“Alice,” Dana said, putting her mug down on the table and turning to face her friend. She leaned forward to cup Alice’s face gently with her hands, forcing her to meet her gaze while she spoke. “What happened to me wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; it just happened.” With her thumbs, she wiped away the tears that had spilled down Alice’s face. “Besides,” Dana added with a comforting smile, “I think your memory about that night is a little too selective. I distinctly remember you offering to stay with me more than once, and me forcing you to leave for your date.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have left you here by yourself,” Alice protested. “I should have stayed.”

“Ok, Alice, you’ve got to stop with the guilt,” Dana argued gently. “You’ve done more for me over the past few weeks than anyone. You were there for me in the hospital more than anyone else, more than my own family, even. I can only imagine how hard it must have been on you, but you never left. I never felt alone – not once during the entire time I was in the hospital. I always knew you were there.”

Dana paused, smiling through the tears that had sprung unexpectedly into her eyes. It was such a relief to be able to talk about all these feelings to Alice, after spending so long being incapacitated on a hospital bed, wishing she had the strength to express herself. She leaned forward and kissed Alice softly on the forehead, and breathed deeply as she felt Alice’s arms slide under the blanket covering her and encircle her waist.

Looking at Alice’s expectant face, Dana suddenly wanted to tell her everything that had been going through her mind, not only during her illness, but also before that, when they were just starting to find their way back to being friends again. She wanted Alice to know how much she had missed her, how much she still loved her, how much she wanted her back.

“Al, I –” Dana began, but she was almost immediately interrupted by her phone’s ill-timed ringing. Startled by the noise, both women pulled away from each other guiltily.

Sighing heavily, Dana grabbed the phone and muttered “hello?” into the receiver. “Oh, hi mom,” she said, rolling her eyes at Alice.

Alice smiled understandingly at Dana, trying desperately to hide the conflicting emotions battling in her mind. She was as frustrated by the interruption as Dana. It felt like a significant moment had just slipped by; and, as much as she wanted Dana to finish her interrupted thought, she knew they weren’t going to be able to pick up their talk where they had left off.

Getting up from the couch, Alice walked across the room to a shelf containing Dana’s dvd collection and began searching for a movie to watch together. Seeing a familiar title, she grabbed the dvd and turned to face Dana, holding up a copy of Armageddon with a questioning smile.

Dana grimaced at Alice when she saw the title and shook her head decisively. Laughing softly at Dana’s reaction, Alice shrugged and turned back to the shelf to continue her search.

As she stood listening to Dana’s side of the conversation with her mom, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. Although one moment might have slipped by this afternoon, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.

tbc