Helena felt a wave of compassion. Without Tina and Angelica, Bette was the same lost person Helena had met years ago. “I’m sure that Tina will contact you in the morning.”

“I don’t care.” Bette muttered. “She doesn’t believe in me.”

“She does, she’s just…” Helena faltered. “Overwhelmed, I imagine.”

Bette shook her head and got to her feet. The remaining half bottle of wine between them was brought to the pool. Helena quickly opened the fridge and rummaged around for a bottle of water.

“Not tired?” Helena asked Bette timidly, stepping out onto the stone that framed the pool. 

“No.” Bette replied.

Still, by morning, the sun—and Alice—found Bette and Helena asleep in the lounge chairs by the pool. Helena was the first to acknowledge their friend’s presence. Beside her, Bette jolted awake.

Alice’s face was tear stained. Looking at her then, Helena could not understand how anybody could think Alice responsible for Jenny’s death.

“Max made breakfast.” Alice sniffled, swinging her sweater-covered hands toward the house.

Bette shot a sheepish look at Helena and indicated that she should lead the way.

Two Months Later…

The City was hot and endless. Alice was in need of a visit, so Helena spent an hour in the same concrete prison that had once held her own dreams in check. Alice had not yet been tried for any crime, and Helena’s lawyers were becoming certain that any day now, they might force the D.A. to admit that they had absolutely no case against the person hastily chosen to take the fall for Jenny’s death.

Leaving the jail, Helena felt anchorless in a sea of chaotic ambition. They were in the midst of a heat wave and just that morning, Helena had read fearful predictions about radiation all along Western coastal areas. Helena began to entertain notions of returning to more central areas—land locked places where she might escape for awhile.

She did not know what to expect of her life any longer. Should she even stay in L.A.? Her businesses would survive her absence. Kit could hire somebody to replace Helena’s labor and Helena could manage the accounts at a distance.