“No…. well, not really…”

“Helena.”

Helena sighed. “Alice is a housesitter now.”

“Oh. Well that’s not so horrible. But what about her job at -”

“Lost it,” Helena said succinctly. “She didn’t want anyone to know. She thought she would find something else before it became necessary to tell people she lost her job. She wasn’t even going to tell me, but she had to ask me for some help.”

“Poor Alice. I don’t know why she wouldn’t want to talk to us. We’ve all been there.”

“I know. Anyway, before she found a new job this… opportunity came up, and she took it against her better judgment, to pay some of her debts.”

“I see. Who is she housesitting for?”

“Her mother.”

Bette’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t say.”

“Lenore’s agent got her a reading, she got a job, and she’s currently shooting on location in Vancouver. Alice agreed to house sit and get paid. Living rent free is Alice’s best option for now. Lenore is very… attached to her things. For her, it’s money well spent.”

“Poor Alice. Wait, did you say living rent-free? Don’t tell me she gave up her apartment.”

“She thinks she has.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well… I spoke with her building super and rented it. Then I took Alice’s things out of storage – she came to me to help her to pay for the storage lockers, that’s how I found out about her new arrangement – and put them back into her apartment. She doesn’t know.”

Bette looked at Helena with new appreciation. “Helena that is ridiculously kind of you.”

“Well, just don’t tell her what I’ve done. She hated to ask me for anything, and resisted every effort I made to just pay all her debts off, but I couldn’t let her lose her apartment when it’s so easy for me to help. It’s not like I’m going to miss the money. I’m going to let her know when the time is right.”

“Can we go and see her, do you think?”

“I’ll take you there now.”

“Great. I’m just going to tell Kit and Angie where I’m off to. I’ll meet you out front in a minute.”

Soon they were driving off in Helena’s electronic car and it wasn’t long before they arrived at Lenore’s smallish villa style home. Bette felt a sense of foreboding as she headed toward the door, but Helena, having been there before, had no such qualms. Bette just hoped Alice would be glad to see her.