“Tina, don’t beat yourself up. It’s not sick nor wrong. And maybe he is the one, not Erick. Who is he?”

             ”I can’t tell you.”

 “Married?” Tina just shook her head. “Bad guy?” Another shook. “I gave up. It doesn’t matter. What are you gonna do now?”

             “Forget it? Stay away? I don’t know.”

             “Don’t run away Tina. Face your feelings. Later. Now head on my lap. When  was the last time I helped you to fall asleep. I owe one.” 

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           After the talk with Abby, Tina felt a bit relieved. It also happened that the work had been completely hectic on Tuesday, which added with the lack of enough sleep, led her to a nice night of rest on Tuesday.  So Wednesday she was feeling herself again. And late afternoon, Alice went to see her at Alphaville and then they left for the restaurant. Tina was really enjoying this new friendship. They talked about a lot about  different subjects. That was distracting Tina for her personal turmoil, but she knew that Alice was the perfect person for her to try understand Bette Porter. So when Alice started to ask more personal questions that she felt pretty comfortable to answer, once she felt like she knew Alice for a long time, she saw there her opportunity to dig some answers too.

             “So, Tina, how long have you been dating Erick?”

             “Almost one year.”

             “So, it’s serious, isn’t it?”

             “Yes, we talked about move in together. My roommate will be moving to New York in a few months to get married. Maybe then I’m gonna move in to Erick’s place.”

             Both women stayed silent for a moment, distracted with their foods. Alice was digesting the information about Tina’s relationship and Tina was gathering courage to interrogate Alice.

             “Alice, can I ask you a personal question.”

             “Of course, after I told you about my mother, nothing can be embarrassing to talk about.”

             “Are you and Bette Porter a couple?”

             Alice smirked at the question ‘Finally the crucial matter. And she was the one who started it.’

             “No, you’re not a couple.”

             Tina felt embarrassed of assuming this. Did her offended Alice?