“I know! I called your place fifty times before ***** Kyle told me that you’d moved out and moved in with your mom and that he didn’t have the number-”

“Ah,” I said, grateful that Kyle had seen fit to lie.

“-and I finally got a hold of your mother’s number and she told me you’d gotten your own place.”

I yawned. “Why didn’t you just page me?” At some time that wasn’t 9:30 on a Saturday morning?

“Ugh,” Tamara said dismissively, “Colleen says those things cause cancer; that was my last resort.”

I snorted. “Well, if anyone’ll get it, it’ll be me, so tell Colleen to cool it.”

“So why’d you move in with your mother in the first place?”

“I couldn’t really pay the rent when I was living with Kyle and Spencer a few months ago, so I moved out for awhile.”

“And moved in with your mother?”

I yawned again. “No, first I was living with a… this friend.”

“Who?”

I started peeling back the sheets and blankets and climbing out of bed, considering I was pretty awake at that point and Tamara wasn’t giving any signs that the conversation would be over soon.

When I didn’t answer her right away, Tamara said, “I’m insulted that you didn’t call me and ask if you could stay with me.”

I wedged the phone between my shoulder and chin and flopped down on my stomach, sliding a hand under the bed to feel around for my glasses.

“Well, honestly-aha!” I grabbed my glasses and put them on. “Honestly, I probably would’ve, but this chick snatched me up the second I moved out, really.” Which I was entirely comfortable saying, knowing Bette could not hear me.

“Oh. So who were you staying with? Mindi?”

“Yeah,” I drawled. “Like I’d live in that endless visit to the dentist’s office. Her name’s Bette, I don’t know if you know her.”

Tamara shouted something at her cat and then came back to me, a little distracted. “I know of a Bette, I think. Probably not the same one.”

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “Bette Porter. She’s a-”