“Bye”

“Bye yourself” Alice slammed down the phone—unaware that her farewell had made no sense and suddenly filled with a hate of her apartment

“Fuck I’ve got to get outside”

It was now 11 o’clock at The Planet and anyone with a job had long abandoned The Planet leaving a mixed bag of the unemployed; the unemployed freelance writers; the independently wealthy; the entrepreneurs; the pregnant; he new mothers; and the bar tenders. All in all it wasn’t exactly Alice’s scene so she pulled up a stool at the counter and talked to Kit between coffee orders.

“I mean she’s just so…” Alice paused for thought

“So fucking military”

“That’s who she is baby-girl and you love her for that” Kit tried to play the voice of reason as she handed over another café-latte to a pregnant lesbian.

“Not when she’s doing her commando thing and blocking me out like this”

“Alice some girls just ain’t down for talking about all that shit”

“Kit,” Alice lowered her gaze ready for the full explanation of why the situation truly pissed her off

“It’s not like this is some paltry little sex problem and I’m whining about how things aren’t perfect—we’re actually not even talking; we’re not even seeing each other to not talk. It’s grade-a fucking bullshit!”

“Then don’t take it” interrupted a surprise, though vaguely familiar voice.

Both Alice and Kit jumped as Eve made her presence known

“I’ll just take a café-crème,” she explained to Kit, before offering a smile to the still flabbergasted Alice.

“Oh, hey there” managed Alice with an awkward croak in her throat

“Hi”

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Oh, yeah…” Eve darted her eyes about nervously and whisked her fringe to the side “Think sex problem was probably my entrance line”

“It’s not a sex problem,” blurted Alice abruptly, before easing her nerves and continuing

“Did you get that?” Eve nodded, a glint of amusement in her eyes

“I don’t need bad press spreading through West Hollywood”

By now Eve was in a full grin as she observed Alice’s antics

“What coffee are you up to there?”

“Five” barked back Alice, missing the point of the question initially and then realising

“Yeah” she muttered into her brownie

“So how bout you and Lex, and sex problems there?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well it seems fair…” Alice frowned

“You know even up the playing field and all that”

“Is this a pod cast?” teased Eve

“Cute” replied Alice- her demeanour reminiscent of a disgruntled Shane

“So what is it that you do anyway?” she knew the answer, but also had the presence of mind to know she knew it from her extensive research not actual conversation

“Cartoonist”

“Comics?”

“Politics” corrected Eve

“So what” Alice threw her hand up and slapped her thigh

“You sit around all day drawing little Bush and Schwarzenegger”

“In a nutshell” winked Eve as Kit passed her, her coffee.

“And you’re at The Planet during the middle of the day…”

“Coffee break” replied Eve curtly, though without aggravation

“Which is fast ending, so I’d better get home and fax all this off but you’re coming Friday, right?”

“Yes I am” nodded Alice as Eve stepped away with a smile and walked out the door.

Kit watched the toned Eve leave

“What’s dat all about?”

“Urgh… Nothing” mumbled Alice into her now cold coffee

“Could I grab another?”