In a nutshell, Tina said, surprised to hear Shane disgorging all this information in an almost impartial way. Sounds like a soap: extra-marital affairs, jealous daughters

Yeah, in a nutshell, Shane finished, pulling back loose strands of black hair. And soaps cant beat this.

Nasty. Dana reached for her shake. Mmm. And this, is yummy.

Everyone, with the exception of Tina, had the look of prisoners on their way to have their gullets cut. The Planet was brimming with light seeping through the palms of a fresh, California morning but oddly enough, the radiance lacked exactly that: cheer, laughter, the occasional blimp of conversation that threw everyone into stitches.

Tina guessed it was Alice. Tina knew that it had something to do with who sat at that table or who didnt and why. Bette was missing, Alice had run off without a word at a time when she would be the last person seen gallivanting at nine in the morning. Tina was stuck with Shane -who was upset enough to get her story out, however abbreviated -and Dana, who looked as though shed be miserable at the gym if it really came to that. Dana wasnt about to derail her train by telling Tina everything that had happened between Alice and her over the voice of a biking instructor both of them had mixed emotions about.

The Planet couldnt have cared less if three of its most faithful, most vigorous customers were all amiss at mid-life.

And so it was that Tinas days had eased into a slow, slogging pace; quite unlike her days at her house, when lounging had a certain urgency to it because pregnancy and a family prowled about the bend.

But in slowing her cart down, there was an awareness in every whiff of coffee, every straying mote of dust, every chime of utensil come hammering down slices of watermelon or kiwi. It was strange, it was new; it was so novel that it kept Tina busy. Alices apartment was sloughed with a mind wanting desperately to be preoccupied and actually achieving it.

Papers were strewn across desks, phone calls came in from the office. Oscar had the bad habit of calling at all the wrong hours, or all the right ones because he needed her for this, wanted her to do something about that. Alice complained that her machine was possessed by Speedy Gonzales and couldnt, for the life of her, stop spewing an accent that advocated change with every word.