“Carmen, calm down.”

Carmen turned to Shane, furious that she would say that.

“Fine.  But you know it, Shane.  You know he follows you.”  Carmen was beyond annoyed and all of the morning cuddling and lovemaking were forgotten.  “Maybe you like it.  I’m sick of it.”  She turned on her heels and left the kitchen for the bedroom, leaving Mark and Shane.

Mark looked at Shane and plainly stated, “I’m not stalking you.  I want to be your friend.”

“We are.  But Carmen is my girlfriend.”

Mark laughed.  He placed his hands on his thighs and bent over to laugh harder, then he looked up at her.  “Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?  I mean, really, Shane.  No one woman is ever going to be enough for you.  You and Carmen might last out the month, but…”

“Stop it, Mark.”

He didn’t like Carmen.  Shane would be better off without that controlling bitch.  “You act like her pussy’s golden.”

This time it was Shane who got in his face.  “You’re really close to crossing that line.  Watch it, man.”

* * * * *

Helena was seated next to Tina’s bed when Alice walked in.  Alice stood at the door, not wanting to intrude, but Helena looked up.

“Come in, Alice.  I was just saying goodbye.”

“How’s she doing?”   Alice sauntered in and stood at the foot of the bed looking up at Tina. 

“I spoke with the specialists assigned to her case.  They had nothing to tell me until I gave them a sizeable donation.  They’ve become quite cooperative.  Anyway, her blood pressure has been mostly under control, but it’s peaked a few times, not much, but enough for them to worry about additional brain swelling.”

“What does that mean?”

“I suspect they’ll have to re-insert the tube to drain spinal fluids.”  Helena lightly brushed the only hair on Tina’s head off her forehead.  “It’s fortunate that her hair hasn’t really grown in yet.”

“Is she in danger?” 

“I’m not certain.  Perhaps I should speak with Bette…”

“Helena, that’s not a good idea.  If you stick your nose in Tina’s health condition, Bette will rip you a new one.”

“I care about her, too, Alice.”

“That’s not the point.”