(A Week Later)
It felt weird for Carmen to hide her life away from her mom again. She thought that this part of her life was over, but apparently not. She was on her iPhone texting Shane, marked as ' 3 S 3' when she went to her room, running into her brother. Her older sister followed close behind. She smiled as she caught her sister.
"Hey, Carm. Who're you texting?" Rosa asked.
"You shouldn't pry into other people's lives, Rosa." Carmen scolded.
"I'm your sister. It's my job." She said grabbing Carmen's phone.
"Heart 'S' heart? Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Most definitely not."
"Yeah, forgot about the whole gay thing."
Carmen smiled and grabbed her phone. "Thank you, Rosa."
Carmen closed her phone and progressed to pick out a nice outfit. She settled on a pair of nice black skinny jeans and a cute t-shirt that said some obscure reference to a rock band. She looked at her phone, 3:57. She put her phone away and went to check on her 5-year-old niece Amelia. She was outside with her older brother playing some game. She smiled and stood in the doorway. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, Kit was calling, so Carmen knew she had to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Carmen it's Kit."
"Oh hey. How are you?"
"Great. I just wanted to let you know that you can come to work at 11 this Friday. I'm having a band play at HIT."
"Cool. Who are they?"
"A band called AFI."
"I love AFI. How'd you get them?"
"They were passing through town."
"That's awesome. Good for you, Kit."
"Thanks. Just wanted to let you know. Bye baby girl."
Carmen ended the call and put her phone back in her pocket. She looked back up to her brother and niece before returning to her room. Rosa was in the kitchen talking with Abuelita who was getting dinner ready. Rosa spotted her sister and walked over to her.
In a hushed tone, she said, "I know about you and Shane."
"That I'm hanging out with her?"
"If that's what you want to call it, but even I know that there's more going on."
"Nothing more than friendship, Rosa."
"Yeah right." She scoffed.
As Carmen's phone rang, Rosa grabbed it, turning her back to her sister as she read the text.
"From 3S3: meeting my place 6. T and Bette are here. Maybe pokr :*"
"Rosa!" Carmen huffed grabbing the phone. "Get out of my business. Jesus. You are 36 years old and you act like a fucking 11-year-old. All of you do. I have no privacy anymore." She continued storming off to their room.
Carmen rolled her eyes and grabbed her wallet from the curio before escaping out the door.
"Carm, where are you going?"
"Away from here, I just need some space, okay?" She called back getting into her truck and leaving.
She rolled her eyes and headed to The Planet where she knew at least Kit was working. As she parked in the front lot, Carmen could see Helena running outside the establishment in workout shorts and a tank top. Carmen got out of her car and waved at her. Helena jogged to her and smiled.
"Hey," She greeted.
"How's it going?"
"Quite well. I'm actually just finishing a quick workout and checking in on Kit. You know Tina and Bette are back?"
"Yeah, Shane texted me."
"Ahh…" Helena smirked.
"Yes, we're dating." Carmen huffed, rolling her eyes. "Did Alice tell you?"
"No, I was just guessing by the way you guys looked at each other yesterday. And how you kissed her on the cheek and sat on her lap. You know, couple things."
Helena chuckled and walked in, holding the door open for Carmen. She walked to the office in the back of The Planet while Carmen continued out where Tina, Bette, and Alice were sitting. She put her hand on Tina's shoulder and as the three women laughed.
"Hey ladies, anyone know where I can find the nearest adult softball league?" She asked.
Tina turned around to looked up with a large smile. "Carmen!"
"Hey, lovely ladies." Carmen smiled.
"Carmen!" Tina exclaimed, standing up to hug her. "Oh my god, how long has it been?"
"Too long," Carmen chuckled, "how is Angelica doing?"
"Great! She's turning 7 in August."
"Oh wow," She smiled putting her hand over her heart and sat down between Bette and Alice. "How about New York?"
"Good, very different, but I take the good with the bad." Bette shrugged. "Everything is very fast paced and the public transportation system is even better than San Francisco."
"What about you?" Tina asked.
"I'm working at HIT now and Shane and I are on talking terms." Carmen nodded. Alice coughed and sipped her tea. "Okay, a bit more than talking terms then."
"So you two are dating?"
"Yeah. About a week now. We're taking it slow and steady."
"Really?" Bette asked.
"Okay, slow and steady my ass. Those two almost fucked on the pool deck last week." Alice cut in.
"Real-"
"Yeah. We did." Carmen shrugged, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what brings you, ladies, back to L.A.?"
"I have to confirm a traveling collection before we send it to the MOCA." Bette explained, sipping from her cup."
"How long are you staying?"
"Just for three days. I'm meeting with the curator tomorrow at noon so I have a lot of time."
"Hey, Carmen!" A voice called over the low chatter.
Carmen turned around to see Ajax standing by the counter with a pastry. She neared the group and greeted Alice.
"Hey, you two must be Bette and Tina."
"Yes." Tina smiled reaching over to shake Ajax's hand.
"I'm Ajax, Shane's roommate."
"You're the famous Ajax."
"Yeah, she's like a modern Shane." Alice joked.
"Hey, Jax, can I hitch a ride back home with you?"
"Oh yeah, but Shane's still at her salon."
"Oh, then I'll go see her there then."
"Okay."
"Ajax, come, sit down." Bette smiled waving her over.
"I'll see you, ladies, around." Carmen sighed going back to her car.
She drove to the same old skate shop they all once watched Dana play on that tiny TV. It was one of her last game, if not her last one. Carmen thought back for a moment all of the fun the old group had. Between the laughter were tears and revelations. Carmen walked to the back of the shop and knocked on the door.
"Shane?"
"Come in." The smooth voice greeted.
