Okayserious question now

Tina leaned back in her chair, drinking deeply from her margarita. Shane perched her foot on the edge of the table, tipping her chair slightly backwards and gnawing complacently on a stirring straw. Dana slumped in her own seat, praying that she would get laid tonight and wondering what the ***** Alice had smoked before they all met at RADAR.

Howmanylicksdoes it taketo get to thewait a minute, wait a minuteis it center or middlewhateverto get to the middle of a tootsie roll?

Alice threw her head back, cackling loudly and slapping her hand on the table and then on Shanes shoulder. Did you mean tootsie roll POP? Shane asked flatly. Alice scrunched her face, apparently thrown by Shanes observation, Huh? The other three women sighed and looked around the establishment: Tina to make sure no one had noticed Alices off beat behavior, Shane to (well, duh!) scan the room for her next victim, and Dana did it because she noticed Tina and Shane looking around and wanted to follow suit. Unable to find anything that captured her interest, Tina stood up and excused herself from the table. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and found a reasonably quiet corner. She realized, looking blankly into the sea of female faces, that she hadnt spoken to Bette sine they left the house that morning. The show was being hung today and Bette was likely to be too exhausted to pick up any dinner for herself. As the line continued to ring, she thought about what take-out places Bette liked would still be open at that hour. Hello, came a tired voice.

Hey babegod you sound so tired

I am.

Are you home?

Yeah.

Have you eaten anything?

No.

Well, what do you want me to bring you?

Where are you?

Tinas breath stopped short in her throat; she recognized that tone. It seemed pleasantly inquisitive, but Tina knew better. She quickly realized that veiled in that silky voice was seething anger waiting to bubble over. Whether it was directed at her or caused by the show, Tina wasnt sure, but she was absolutely certain she didnt want to deal with angry Bette tonight.

Im on my way homedo you want Chinese?

You didnt answer my question

That statement had an edge to it, and Tina knew that it didnt matter if she told Bette she was feeding starving children in Sri Lanka, Bette was pissed that she wasnt home.

Im at RADAR

Well, dont let me spoil your evening

Bette, dont do this.

There was silence for a whole thirty seconds in which Tina wracked her brain, thinking about how she wanted to handle this: fight fire with fire or take the fall and let Bette vent a little.

Dont worry about bringing anythingIm just going to sleep.

Tina inhaled deeply: the next couple of days were going to be absolute ***** and she honestly didnt feel like she had the strength to muddle through this with Bette, at least not tonight. She resolved to have another drink and check in on Alice before she left.

Ill see you in a bit then?

Surebye.

Bye.

Maybe Bette will feel better in the morning, she thought hopefully . Tina walked back to the table to find Alice with her head lying sideways on the table, her arms dangling at her sides. Shane was nowhere in sight and Dana was over by the bar, apparently mustering the courage to talk to a cute blonde standing next to her. Tina sat down, clutching her phone, a sad expression still on her face. Alice slowly lifted her head and it wobbled from side to side. In the dim light, Tina could see that her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Why, Tina? she bawled, Why does Gabby always pull this kinda ***** with me? Tina quickly stuffed her phone back into her pocket and scooted closer to wrap an arm around Alices shoulders. Cmon, lets get you home she said soothingly. She draped one of Alices arms around her own neck and helped her stand up.

They staggered together to the door then down the sidewalk to Tinas car. She propped Alice against one of the back doors while she dug into her purse for her keys. Are you gonna be okay back there? she asked tapping on the window. Alice bobbled her head slightly with a little smile, but it quickly faded, giving way to a gloomy grimace, Im sorry Tina, she slurred, I think the weeds finally wearing off and the liquors kicking in. With a sympathetic grin, Tina helped Alice tumble into the backseat and then got in the drivers seat herself. As soon as she turned the ignition, Rainy Days and Mondays poured miserably out of the speakers. Oh, god, Alice groaned curling into a fetal position in the back seat, I ffffffffucking hate Mondays! But without hesitation, she chimed right along with the Carpenters, slurring every other syllable:

Hangin arounnothin to do bu frowrain and monduALWAYS get me dooooooown!