Cybill winced in sympathy. Said, as Jude turned onto his back, “Great, now he’s going to get splinters in his ass,” and laughed a sad little laugh. And for the first time, Alice found herself liking Cybill.

“Here,” Cybill said, handing Alice her drink with a sigh.

As Alice took it, Cybill walked through the back door, out onto the porch. She crouched down, pulled Jude’s pants up over his skinny hips, then began slapping him on the cheek, lightly at first then not so lightly. He squeezed his eyes tight before cracking them open.

“You,” he said, moaning groggily. “Why can’t you leave me alone? I want to get away from you, but you won’t let me. Why won’t you let me?”

His head was sort of lolling on his neck, like it was too heavy for him to hold up, so he probably meant to look at Cybill as he spoke those words. But it wasn’t Cybill he was looking at. It was Alice, standing in the window, a few feet away.

Spooked, she stepped back, out of sight. Hiding in the shadows, she resolved to leave the party. What she’d do, she decided, was go find her sister, down on the beach with Sasha. Then they’d walk directly from the water back to Richard’s, that is, if Charlie would listen to reason, could be persuaded to listen to reason. (Charlie had seemed so agitated an hour ago, so unreasonable.) Alice suspected she would. Pot usually had a mellowing effect on her personality.

• • •

Alice had just left Cybill’s drink on a nearby table, turned to head for the front door, when she walked straight into Sasha.

“Oh, Sasha,” she said, “hey. I was just about to go looking for you.”

“You were?” Sasha said, surprised.

“Well, sort of. I was just about to go looking for Charlie and I heard she was with you.”

“Who told you that?”

“Cybill. Like, a minute ago. She said you two were on the beach.”

“She meant Bianca. She gets us confused. In Cybill’s mind, we’re interchangeable. But we’re actually two distinct people.”

Sasha sounded perfectly good-natured as she said these words, not the slightest bit bitter or upset, so Alice laughed, not least because she’d always thought of Sasha and Bianca as interchangeable, too. “So,” Alice said, “Charlie and Bianca are down on the beach then?”

Sasha made a toking gesture with her fingers. “Last I heard.” Her face was separated from prettiness by an all-important degree or two, but it was a nice face: big eyes full of mischief and a quick smile. “What about Cybill?” she said. “Where did she wander off to?”

“She’s taking care of Jude outside.”

Sasha rolled her eyes. “She’s a funny one, that girl. Spends almost all her time with guys but they don’t do that much for her.”

“She seems pretty enthusiastic about them to me.”