Bette smiled, glad her friend finally got it. She knew Shane had always been a hopeless romantic on the inside. She had made many comments that tipped her off to it throughout the years, like “See? That gives me hope. That two people can be together as long as you have and still make each other happy.” Shane had always wanted love. And now she found it. Bette stood up, wrapping her arms around Shane.

“Don’t worry. It hurts for a long time. But you’ll work it out. Tina and I did.”

Shane pulled away, “But that’s you and Tina. You were together for 7 years!”

“What, you think I never fucked up before Candace?”

“Not as much as I did.” A heavy silence followed, before Bette finally broke it.

“You both love each other. You’ll find a way to work it out.” She pulled back from Shane and moved her hands to her face, forcing her to look her in the eyes. “Just don’t do anything stupid between now and then.” They both laughed as Shane forced a small smile through the tears streaming down her face. She wiped the salty water off of her face with her arm and sniffled. Bette’s grin grew as she watched her. She kept remembering teenage Shane, how she had come so far. She was so proud of her. Shane chuckled and handed her the unlit cigarette.

“So much for a smoke break.”

Bette smiled, “Yeah. Ready to go?” Shane nodded and they both turned and headed inside.