Chapter 2

Tina

Tina: (getting panicky) Oh my God!! What have I done?!
Alice: Hey…. Hey!! Everything is going to be ok…. just don’t freak out on me now. You’ve done the right thing…. breath woman!!!!
Tina: I’m trying here Al!!! It’s not easy you know?!
Alice: Well… maybe you should have come to Shane instead of me….
Shane: Fuck you, Al!
Alice: One day… just let me work my magic on you….
Shane: (looking disgusted) Gross, why do you have to tell me things like that Al?… now I won’t be able to eat…
Alice gave Shane her well known "kiss my ass" face…
Tina: You guys, stop it…. I don’t know how but you’ll eventually end up together. I know it….
The three of them burst out laughing….
Shane: (trying to say between laugthers) Tina there’s not enough alcohol or drug legal or not to make me do that….
Alice: (eyes full of sarcasm) Shane you’ll eventually have to come up with another line…. that one is getting boring, you know….
Shane: (with a "I could make you cry if I’d tried hard enough" look on her face) Ok, I’ll think of a new one over the weekend……
Alice: OK, don’t do that!! You scare the shit out of me when you look at me…. with that serial killer face on….
Tina: Ok that’s enough…. I don’t know how you do it but you always cheer me up.
At that moment both Shane and Alice sighed in relief. They knew Tina had had a hard time breaking up with her boyfriend Eric, to whom she was engaged by the way…. and then at that precise moment it happened….. Alice looked up from her cup of coffee and smiled mischievously at her friends…..
Shane: Oh shit, no! Alice…. whatever you’re thinking….. just don’t say it…..
Alice: Well, you always command me to shut up so…. (lookig at the ceiling) let me think about it for a moment…. (looking back at Tina and Shane now) NO!! I won’t because I know this is a very good idea….
Tina interrupted Shane before she even got the chance to spill a single word out of her mouth.
Tina: What Alice? What’s a very good idea?
Alice: (giggling) Well, here is the thing…. since you’ve broken up with that weird boyfriend of yours…. finally I might add…. you should come to the cruise with us and then the three of us can party like maniacs for two whole weeks!!!!
Tina: I don’t know Al! I mean I don’t think I’m ready to face a room full of party boys just now….
Alice: (pretending to sound offended) Tina…. honey…. just try to focus on whom you’re talking to here…. "party boys"? (she said with a questioning face) That’s the thing girl! It’s an entirely gay cruise!!! For two weeks you can relax, enjoy the ocean, the food, the drinks and the parties!!!! And you’ll be with us…. so if anyone comes after you we’ll tell them to go away…. besides Shane will be there so no one will be left for us anyway…
Tina began to laugh while Shane gave Alice a hard cold stare and Alice began laughing as well…
Alice: So? Are you coming? Looking ar Tina with pleading puppy eyes….
Tina: Ok…. but promise me you won’t leave me alone in a crowd of gay women….
Alice: (smiling ear to ear) Ok girl! Don’t worry about that…. they won’t bite you unless you want them to…. I’m kidding…. this will be the funniest trip ever….
Shane: Ok…. (shaking her head from side to side) Who else is coming Al?
Alice: Well…. you, now Tina, me and…. (looking mischevously at Shane for the second time in less than two minutes) "The Legend" she said above a whisper….
Shane’s face lit up like a bulb….
Shane: The Legend is coming?!
And the biggest smile Tina ever saw in Shane’s face appeared….
Tina: (looking confused first at Alice and then at Shane) Who’s The Legend?
Alice: (looking at Shane and completely ignoring Tina’s question) Yes… I convinced her to come after chasing her for the last week… (with the happiest tone of voice in a very long time).
Shane: Well, I’ve got to admit I’m impressed Al….. your journalist’s skills have grown notoriously….. Hunt down The Legend is not an easy task!!!
Tina: (yelling at the top of her lungs, making everybody stop their conversation at the coffee store) STOP IT!! Please!!! (now blushing and in a much quieter tone, almost whispering) Tell me, who the hell is The Legend?
Shane: (looking at Alice) Should we tell her?
Alice: mmm… I wouldn’t know about that…. It we tell her…. we’d have to kill her….
Tina: Don’t play me…. I hate when you do that…. It’s like the only thing you two ever agree on doing.
Alice and Shane were both laughing already.
Alice: Ok, if you insist. I’ve been a friend of The Legend since university….. We were both at Yale… junior year… we dated a couple of times, then became friends. After graduation I moved here and she took a sabbatical year and travelled a lot and still she came back time to time here to LA to check things up.
