Shane walks slowly towards her mom’s room.  When she finally reaches it, the freshly painted “5” on the door greets Shane.  She is sweating, nervous, angry; she is a whole combination of emotions.  She stares at the number, and for a moment the thought of leaving tempts Shane.  After shaking her head, she takes a deep breath gathering enough courage to finally turn the knob and step inside.

“Shane,” the woman in bed says in a low voice as soon as she saw the slender figure.   Tears start filling her eyes.

“M- mom?”  It’s all Shane manages to say.  The scene is shocking.  All the anger disappears as she contemplates the woman before her.  She feels a lump in her throat.

“I’m sorry,” answers her mother with a cracked voice.

Shane couldn’t take the tears or the emotions that were overwhelming her, so she runs towards the bed and knelt next to her mother.  She hugs her, and both women crying now.

———————————————————————————————————————————

“Are you sure you’re okay?”  Bette asks holding Shane by her shoulders.

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine.”  Shane is on the couch thoughtful and visibly sad, but there’s something else in her demeanor that makes the girls feel uneasy.

“You know we are here to help you Shane whatever you need, any time right? Tina adds touching Shane’s arm while giving a “what the hell” look to Bette, who just shrugs.

“Sure, thanks guys, but I guess I need some rest”

Bette, Tina, Alice, Jenny and Helena watch helpless as Shane makes her way to her room.  There’s a moment of silence which is broken seconds later by Jenny.

“She needs to sleep and relax…”

“Yeah, we all do,” states Helena.

Indeed they all were exhausted, not only physically but emotionally too.  The news about Shane’s mother suddenly appearing caused a tremendous commotion in all of them.  They were worried about Shane.  Then after a couple of months, her mom dies.  The girls immediately flew to Austin to be with a devastated Shane.  They were there in those terrible moments.  When the funeral was over and it was time to go back home, they realized Shane was different.  All the way back she was quieter than usual and distant, too.