"Hey."
Shane turned around and smiled, going over to her. She clasped her hands behind Carmen's neck and pulled her into a kiss.
"Perfect timing, I'm between appointments. What's up?"
"Just checking up on you."
"Mmm… sure." Shane nodded, furrowing her brows.
"Fine, I was wondering if I could stay at your place for a while?"
Shane sat down on the chair and patted her lap. Carmen sat down, swinging her legs over the chair's arm.
"What happened?"
"My sister has just been prying into my life too much. I just want to have time away from them." Carmen sighed.
"Well, I don't think Jax will mind." She shrugged.
Carmen smiled and pecked Shane's cheek, taking a moment to look around the room. "While I'm here, do you want help cleaning up?"
"Sure." Shane sighed.
Carmen slid off her lap and grabbed a broom quickly sweeping up the hair that littered the ground. She patiently waited and watched as Shane cut her customer's hair. It was like watching a sculptor. She just looked at her work and fixed it before turning them around to face the mirror. Carmen noticed, for the first time, the small smile that graced the corners of her lips as she watched her client's reaction. The teen boy she was working on combed his hands through his auburn hair and smiled, taking money out of his wallet and paying Shane her tip.
"I just have one more appointment and we can go home." Shane sighed.
"When is it?"
Shane glanced at the old wall clock. "In 10 minutes."
Carmen put the broom away and rested against the far wall of the room. Shane finished cleaning off her tools and glanced at Carmen.
"Do you remember when we found out Kit was going through menopause?" She chuckled.
"Yeah, you already done with your dirty-thirties?"
"Never got out of my twisted-twenties," Shane joked. "I just meant in The Planet when we came up with 'empowering' words for vagina."
"Oh my god, yeah!" Carmen laughed. "Who the hell called it 'yoni'?"
"I think it was Tina or Bette." Shane cackled, nearing her.
Carmen reached out for Shane's hands and pulled herself close. "You know, I think about that day, all the time."
"When I abandoned you?" She sighed resting next to her against the wall.
"Not that. I was thinking about that morning you pushed me away."
Shane glanced at Carmen with a puzzled look glazed across her face.
"That was when I felt you slipping away." Carmen confided.
"This time, I won't."
Shane kissed her girlfriend's palm. Carmen placed her hands on either side of her shoulders, pressed against the wall to trap her.
Shane wrapped her hand around her Carmen's neck and pulled her into a kiss.
She looked down at her watch and pulled away.
"Client in five, Carm."
"Who says they won't like it?" She joked.
Shane rolled her eyes and smirked as she prepared for her final customer.
Shane opened the door for Carmen. They walked in on the whole crew playing poker at the table. Bette and Tina were sitting side by side drinking wine while Kit was leaning against the couch talking to Tasha. Alice was shuffling the cards when Jade walked in with a glass of water and beer. She sat back down at the coffee table and handed the beer to Alice.
"You a light-weight?" She asked Jade.
"Hey don't make fun of my girl, she just can't drink a lot or she's out." They heard Ajax retort from the kitchen.
Shane looked at Carmen and shrugged. She sat down next to Alice as she dealt the cards, grabbing a handful of the currency they were using.
"Hey, how's it been!" Alice asked.
"Great. I got some time with Carm and now I'm here."
"So you guys are official, right?" Kit asked.
Shane looked at Carmen, who was in a deep conversation with Jade. "Yeah."
"That's great." Tasha smiled in response.
"Anyone else here?"
"Helena," Ajax answered holding a bowl of chips and salsa.
"How's the night been?"
"Well, Tash, Jax, and Helena are out."
"What about you?"
"I thought you guys would need adult supervision." She smirked.
"Yeah, we might."
Shane took her cards and joined in with the rest. They continued to play for an hour until just Bette and Jade were at the table. Kit had left well before that, and Helena was plastered even before that. She was passed out in front of the stereo while they finished their game. Shane helped Jax clean up the party while Carmen caught up with the others, taking time to explain the situation with their new temporary roommate.
"So she's staying here?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"I don't know."
"Okay." Jax nodded cleaning the salsa bowl.
"So you're fine?"
"Yeah, unless you don't want me to be fine."
"I want you to be fine."
"Good because I like Carm. She's perfect for our group."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm the nerd, you're the stud, Alice is the gossip, Tasha's the rock, Kit's the mother figure, Helena's the rich one, and Carmen's the girl next door."
"You've really taken time to think this through."
"Yeah." She chuckled, "What was it like before I was in your group?"
"Well Jenny was the girl next door, Dana was the jock/ rock for Alice, Bette was the rich with connections and Tina was the kind one. Before Kit was here, we had Marina. She was quiet but funny as hell. We all loved her." Shane sighed. "Let's get some blankets. I don't think anyone else is leaving."
"Okay."
They tossed the spare blankets and sleeping bags to anyone who wanted one. Tina slept on one side of the couch while Alice set up on the other side. Bette kept the couch near the door to herself, but The propped Helena against it. Carmen took the sofa while the rest stayed on the ground. Shane looked up at Alice, smiling.
"The last we did this-" She began.
"Don't even, I'm about to laugh my fucking ass off."
"It's funny as hell!"
"I know!" She said through quiet giggles.
Alice covered her face and laughed into her hands. Tina turned to them.
"You guys talking about when Dana and Laura boned here?"
"Yeah!" They both laughed, just cackling until Alice fell on the floor.
Tina smiled and watched them. "And that crazy girl was calling me."
"Man, Bette was 'bout ready to shank her." Alice smiled.
"Yeah, I was. No one threatens my wife's life." Bette jumped in.
"Oh my god, that was the best."
"Hell yeah." Shane agreed.