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There's a time and place for everything, and Maris knows them all. Her mother taught her carefully: how to look, how to act, what to say. It's exhausting, sometimes, keeping up with all of it, but one does what one must.
And marrying is one of those things that a lady must. Maris comes dangerously close to settling too late, but it gives her time to find Niles, who's sensible enough to listen and stay within the orderly lines of a proper life.
Appreciating your husband matters less than having one, of course, but he's useful in so many ways.
Even as a girl, Mel was too much, too loud, too demanding. The girls never wanted to be friends. The boys never wanted to do more than look.
Andrew is the only person to tell her it's endearing when she's particular. He even accepts her wanting to keep her career, after the baby. And then time marches on, and the comments about how good she'd be at running a household turn into bitter jabs about her not being home to do it.
In the end, he's not man enough to keep up with her or leave her, so she goes.
Daphne's a little bit behind her mates in discovering boys; someday she'll blame that on being around too many of them. She discovers other things, while they're having their first dates: acting, and darts, and her rats, and so many other ways to spend her time.
Once she starts, though, she's off like a rocket. She meets Max at a commercial audition. He's tall and handsome and listens to her stories while they wait, and Daphne floats back home, convinced she's in love.
Max doesn't last very long, but after that, she gets to work making up for lost time.