ALICE Epilogue Part 4

Patty Dunham sits on the edge of her bed, alone.

Everything that happened has led not exactly to some soul-searching, but she has to reckon with having been balls deep in several women whom she now knows to be deeply problematic. She always knew they were a little sketchy; it was the depth of the sketchiness that took her by surprise, and that’s the problem. It shouldn’t have. She was so lost in horniness, ego, and the stress of F1 that she didn’t notice she was banging people who weren’t just messy, they were actually bad.

She’s not sure if that’s a problem for her pride or her conscience, but either way, it’s time to pump the brakes a little.

Her thoughts keep going back to Sasha. She can’t believe that Sasha is seriously in on anything too scummy. She just does what her mother tells her, which makes the situation that much worse. Patty likes women, but only if they like her as well.

She needs to be more careful and grow up a little. It’s also the morning of the last race of the year. She’s not sure which she dreads more.

FF1

Glynda does the bare minimum with her makeup and pulls on a light FUTA jacket over her polo so there’s less emphasis on her chest. Toto likes to be out there looking unspeakably attractive on race day, but that is not what Glynda is going for. She finishes up and leaves the bathroom, making sure she has everything in her backpack.

Her eyes fall on the pale form slumbering in the bed. Even weeks later, there are still lingering bruises on Lotte’s body. This view is like repeated punches to the stomach. Reminders of what Lotte went through. Reminders of the ravages of time; Lotte is like a painting, and Glynda is painfully aware that she herself is not. Glynda’s not proud of being with a woman who not only works for her, but is more than ten years her junior. Glynda doesn’t like things that she doesn’t understand, such as what Lotte sees in her. Nobody—not even Lotte’s friends, fully understands why Lotte stood up to Irina. They theorize that maybe it’s because she has real feelings for Glynda. Or that it’s because as much fun as it might have been for Lotte to toy with Glynda, it was infinitely more her style to turn the tables on Irina. Lotte won’t talk about it. Lotte never says much in the first place.

It's bizarre. Worst of all, as difficult and complex as it is to be with Lotte, it’s even more difficult being without her. Glynda still wakes up two or three times a night in a panic, thinking that Faye is being kidnapped. Her Apple Watch constantly tells her that her heart rate is dangerously high. That’s before she starts thinking about how nobody knows what happened to Bea Ruiz.

Today isn’t just the last race of the year; it will be the last of Glynda’s career. She’s already given Annette her notice.