Summary

In “Please Wear Your Rubbers,” two friends, Nana and Vicky, live together in a small apartment in New York City. Nana, who is a relatively successful actress with a rich boyfriend named Frederick, is kind but thoughtless, always outshining Nana and unintentionally sowing tension in the friendship. One day, Vicky decides that she will try her own hand at acting, leaving Nana a note that reads “Don’t worry about me. Pat Conway, you remember, she was at school with us, dropped in unexpectedly and asked me to spend a few days with her in the country, and I couldn’t resist the temptation” (121). With that, she books a hotel and proceeds to audition for a number of roles.

After no success, Vicky is almost out of money and is...