The Barnes & Noble Review Being second runner-up is not an enviable position. The almost-winner might earn sympathetic smiles or polite applause but rarely genuine admiration. However, we all find ourselves in second place at some point, whether with a physique that falls short of supermodel perfection or a career with too few promotions to its name. In her new novel, Unitl the Real Thing Comes Along, Elizabeth Berg introduces us to Patty Murphy, a woman who is no different than the rest of us. Patty calls herself "Ms. Runner Up" — and with good reason. The man that she loves does not return her romantic affections. Her career as a realtor hit its peak with her last house sale — four years ago. And the clamor of her unfulfilled maternal instincts is rivaled only by the ticktock of her biological clock. But Patty is a spirited, modern woman who is determined not to drown in her own desperation. Patty's desires are strictly conventional: a traditional domestic life marked with true love running though her heart and toddlers running through her kitchen. However, Patty quickly realizes that there are no conventional solutions within reach. Love is elusive, and the dream of children remains just that: a dream. She does not relent, though, and Berg recounts Patty's quest for her fantasy and, perhaps even more important, emotional peace. As in Berg's previous novels, What We Keep and Talk Before Sleep, the minute details of daily life lend familiarity and clarity to her characters' lives. However, these rich images create the fabric of Patty's dream worldratherthan her reality. She yearns for the details that belong to other people's lives, such as individually wrapped slices of American cheese between pudgy toddler hands. She craves the snap of clean sheets being thrown over her imaginary marital bed. These minute cornerstones of daily life