“T, how are you doing?” Alice asked her friend.

“OK” came the automatic response.

“How is…is…uh…”

“She has a name Alice, why don’t you try using it”, Tina responded with irritation.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.  I just forget.  You know me, I can’t remember my mother’s name half the time.  So… what is it again?”

Tina looked at her and with a heavy sigh, said “Shannon”.

“Shannon, right.  OK, this time I got it.  I swear.  So, how is she?”

“She is fine, Al.  We are just taking things slow.  As I am sure you can imagine, I am not ready for anything hot and heavy.  I am just enjoying her company.”

“Cool…ok” Alice responded.

The conversation was really going nowhere and these days, Alice did not know where to direct it.  She was afraid that anything that she brought up would be misunderstood by Tina or even offend her in some way.  She knew that she was to go nowhere near any topic that could be remotely associated with Bette, and there was the problem.  So much of all of their lives intertwined because of Bette Porter.  Each of them had a special relationship with Bette and not speaking of her or of any topic that was connected to her, was very much limiting their ability to communicate.

Again, Alice knew that something was going to have to give.  Tina was going to have to allow a relationship with Bette and the three women, regardless of how she felt.  It simply was not fair.  Alice truly hated Bette’s actions, the actions that had led her to stray outside of her marriage, but she did not hate Bette.  How could she? 

Alice also knew that Tina was going to have to make some serious adjustments to her life.  She knew, as did all of West Hollywood that Tina was still in love with Bette and Bette with her.  Tina could not get past the pain and the hurt though and it was seriously limiting her ability to see.  To see what she was doing to herself, to see what she was doing to Bette and to see what she was doing to this fragile group of friends.  How to get her there?  That was the question.  It was a cataclysmic event that had put Tina in this catatonic state, and Alice wondered if it was going to take another one to get her out of it.

She looked at her friends and said that she had to be leaving.  That wasn’t entirely the truth, but she could no longer stand to sit and watch these relationships dissolve right in front of her eyes.

She needed to talk to Bette. 

Bette can fix this.  That is what Bette does, she fixes things.  If there were anyone that could get this traumatized group back together, it would be Bette. 

She got up, gathered her things and said that she would call everyone later to get together for a drink.  Tina halfheartedly waved but did not say anything.  Shane grunted and Dana said that she would look forward to the call. 

As Alice walked away, she wondered what would have happened if Candace had never entered the picture.  How different would that 30 minutes have just been?  She agreed that things happened for a reason, but for the life of her, could not figure out what that reason was.  She knew that she could get to the bottom of all of this, she just hoped that she had time.