For a response, Jenny stared at Gabby and took a slow drink of her
beer. When she was finished, she leaned back into the bar and reached
for beer she ordered for the other woman then handed it to her. Gabby
took it almost cautiously and as she did, Jenny murmured, “It is a good
rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want
apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.”

“The Man Upstairs, P.G. Wodehouse,” said Gabby triumphantly, thinking
that Jenny had said this quote in some attempt to stump her in literary
knowledge. When in reality the reason was because Jenny often found the
voice that she was lacking in the written words of others.

“You shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting Alice or having been with
her,” said Jenny in careful explanation. “But I do think it might be a
good idea to apologize for hurting her. Especially if you’re serious
about wanting to be with her again.” Jenny seemed to pause and
continued in gentle tones, “She was hurt badly by what happened with
Dana. It might be a horrible clich to say this, but I really don’t
think her heart can take much more damage.”

There was just the loud roar of DJ Sera’s atrociously bad dance music
playing and Jenny watched as Gabby’s eyes flickered with something
close to regret and she shifted her attention onto the crowded dance
floor. Fixing her gaze on Leather Pants Girl who was still amongst the
hoard of eager women vying for her attention, Gabby handed her beer to
Jenny who took it in hand, wearing a confused expression.

“He looked at her wondering,” Gabby began, meeting their eyes and a
tiny hint of a smile forming on her features. “And he had the sense of
great things sweeping out of the night. But he couldn’t receive them,
because his heart was still full of the little things.” Jenny’s eyes
reflected a perfect understanding and the screenwriter chuckled and
said wryly, “It’s not an exact quote but you get the picture.”

That said, she left Jenny and headed onto the dance floor, joining the
throng of women and soon rising above them as she was the first and
only one among their numbers to successfully gain Leather Pants Girl’s
hard fought attention.

Her eyes drawn this scene and to Gabby, unable or perhaps unwilling to
shift her gaze, Jenny said, “Howards End, E.M. Forster. And yes,” she
paused to smile. “I do get the picture.”