“Oh please, sour puss. You don’t have anything that I haven’t seen, touched, or want. You’re old hat.” I scoff, she scoffs back and folds her arms.

“You’re such a brat.” I say smiling at her. “Fine.” I tell her and she leans back casually while I pick something out to wear.

“You know Bette, you two need to do something about what’s happening. It’s pretty obvious to anyone paying a little bit of attention that you and Tina have feelings for one another.”

“Really, Alice. What do you want me to say? She’s with Eric. I’m with Grace.”

“Yeah, but Bette, no one is married here. No one is promised to anyone. You guys can break up with the people you’re with.”

“It’s not that simple Alice.”

“ok.”

“Besides. What happened last time, with the glass throwing, the car kicking, and the fleeing, I just don’t think anyone is ready to relive any of the fireworks of last time Tina and I did something about being together.”

“So you do want to be with her?”

“I don’t know.” I say a little too quickly. “I mean, no. Tina and I are friends.”

“Huh. I can’t seem to find a delicate way to put this. I know. Bullshit, Porter.”

“Oh, Alice.” I respond rubbing my temples. She has a point. But what I said is also what I feel to be true. Tina and I jumping back into a relationship would make last time seem like a walk in the park.

“OK. Fine. But I know what I see when the two of you are together. You too need at least some space to talk without the two that both of you are currently screwing, literally and figuratively, helicopter parenting over all of your interactions.”

“Maybe. But that seems unlikely.”

“Alright. Well, that’s all of the advice I got in me today. You are exhausting and your brother’s an ass. But I love you both. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going somewhere where people aren’t brooding. If you need me…”

“No, thank you, please.” I respond disinterested just to get a rise out of her.

“IF you decide that the beach isn’t enough, ass. I’ll be at The Planet. Adios.”

After a few minutes of silence. Alice had gone and I spotted Eric by the pool in the back, I decided to continue with my original plan. So I grabbed my keys and headed for the beach. But instead of just relaxing, letting the long work day roll off of my shoulders, I wanted to spend the time trying to figure out how to work things out with Tina and maintain some peace in our houses. It was a tall order, but something had to be done.