“What does that mean?”

“I suspect they’ll have to re-insert the tube to drain spinal fluids.”  Helena lightly brushed the only hair on Tina’s head off her forehead.  “It’s fortunate that her hair hasn’t really grown in yet.”

“Is she in danger?” 

“I’m not certain.  Perhaps I should speak with Bette…”

“Helena, that’s not a good idea.  If you stick your nose in Tina’s health condition, Bette will rip you a new one.”

“I care about her, too, Alice.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Very well.  Then you speak with her.  Let me know?”

“Yeah, I will.”

Helena kissed Tina’s cheek, picked up her purse, and waved goodbye to Alice.   

* * * * * *

Alice thought Tina looked better than she had expected, but by no means did she look good.  Tina had lost weight and was remarkably pale.  Alice was sitting beside her in Tina’s private room and had been with her about forty minutes.  She had talked to her about Angelica, told her about how hard Bette was working to keep everything together, how Helena was becoming more tolerable, and that Shane and Carmen were really becoming the hot new couple in West Hollywood.

“You’re probably wondering what’s going on with me and Dana.  Tee, I don’t know.  I mean, things are good, then they’re terrible.  Ever since Lara started working at the Planet it’s like Dana is picking fights with me.  I mean, if we broke up….  God, I can’t even think about that happening.  You know what I mean?  She’s like my total other half and I don’t know what to do to make her feel that, too.  She used to.  I guess she did.  Whatever.  I don’t know.  Okay, do you know she accused me of spying on her and stalking her?  Stalking her?  Can you believe that?  I’m stalking Dana?  Please.”

Alice stared at Tina and accepted that Tina was not going to respond.  It was beneficial to the patient to be stimulated by talking, so Alice kept it going.

“You know what rocks, Tee?  This whole Earth Mother to Angelica thing.  I’m really into it.  I’ve been doing all sorts of research and reading about new products and stuff.  There are so many baby-related sites online.  That’s not to say that parenting is easy.  You know there are all these ways you can do it.  There’s this whole permissive thing where you just let the baby roam around doing self-discovery; then there’s this really kind of restrictive way of doing it.  You just stick the baby in her crib or playpen or something and ignore her.  Oh, yeah, that’s a great way to raise a future convict.  Am I right?  And, the one I kind of like is attachment parenting.  It’s so lez.  Bette’s already sort of doing it.  You carry the baby around with you all the time, let her stay close, don’t put her down, all for the bonding experience.  It might be a little too much.  What’s the baby going to do when she goes off to school?  Would the parents bring in a big girl’s desk so they could sit with her in class?”  Alice laughed.  “What I’m thinking is that there are really like a thousand stories here about parenting.  I’ve joined like ten forums and mailing lists already and am getting so much firsthand information.  I am so sure I could get a long-term freelance gig writing a series on parenting—what it’s like, the different types of parents, stuff like that.  I could probably milk that for six months at least.  And imagine all the free shit I can get from Gerber or Similac or Babies R Us for Angelica.  I think it’s a hot idea.”  Alice took a deep breath, her shoulders nearly touching her ears in a shrug.  She stared at Tina for a long time.  She really didn’t understand how this could be happening to Tina and Bette.  They had a new baby, they were falling in love again, and everything was working out.  So sad.