"Hey guys, what’s up?" Shane slouched onto the chair beside Alice and sipped her espresso.

By tacit agreement, Bette and Alice changed the subject and discussed some of the latest music acts Kit had booked for the upcoming weekends. They were debating the relative merits of blues versus chick rock when Tina kissed Bette on the cheek by way of greeting. Sitting down she looked defiantly at Alice and Shane. "What?"

Bette grinned like the cheshire cat as Alice and Shane hastily replied, "Nothing."

Tina nodded. "Good. Now that we have that settled, you guys should know that Bette and I are officially dating again."

"No!!" Alice cried, feigning surprise. "Really? Geez, the whole movie and a dinner thing didn’t give it away at all Kennard."

Shane smothered a grin and with a sidelong glance said in her low, smoky voice. "Good for you, guys. It’s good to have some stability back in the world."

Alice glanced at her watch. "Shit! I gotta jet. See ya later, guys. And, by the way….I’m really glad you two have found each other again. Just don’t let go this time, okay?" Picking up her shoulder bag and coffee, she started a frenetic path to the door. They heard a continuous flow of "excuse me, coming through" in Alice’s wake.

–**–

As the song wound to a close, Alice took a deep breath.

"That was K.T. Tunstall and Miniature Disasters. I’m Alice Pieszecki and you are listening to The Chart. Big news gang. We’ve passed a milestone in our social experiment. Last night the 5000^th intimate connection was added to our graphic representation of the sexual escapades of an urban slice of West Hollywood. 5000 encounters resulting in doing the nasty. Actually, probably way more than 5000, as a lot of connections account for multiple orgasms." Alice paused and darted a quick glance at the sound booth. "Can I say that on radio? Probably not. Check that…..multiple Big O’s." Taking a deep breath she continued.

"Anyway, if you remember, The Chart started out as a way to prove how incestuous we all tend to be as a society. Even in LA, we tend to segregate ourselves into these small neighborhoods of sexual proclivity. The Chart itself primarily deals with women in WeHo….and despite some newcomers, it is amazing how the connections twist and turn but seem to remain within a certain set of confines. So, you’d think I’d be pleased when we passed our 5000^th addition. But, I’m not. No, now, I’m considering the fundamental flaws of The Chart. I mean, what is intimacy, really? There are some names……you all know them….that have hundreds of connections emanating from them. Our hubs, so to speak. Are these people capable of more intimacy because of their multiple connections?"