“Lead the way.” Alyson said as she and Tina fell in step to continue their conversation as they walked outside to the stretch limo. They got in one behind the other and sat next to each other in the u-shaped wrap around leather contoured seating that ran across one side, the back and front of the car made to accommodate ten adults comfortably. Along the opposite side was a well-stocked bar with soft drinks, a variety of liquors, beer and a bottle of champagne on ice. Peggy popped the cork on the bubbly and struggling against the movement of the car precariously filled glasses and passed them around. Everyone took turns making a toast as they all had something to celebrate and be thankful for. The car was filled with mirth and merriment as the driver made his way to Peggy’s Malibu mansion.

Bette had informed Tina that she and Emma were returning to Peggy’s mansion along with Martha, Allyn and Alyson to visit socially for a while. Tina was invited to join them, but if she didn’t want to Bette would have arranged a ride to take Tina home.

Allyn was Peggy’s house guest but Alyson was staying at Emma’s loft in West Hollywood temporarily while she worked on the show. It would be a couple of months before the grand opening of the exhibit and she didn’t want to commute from Malibu to Santa Monica every day. Besides that as much as she loved Peggy and her mom she didn’t want them keeping tabs on her whereabouts. She was a young, single, attractive lesbian working in Southern California; what better place to spend her leisure time than West Hollywood?

Since she no longer expected Helena to come over Tina opted to join the other women. She felt very comfortable in their presence and didn’t really want the evening to end so soon. She was happy that it had turned celebratory instead of gloomy after Helena’s departure.

***

Once they got back to the mansion Peggy entertained the troops for a couple of hours with hilarious and sometimes heart wrenching tales of the things and people she’d encountered on her round-the-world trip. When they got home Wilson and Jung Yin had been tucked into bed but Winnie was up so she joined them. It was a bit awkward for her and Tina considering how they’d met but after a while they settled into a comfortable avoidance of each other. As if by consensus they all kept their conversations light as they caught up with each other’s lives. No one wanted to dwell on all the unfortunate things that had taken place on this particular day and in recent weeks, months or years.