Alice gently pushed the scattered hair from Shane’s brow and said, “No flies land on you, my friend.  That’s why I love you so.”

Shane got up and walked around the coffee table.  She stood silent with her hands on her hips for a few seconds before saying, “Okay, what did you do to her?  Come on, let’s have at it.”

They were both in the zone, you know, the zonenot realizing that Carmen had been listening to their entire exchange.  “Well, come on, what did you do?”  Alice defensively rose to her feet and said, “I forced her off the road.  OKAY, yes, technically that sounds worse than it really is.”

Shane: “You forced her off the.”

Carmen:  “She like, what, crashed?  Is she lying in a ditch somewhere?”

Alice, startled by the new voice in the room, shook her head and waved her hand around in front of her as she continued.  “No, no nothing like that, not that dramatic, I mean, come on, do you honestly think I’d leave Dana in a ditch somewhere?  No, she’s fine; I made sure she was okay before I drove off.”

Carmen: “YOU LEFT HER THERE?”

Alice: “Whoa, Carmen, it’s the middle of the night, Angelica’s sleeping, have a little respect.”

Shane: “You left her there?  Really, Alice, man you shouldn’t have left her there.”

Carmen: “Um, excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but, she shouldn’t have forced her off the road either.  Am I out of line when I say this?”

Alice: “No, I didn’tokay, it was an accident, and I didn’t intentionally do anything.  It just sort of, well, happened, and I feel horrible.”

Shane pulled her hair back and resting her hands on her head, let out a deep breath.  “Al, you, you really have to let this go.”  Carmen quickly grabbed her cell phone and walking closer toward Alice, said, “Should I call her?”

Alice: “Yes, please, would you?  I doubt she wants to see my number on her caller ID.” 

As Carmen dialed the number, Alice sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of Shane.  “Well, I guess I’ve really learned my lesson this time, my friend.  I’ll never do anything like this again, that’s for sure.  You can take that to the bank, my Dana days are over, kaput, finite, like, over Johnny.

Shane stared at Alice for a good minute before rolling herself into a ball on the floor, and did what any good friend would do in that situationlaughed hysterically.