#95: Zoe and Lana's Day at the Pool

Derek and Kelly came over to see the baby that evening.

"Here he is!" Dude said proudly, lifting Daedelus out of his bassinet.

"Oh, my word!" Kelly whispered with delight.  "May I hold him???"

"Oh, what a little sweetheart you are," she cooed.

She kissed the baby's head.  "And you smell so wonderful!"

"Where's Alice?" Derek asked Dude.

"Asleep," Dude replied.  "She's exhausted--she was in labor for like 9 hours!"

"Ohhhhh, but it was worth it!" Kelly said, cradling Daedelus.

______________

Late next morning, Lana was making herself some mac and cheese, in the short-term rental she had gotten in Oasis Springs, in hope of finding a job.

"Declan!" she hollered.  "Turn down the fucking stereo!!!"

There was no change in the volume of the music.

'Asshole,' she muttered.

She finished her lunch.  "I'm going out!" she yelled.

She didn't care if he'd heard her or not.

_______________

Zoe was having her coffee out on the patio.

With Rafael still away, re-shooting a scene from his soap opera, Zoe had invited Lana over for the day.

'I really don't have any friends in this town,' she had realized.

Lana arrived at the house, and was awestruck.

Zoe greeted her at the door.

"OMG, this place is AMAZING!!!" Lana said.

'Interesting outfit,' Zoe thought.

"Lucky you--getting to live here!" Lana said admiringly, as she sat down at the bar.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I understand what 'the deal' is yet," Zoe said.

They took their drinks outside on the patio.

"Well, you're sure doing a lot better with men than me," Lana observed.

"My current about-to-be-an-ex boyfriend is a complete asshole."

"Oh, I don't know that I'm necessarily doing much better--at least not yet," Zoe retorted.  "Rafael's still in the process of getting a divorce--SUPPOSEDLY--and my last boyfriend knocked up some fat chick WHILE HE WAS DATING ME."

"That's rough," Lana agreed.  "All MY last boyfriend did was just disappear--didn't return my phonecalls or texts or emails.  And now I find out he just married someone else--some little 'Suzy Homemaker' type," she said bitterly.

Zoe and Lana went on bitching about the men in their lives.

"I'm getting hungry," Zoe announced.  "I'm going to get some food delivered."

"You're KIDDING--with THAT kitchen?" Lana asked.  "I can cook--I'm not great, but I'm decent.  Are there ingredients here?"

"I have no idea," Zoe admitted.  "I've never tried to cook here.  Mostly because I've never learned to cook.  All I know how to do is make coffee."

_______________

Lana searched through the refrigerator.  "There's lots of good stuff in here," she commented.

"Good to know," Zoe said.  'If I ever have any interest in cooking, which I probably WON'T,' she thought.  "I'm going to make us a couple more drinks," she told Lana.

Zoe made a couple of Sweet & Spicy cocktails,

while Lana made Fish Tacos.

_______________

"This is FABULOUS!" Zoe exclaimed.  "I bet Rafael would LOVE it!"

"Thanks!"  Lana was very pleased at the compliment.  "It wasn't too hard to figure out--these were the ingredients he had on hand."

_______________

They sat down near the pool.  "That's a really pretty swimsuit," Lana told Zoe.

"Thanks," Zoe said.  "I bought it because I liked it, but I think it's not 'hot enough' for Rafael, so I haven't bothered wearing it for him."

"But it's really CLASSY," Lana said.  "I figured a guy who owns THIS house would appreciate classy."

Zoe snorted.  "Believe me--Rafael would prefer me naked out here.  But no way I'm going to do it--I mean, seriously--look at all these pervs walking by."

"Yeah, I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to be naked in front of them," Lana agreed.  "Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing."

The girls both fell asleep in the late afternoon sun, somewhat tipsy.

Lana had taken her top off, because she didn't want tan lines.