Still, if it hadn’t been for Bette’s help, I was worried that Al might still have the enormous lime-green sofa she’d had since we’d first become friends. Then again, she seemed to have calmed down a little over the years we’d been friends, but I could never be sure. I hoped when we went shopping she’d be all right with earth tones or something. Not that I minded color, but I really didn’t want to buy a bright red couch.

“I hate furniture shopping! I’ll go with you, but don’t ask me to pick anything out. I’m really bad at that kinda thing, Dana,” she said with an air of self-deprecation, and all I wanted to do was hug her.

“It’s fine…we’ll go look, and see if there’s anything we like, okay? It’s not like we have to buy the first thing we see,” I told her, trying to calm her down. She really sounded down on herself, and I hated that I’d made her feel that way over some fucking couches and chairs.

“Shane built my bed.”

“That’s…great, but it’s a little random, Al,” I replied, completely stupefied as to why she saw fit to tell me that.

“No, I just mean that she’s really good at that kinda thing. Like, I ordered the plans and the wood for it, but I couldn’t figure it out. Shane came over and built it for me, but she didn’t like the wood they sent me so she went to some guy’s woodshop and made me a real one. So maybe she could help us or something, I dunno…”

“Well, why don’t we just move the bed we have now? Shane managed to get it in there, we have to be able to get it out, right?” I asked, trying to picture asking Shane to build us a bed and failing miserably.

“Yeah, I guess,” Alice mumbled. “Sorry, baby. I just really miss you. This is really pathetic.”

“I’ll be home before too long, Al. I promise.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you. And I hate my job, too,” she muttered.

“I miss you too, sweetie. I hate to do this to you, but I’d better get going. I have to be up pretty early tomorrow,” I said resignedly. The last thing I wanted to do was stop talking to her, but I really did have to be up early. I didn’t want to go on national television with dark circles under my eyes from talking to Al all night. I knew she could do it, too…being an insomniac like she was, we’d had quite a few conversations late at night. While it sounded appealing, I knew I’d pay for it the next day.