Hiya, big sis… Dana turned toward Howie. She had felt somewhat
tentative at first as to how she should react at seeing him. But
hearing his voice and the uneasiness there reminded her of the decision
she made that she would be there for Howie. Unsure what to do next but
sure that shed taken too long to respond to his greeting, Dana turned
to Alice for help, who was now giving her the look she gave Howie.
*Damn! Firm-Alice is hot! …okay okay, stay focused, Dana, focus!*
Dana shook her head, trying to clear her mind of ideas shed already
started listing on what she wondered Firm-Alice could make her do.

How… Dana began, her hands lightly resting on her hips. Okay, good,
she got his name right. Now she had to think of what she should say
next. *I could lecture him. I could say how this is totally bad timing.
I could ask why he thinks hes ***** in the first place. I could even
pretend it never happened. I could… I could just be there for him…
how hard can that be? …hmm, a heck of a lot easier than yelling,
thats for sure!* Dana shrugged lightly, making an internal decision,
*If Im gonna help him figure this out, it may as well involve food,
right?* A small smile started to appear on Danas face as she
approached Howie with her arms outstretched to hold him at arms length
by the shoulders and said simply, …Im glad you could make it.

Alice didnt miss the relieved sigh that came out of Danas mouth along
with her words. She had to admit, she felt kinda proud of her
girlfriend for being so cool and collected about Howie. Remembering her
impulsive reactions the night before, Alice made a mental note to ask
Dana later what changed her mind.

With the tension slightly lifted, the five of them moved to the table
to figure out the seating positions and how to seat themselves. After
four and a half minutes of relentless shifting, squeaking chairs and
switching seats, they started to get annoyed stares from patrons nearby
for playing musical chairs in the middle of the Planet.

They ended up seated as follows: Alice and Dana sat on the couch that
was previously occupied by Shane. How that happened is an unknown fact.
Opposite to their couch-position the night before, with Dana now
sitting snuggled between Als legs. Shane, having lost her seat, now
sat on a chair beside the couch, to Alices right, with her feet up on
the seat. Carmen, on the other hand, still had the chair shed sat on
to comfort Dana because, while chairs were being moved around, someone
had to hold all the food and coffee, and she was the lucky candidate!
Leaving Howie to sit on the comfortable chair that Dana sat on when she
came in.

Just as everyone was getting comfortable with their seating positions,
the door to the Planet chimed as new patrons entered. They all turned
around to see Bette and Tina enter and approach their table.

Hey, guys. Bette said in greeting. Seeing that there were no more
empty chairs around the table, she grabbed two chairs, stacked one on
top of the other, for her and Tina to sit on. Noticing that there was
barely any space between the chairs, Bette asked, um, can we shift the
chairs over a little bit…?

At her request, Alice, Dana, Shane, Carmen and Howie all got up from their seats and groaned at the same time.

Hearing this, Bette turned to Tina, who was giving her a puzzled look. Bette held her hands out and shrugged.

What?! Did I say something?

TBC