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Chapter 5

"I miss Bee," Lena mused sadly, staring at her two other best friends. Tibby and Carmen nodded sympathetically, leaning back into Lena's large leather couch. Tibby and Carmen had just arrived that morning, Tibby from Aspen where she had been filming her latest movie and Carmen from Maine where she lived with her husband and two little boys, Aaron and Lucas. The get-together had been planned for months; a reunion of sorts for the sisters, but with Bridget still out of whack with everything the reunion was much less sweet than had been anticipated. Carmen picked idly at a spot of dried paint that had spilled onto the couch. Tibby closed her eyes, trying to relax from her plane flight. Lena however wasn't about to give up.

"You guys don't know how bad she's gotten," Lena said matter-of-factly, setting a tray of lemonade down before her friends. Carmen reached down and grabbed a glass, swigging down half of it before turning to Lena.

"She can't be any worse than the last time we saw her," Carmen said, recalling how different Bridget had been. It was right after Julie was born and Bridget and Eric had taken her home from the hospital. The girls had planned a welcome home party for Bee and the baby but Bridget hadn't even come out of the car. She refused to enter the house until Eric had cleared the girls out and torn down all the decorations. When Carmen and Tibby had gone to ask Bridget about her sudden lack of enthusiasm Bridget had locked them out of the car, closing her eyes until they were all gone. The event had taken place close to a year ago but the hurt that Carmen and Tibby had suffered still lingered like it had been the night before. Lena on the other hand refused to give up on Bridget. She was after all their sister.

"She's sunk really low you guys. She doesn't leave the house, she won't talk to me, and she hardly eats at all anymore. Eric says she won't even look at Julie. Something is seriously wrong with her!" Carmen rubbed her eyes, the full effects of the red eye flight finally taking its toll.

"What can we do for her? She's pushed away everyone!" Carmen pointed out wearily. She too was worried for her best friend but their options of "saving" her were quickly running low. Lena shrugged, flopping heavily into a chair.

"I don't know. We could stage an intervention or something. Eric said that the other day he pressed her about something he found and she got really fired up. Almost like her old self. Maybe we could do that too!" Lena suggested. Tibby looked at her friends cynically. Didn't they understand? Picking on Bridget wouldn't help any! She didn't need someone to criticize her; she needed to see what she was doing to herself! Lena stood, pacing nervously around the living room. She had so much on her mind it was driving her crazy. Between Bridget and Eric's problems, the kids, her own parents, her husband and her career she barely felt like she had time to breathe, much less fix everything! Carmen and Tibby watched Lena with concern. After nearly three decades of friendship they had become attune to each other's vibes and Lena's definitely were out of whack.

"Maybe we should just think about this in the morning," Carmen suggested, noting how exhausted she really was. Tibby and Lena nodded in agreement, glad for the distraction. Although all of them loved Bridget they were all too tired to think clearly.

"Okay, so in regards to Bridget," Lena began as soon as Carmen and Tibby had sat down to breakfast. In the interest of time and money both Tibby and Carmen had decided against heading out to a hotel and had chosen instead to crash on Lena's couch—a choice that they had come to regret. Besides fighting over covers all night, the two had been awoken at some ungodly hour by Lena's vacuuming, then the sounds of her bathing and feeding the twins and finally her getting her oldest ready for school. When it finally seemed as though they would have some free time Lena had started cooking breakfast and all the sounds had started all over again. "I think we should consider the whole intervention thing." Tibby and Carmen laughed lightly.

"And what, pray tell, did you have in mind?" Tibby asked, spreading a generous portion of jelly across her toast. Lena set down the grapefruit she had been picking at and folded her hands carefully. She looked like she was ready to give a speech and knowing Lena she probably had one written out. Lord knows she had the time, Tibby thought with a smirk, wondering exactly how early Lena had gotten up.

"I think we should do sort of a group attack. All head over there and just sit her down and force her to listen to us. We won't let her shrink under the covers or bury herself in a TV show." Lena said with determination. Carmen nodded, warming up to the idea.

"And we could talk to how we miss her and everything. Remind her of the fun we used to have. That will have to bring her out of her funk!" Carmen added. Lena nodded approvingly. For a minute Carmen and Lena continued their planning, until they realized one very important person was missing from their discussion. The two stared at Tibby, questioning her silence.

"What's wrong Tibbs?" Lena pressed softly, staring at her friend. Tibby sighed as if wondering whether or not to share her thoughts. Finally though, she looked up to her friends.

"Did you guys ever think that maybe Bridget has a problem? Like something medical. Maybe she just hasn't shut down for no reason. Maybe she's afraid of something, or maybe she's suffering some post-pregnancy thing." Tibby offered. The other two girls fell silent, considering over this new idea.

"It did all start to happen around the time she got pregnant with Julie." Lena said quietly. Carmen and Tibby nodded in agreement. The three of them fell silent for a while, mulling over options. Finally Carmen spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen between the sisters.

"So what do we do?" For once in their lives, no one had anything to say.