Shane: (interrupting Alice) And that’s when I met her…. she’s amazing…. she’s The Legend.
Tina: (looking more confused than before asking the question) But… and read my lips this time please…. Who is she?…
Alice: Her full name is Bette "The Legend" Porter said Alice with a "you must know who she is" look in her eyes.
Tina: Porter… Porter…. (searching in her memory) The name rings a bell but I don’t know  from where….
Shane: That’s because her father is very important buisness man and owns a quarter of the american industry…. (said with a sarcastic look on her face).
Tina: (oblivious to Shane’s expression) Ohhh! That’s where…. but I’ve never heard anything about her daughter….
Alice: (with questioning eyes) DAH…. Please woman! Tell me you’ve been living alone in the Tibet for the last two years…. or you won’t came to the cruise after all….
Shane: (in a quiet tone of voice) Al! You’re forgetting she is straigth.
Alice: Yes but everybody gay or straigth knows who The Legend is!!!
Shane: Perhaps you’re righ on that one but you’re talking about Tina here…. our "I love musicals and cooking and whatever is boring" Tina…. (concluded with a giggle).
Alice: (looking at Tina…. then back at Shane with another giggle) You’re right…. my bad….
Tina: (simulating anger) You’re both so dead…..
Shane and Alice where out of breath after laughing so hard at Tina’s face expression….
Alice: Ok! She is one of the most well known lesbian across the country.
Shane: Along with that tennis player…. Dana….. something….. (trying to remember).
Alice: (not paying atention) Yes, whatever…. she’s the owner of four major art galleries across the country, so she travells all the time but whenever she’s in town we always get together and go out or something.
Shane: She never forgets about us and calls time to time to check in and let us know when she’ll be around…. I think you’ll like her.
Alice: And if you think that our little Shane here has the most extensive reputation with the ladies here in LA well let’s just say she’ll always be a far second place comparing with The Legend….
Tina: Wow! Exactly when do you do all the things you just said and I’ve never heard about the existence of this so called Legend? (asked in an incredulous tone of voice).
Alice: (suddenly resenting Tina’s word and answering sarcastically) Honey… you’ve been engaged for a year, you work non-stop and…. well you’re not gay… What do you expect us to do? Send you a memorandum every time we go out and most important with who?
Tina looked defeated this time and nodded at Alice’s statement…
Tina: You’re right (sounding weird all of the sudden)
Alice: Hey…. not again…. you’ve made the right desition girl! You were engaged with Eric for a whole year and never wanted to set a date and for the last four months you avoided him on purpose… and worked like your life was depending on that…. what did you expected? The truth is you both gave up on the relationship long time ago…. just neither of you had the balls to finish it. Besides I don’t think you were in love with him like… ever but that was something you had to figure out on your own. And he not fighting for you is the irrefutable proof that he didn’t deserve you or love you either…
Shane: (interrupting Alice) Al is right… mmmm…. that sounded strange….ok. You don’t have to keep blaming yourself for braking his hart which I don’t think you did… he just saw it coming and took advantage of your weakness…. Tina couples are composed by two…. you can’t carry the other person constantly on your back…. (Shane stopped thinking for a moment) Now that sounded even more strange… Alice continue here I’ll get another round of coffee….
Tina giggled at Shane’s observation of her own speech….
Alice: I could never agree with you more (with a "what the hell…" look) But (looking back at Tina) she is right you know… you have to stop being worried about everybody and everything because you’re not living your life. You need to take care of you and put yourself and your hapiness before anything or anybody else for a change….

All these words words were finding a way through my brain…. I knew they were right… and yet I still was restless…. I didn’t know why…. I kept thinking that the reason I was like this was my break up but now after hearing Alice and Shane’s words I wasn’t so sure anymore…. What is happening to me? Why do I get the feeling that something big is about to happen? I’m anxious…. and I don’t know what about…. I thought as I realized it was time to head back to the office… I said goodbye to the girls and thanked them  as I went back to my car….

TBC???? (please be honest)