Natalie Trott

Two different stories: in the first one a group of children walk into the store eager to hear Belle's stories, as she is noted to be a great storyteller, in the second one Belle throws a party to cheer Mrs. Potts up.

In Los Angeles, Max Carlyle makes a good living directing commercials and has a happy home life with his wife, Mimi, and two children. When Carlyle travels to New York City to visit his friend Charlie, who has been diagnosed with AIDS, he has repeat run-ins with a beautiful woman, Karen, and eventually sleeps with her. Though he goes home the next day and doesn't return until a year later, Carlyle's infidelity still lingers.