The blonde woman – Cherie? – was staring at her, her arms folded. She only wore a white silk robe and her hair was wild. She looked tired but, somehow, extremely satisfied. Carmen noticed the small grin on her face – like she had been expecting her – and pursed her lips, inhaling a long, calming breath.

The car keys spun on her fingers and she moved away a strand of hair, then started walking toward the house. Cherie Jaffe lifted her chin and watched her as if she was some piece of dog shit abandoned on the sand. Then, she opened the glass door and walked across the terrace. She disappeared from Carmen’s view from a fistful of seconds, just to reappear, towering over her, her elbows resting on the railings.

Carmen looked up and something into her eyes told Cherie that she hadn’t to mess around with her.

“Where is she?”, Carmen asked, flatly. She was so tired to fight. That night seemed to have no end.

Cherie tilted her head to a side, looking down, and seemed frankly amused for a moment.

“Who are you talking about? And who are you, by the way?”.

Carmen pushed the car keys deeply inside her hip pocket and scoffed, bitterly.

“Look, just tell me where is Shane and I’ll leave. With her”.

”It’s been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong?
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they’d only remind me of you
went to the doctor guess what he told me
Guess what he told me?
He said, girl, you better have fun
No matter what you do
But he’s a fool …
‘Cause nothing compares …
Nothing compares to you …”

Cherie placed her chin on her palm and narrowed her blue eyes.

“Oh, Let me guess… You must be… Carmen”, she suggested, disdain clear in her voice.

Carmen blinked her eyelids. Once, just once. The expression on her face was becoming more and more serious and she felt no desire to joke. At all.

She cleared her throat.

“Let’s see… I could go back to my car and push the gas pedal in your direction, you know? I mean, I could just burst into your fucking beach house with my fucking car. It works for me. Does it work for you, too, or you are telling me where the fuck Shane is? In any event, I’m not leaving without her”.