Ally stood behind Bill and just stared. Bill turned to Allison and smiled sheepishly, ‘I didn’t know what you liked, and I wanted to get you lunch....’ Ally laughed out loud and hugged him, for just a moment. She wasn’t used to this kind of extravagance. They moved to the kitchen and set the table. Ally added a pitcher of her specially brewed orange spice iced tea and glasses of ice. They sat together, sampling the smorgasbord, talking easily about so many subjects. Neither could remember ever. "Hi," you reply. An awkward silence follows, filled only by stripping music."So, do you, you know, live ... here?" She gestures around the apartment."Yeah. He," pointing at Jack, "Is my roommate." And is one of these others your ... boyfriend?" What? No, no, no, NO! I'm a lesbian, through and through. Can't get enough pussy, yep. I mean, I would never, uh..." You stop when you realize you're babbling. Then the stripper begins to giggle, and so do you. Soon you both are laughing, not really. She’d tried and had spent a fortune on IVF that didn’t work. Tough she might be but, like so many, this was an emotional Achilles Heel for her. “That bitch, Crowland.” Crowland was the only other woman in the race. “She’s going to say that you objected to the Health Service providing IVF and that shows you don’t give a fuck about the public who, unlike you, cannot afford to pay for it. She’s also going to say that without kids how can you possibly understand the needs of, for example, working. " Oh, I got this so you wouldn't have to worry about it coming off." Is it permanent?" Wouldn't that be nice? It's just long wearing. You'll need to use soapif you want to take it off."She sshhed me, had me part my lips, and pulled the applicator acrossthem. When she was done, they were a deep burgundy red.She glued false nails to mine and colored them in the same shade."Oh, I've just had an idea. We really should have done this first, butit'll be okay," Emma said, then plugged in her curling.