As they drove home from the yoga studio, Lissa told Carla and Annabel that she'd had a "moment of clarity" during the class and made a big decision: She was heading home to Wisconsin, moving back in with her parents, maybe going back to school. Looking out the window as the landscape of Los Angeles rolled by she said, "I don't belong here."
Carla wasn't sure how to respond to this. On the one hand, she hated to see anyone give up on their dream. On the other hand, she got the sense that Lissa was probably right; this was not the place for her. After thinking about it for a few minutes, Carla offered to buy Lissa a plane ticket home; she demurred, saying that she'd prefer to take the bus. It would give her some time to think about what she was going to do with her life.
As soon as they got home, Carla got online and bought Lissa a ticket on a bus that left the next morning. She wasn't sure why she felt such a sense of urgency about it, but somehow it seemed like the right thing to do.
Afterward Carla opened a bottle of wine and she and Lissa sat at the kitchen table as Annabel started making dinner. Annabel was still wearing her yoga clothes but had dutifully put on her collar; it made for an incongruous but very sexy combination.
As they talked, Carla noticed that Lissa's gaze kept drifting back to Annabel -- and why not, she looked absolutely stunning in her form-fitting outfit, especially when she bent over, which happened several times as she worked. Watching Lissa watch Annabel, Carla began to get ideas; the hankering that she'd felt during yoga class, which had abated somewhat in the meantime, now came surging back.
But she hesitated to do anything about it. Up to now her generosity toward Lissa had been entirely altruistic, and she felt good about that. If she took advantage of the situation now, it would feel like she was buying something. So she restrained herself all through dinner, but by the time she was having dessert -- dark chocolate and her third glass of wine -- she felt her resolve weakening.
When Annabel stood up to start clearing the table, Lissa moved to help, but Carla held her arm and insisted that she stay seated. "You're our guest," she said. "And Annabel lives to serve. Isn't that right, honey?"
Annabel smiled and nodded, alert to the fact that the atmosphere in the room had suddenly become charged. The look in Carla's eyes said she was up to something.