a beige Versace, and orders a bottle of Piniod Grigio.
Shortly afterwards, Sue arrives in a grey Chanel. They kiss each other in a dainty ritualized kiss, and she joins Jan for a glass of wine.
Then Mary arrives; she is wearing a faded old tee shirt and blue jeans and boots. She joins the other two for a wine.
Jan is talking about herself: after leaving High School and graduating from Princeton in Classics, she met and married Timothy with whom she has a beautiful daughter. Timothy is a partner in one of new York's leading law firms. They live in a 4000 sq ft apartment on Fifth Avenue, and their daughter attends a drama school there. They have a second home in Phoenix.
Now its Sue's turn: she graduated from Harvard Medical School, and became a Neurosurgeon. Her husband, Clive is a leading Wall Street investment banker. They live in Southampton on Long Island, and have a second home in Naples, Florida.
Mary joins in the merriment and laughter. Tell us about yourself, they urge her.
So Mary tells them: she left school at 17 and ran off with her boyfriend, Jim. They run a tropical bird farm in Colorado, and grow their own vegetables.
Jim can stand five parrots side by side on his p.en.i.s, she tells them proudly.
Halfway down the third bottle of wine and several hours later, Jan admits that her husband is really a cashier at Walmart. They live in a small apartment in Brooklyn, and have a travel trailer parked at a nearby storage facility.
Sue, impressed with her friend's honesty, confesses that she and Clive are both Nurse's aides in a retirement home. They live in Jersey City, and take vacation camping trips to Alabama.
Mary looks shame faced, and admits that she'd been lying too.
"The fifth parrot," she says "has to stand on one leg!"