With the music setting the tone and sushi and sake summoning smiles from guests, Jay’s 32nd birthday bash was a success. Such a success, in fact, that few people noticed when Jay’s savory marinade for his chicken skewers somehow became mistaken for sushi dipping sauce. In a rush to get the teriyaki kabobs on the grill, Jay left the marinade in a bowl beside the sink. While he mingled with his friends, the bowl somehow ended in the hands of party-goers. "It wasn’t until later that I realized the disaster," Jay says. "It was dubbed the ‘salmonella’ sauce for the rest of the night. Thankfully, no one paid the price."

Kristin, Susan and Ranelle were in their element. They fluttered around the room waving their champagne flutes around as guests dipped sushi in soy sauce and took turns on the living room/dance floor. Though milling through a house full of more than 30 people, the RA-HEW-CY clan still had time to chat. "When we’re together, you hear some things you never thought you’d ever hear, but we never talk about work, money or anything serious," Jay says.

The conversation skidded to a halt as the funky guitar beat of Madonna’s "Don’t Tell Me" blared from the stereo. Susan, Kristin and Ranelle squealed with excitement and rushed to the dance floor. Guests then watched the three women dance, laugh and sing.

The night wore on, bottles of sake and champagne collected in the trash can and the crowd slowly began to leave—except for a core group of all night thrill seekers. "It’s a late night with the Tracys. Always," says Dawn Taylor, a friend of the Tracy’s who occasionally joins RA-HEW-CY events.

Dawn should know. She joined the RA-HEW-CY women on an excursion to lively Las Vegas on a 36-hour stop for a Madonna concert. (The girls all dressed as a different stage of the pop queen’s exotic evolution.) She also came along for Kristin’s 2001 New Year’s Sparkling Eve, an event that had more than 40 people dressed to the hilt and sipping champagne.

By 5:30 a.m., the last of the guests had thinned out. It was down to the core group and Chris, the sushi chef. "My favorite part of the evening was when the sushi rice was gone," Chris says. "I headed for the Tracys’ hot tub with a bottle of sake and some octopus."

With a naked chef in her hot tub and the rotating disco ball at a stand still, Kristin closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the sofa cushion. Visions from the evening bash played in her head like clips of a movie. Reid, Trent and Jay chatted in the kitchen and
Kristin sensed the familiar smell of a time-honored RA-HEW-CY tradition: Jay’s famous hangover concoction of tortilla chips, cheese, salsa and sour cream melted in a large bowl. Jay first perfected the famous ‘nacho stew’ recipe in high school after nights out with friends. Since he introduced the Hewlitts and Ratcliffes to his Mexican-style invention, the group has adopted it as the official morning after breakfast.

Kristin reached over and nudged Susan from her nap, and pressed play on the stereo for their commemorative party-ending song: It Ain’t Over 'Til It’s Over.

As the friends stumbled to the center of the living room, they each took a spoon and dove into the cheesy mess, retelling highlights of parties past and making plans for the next big event.