**

TBC

* Soundtrack: “Almost Blue” – Elvis Costello

**

PART 11

Day 41 after the accident – 12.28 a.m.

”What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song,
And I’ll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Oh I’m gonna try with a little help from my friends…”*

I can clearly see Carmen singing along, when they enter the Planet.
I put down my newspaper and wave at them.
“Yo! Double-M-Caravan, right here!”.
Shane gives me a fake homicidal look and gently pulls Carmen in our direction.
They’re hand in hand and I elbow Tasha.
“What?”. She asks, annoyed.
“There, there! Take a look!”, and I nod in their direction.
Tash gives a quick glance and then grimaces, taking a sip of her orange juice.
“You’re so nosey…”.
I open my mouth and pretend to be offended.
“Jeez! I’m not nosey! I’m just concerned about them, that’s all!”.
“What are you concerned about, Alice?” Carmen asks smiling, sitting down in front of me.
“But about you and Shane, of course!” I state, blinking.
Shane shakes her head and sighs. She has nothing to say. She knows me.
She sits beside Carmen and pats her hands on the table, rhythmically.
“So, what’s up?”.
“What’s up with us? What’s up with you!”, I exclaim surprised.
Carmen frowns, then her beautiful face relaxes in understanding.
“Aaw, I get it. You’re wondering why Shane and I go hand in hand”, she smiles. “Well, let’s just say I’m starting to understand why I married her…”. And she kisses Shane’s hand.
“I like this new you, Carmen! You seem much more inclined to share your things with me”.
“No, she’s not” Shane bursts in.
Carmen just shrugs.
“You know it, Alice… That little friend in my head makes me more instinctual sometimes”.
“I bet”, I laugh, “Pun intended”
“Oh come on Al, stop it…” Tasha says, slightly blushing.
“Where are the girls?” Shane asks. She’s inclined to change subject, on the other hand.
Puh.
“Uhm, Tina and Bette are going to be late, so we could start eating, I guess…” Tasha reports.
“I’m starving”. Carmen states.
She’s beaming. I can clearly feel an aura glowing all around her and I wonder what’s going on exactly.
I am not satisfied about what she told me about her and Shane. I wanna know more.
“Carmen, you look beautiful. You really do. Is there really nothing you should tell us, guys?”, I ask, in a more serious way.
Shane exchanges glances with her wife. She whispers something into her ear.
“Well… “ Shane clears her voice. “…This morning Carmen told me she feels like she’s starting to remember something”.
I widen my eyes. Tasha is motionless, mouth agape.
“Really?”.
“Yeah…” Carmen says, shyly.
“What do you remember?”, my girlfriend asks.
Carmen scratches the top of her head – where I know she’s been shot – and blinks, narrowing her eyes.
“I don’t remember anything clear, honestly. I have… I don’t know, I just have these fragments going on and off… And they bring to my mind moments of my old life, I guess. I think I’m starting to remember the time Shane and I truly spoke to each other about our feelings…And… A little something about Shane being bruised for no apparent reason…”.
Shane stares at the table, silent, as I give her a questioning look.
“Looks like a wonderful start” Tasha says, giving Carmen her most shining smile.
“I gotta go to the bathroom” Shane exclaims suddenly, standing up, “I’ll be right back”.
She gently kisses Carmen’s lips and starts walking through the lounge.
Her wife watches her as she disappear behind the toilette door. Then, she turns towards us, a worried, confused expression on her exotic face.
“Guys, there’s something else, but it’s probably crazy and I don’t want to scare Shane… So I’m gonna tell you first, maybe you can help me understand…”.
And she chuckles, uncomfortably.