Shane stood at the gate and subconsciously raised her hand to her face rubbing it gently.  The last time she had walked up this path she had come away battered and bruised for all to see.  What was less obvious to the casual observer was the broken spirit that had accompanied her physical injuries.  Her bravado of earlier in the morning was starting to desert her.  Following her conversation with Bette last night, Shane had come to the conclusion that coming here was the correct course of action.

The advice to do what she thought Dana would have advised her had been the deciding factor.  That, and the thought in the middle of the night that if she had just posted the letter with a covering note it would be her handwriting on the envelope and if Carmen recognised it, she might just put the whole letter straight in the bin.   Having read the words Dana had written for her, Shane knew she couldn’t afford to risk having Carmen miss out on whatever it was that Dana had wanted to say to her.  So, here she stood.  Her head was screaming at her to turn on her heel and run.  The risks were enormous.  It had been made clear on her last visit that she was no longer welcome here again.  The chances of a warm reception irrespective of who opened that front door were slim to none.  As regards her own self-preservation, this was not a good idea.

The problem was that her heart was telling her that this was where she needed to be.  She had at the very least to attempt to make amends with this women.  She owed it to both herself and Carmen to try and say her piece.  That heart that had previously been so well protected with her walls was now out in the open and she was following its lead.  As had become her habit in the previous twenty-four hours she found herself once again running her fingers over the surface of the mirror in her pocket.  She knew Dana was right.  It was time for her to trust what her heart was telling her.

Taking one last deep breath and straightening up from her usual slouched posture she opened the gate and walked towards the front door – her confident demeanour in total contrast with the nervousness that she felt.  Knowing that any hesitation at this point would be her final undoing, she quickened her pace as she hurried up the steps and knocked on the door.  As she heard distant stirring from inside the house and realised someone was home and they were coming to open the door her stomach lurched and she felt beads of sweat gathering at her temples.