Wendy asserts that women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition. The two are constant adversaries.

Against 3NT, Wendy led the ten of diamonds. When Cy took his ace, South followed with the six.

Cy pondered. Even if Wendy had the K-Q of diamonds, the defense couldn’t run the suit, and when South had opened 1NT, there weren’t enough points for Wendy to have two diamond honors anyway. Cy thought his only chance was to find Wendy with the king of spades, and South with 876,AQ62,KQ6,AJ4. So at Trick Two, Cy led a low spade. South won with dummy’s nine and led a diamond to his queen. Wendy took her king and returned a spade to Cy’s ace -- and South claimed 10 tricks.

“Hopeless defense,” Wendy sniffed. “Send a woman if you want to accomplish anything. Shift to the queen of spades. If declarer plays the king, I lead my last spade when I take the king of diamonds, and he goes down.”

“Nuts,” Cy said. “Declarer just ducks the queen and is safe.”

“Being a man,” Wendy retorted, “he might and he might not.”

South could succeed even if he played the king of spades. He could cash four clubs, and Cy would discard a diamond and a spade. Then South could take three hearts and exit with his fourth heart, and Cy would have to give dummy the jack of spades. True, a shift to the queen, or most any other shift, stops an overtrick.

“If you’re so smart,” Cy growled at Wendy, “why didn’t you lead a spade at Trick One?”