The property had several tennis courts, basketball courts, and playing fields for soccer, as well as some space that Helena wanted to install a pool in eventually. I wasn’t able to help very much with all the organizing, but she had me come in some days anyway to talk over the plans for the future, including me teaching the kids tennis. Honestly I think it was nothing more than an excuse for her to have someone to talk to; Dylan was so often off working on films since she’d reappeared that Helena seemed lonely.

We had fun. She wouldn’t let me do anything too strenuous, although by that time I was perfectly fine. Still, I was allowed to get my hands dirty sometimes, which I loved. Helena appeared to love it too; she was usually in a hard hat and a dust mask right alongside the construction workers.

She’s wanted to hire an interior designer, but Bette and Tina helped her with it a lot, as did Alice, Jenny and I. Helena didn’t really need a ton of help; she had a really good eye for design and the place came together pretty well. The group of us usually wound up there quite a bit, especially after Helena got some sofas and chairs and tables in there. Al would bring the kids over to visit us, and usually she and I would take them to the park on our way home.

I was still doing my speaking engagements for tennis, and working with a physical trainer. I didn’t think I could play any longer and was fine with that, but I still wanted to be in good shape to hit a few balls around at charity tournaments. That, and I really missed the discipline of having an athlete’s training regimen. I had a lot of self control and still ate well, especially considering the fact that I lived with Alice, and I still exercised for at least an hour a day on my own. Still, I liked having that extra push. Going to the trainer really helped to improve my mood as well as my health.

I was still travelling a little for the engagements, and that meant that there were usually at least a few days a month that I was out of town. I’d come home and the house would be a mess. It wasn’t exactly in shambles, since Alice cleaned up after herself and the kids well, but when I wasn’t there to help her she let a lot of it go. That was mostly because she wanted to spend time with the kids instead of cleaning all day. Usually, I’d come home to find them in our yard, or a note on the counter saying she’d taken them to Bette and Tina’s or to Shane and Jenny’s. From infancy Charlie had been fascinated by Jenny’s flower garden, and I’d often find him crawling around over there looking for bugs or something like that while everyone else sat on the porch. Kallie usually had toy trucks or dolls with her and she’d generally play quietly by herself or with Angelica, but Charlie was constantly off in the garden and never liked to sit around with the women.