Previously:

      “Shhhh. Shhhh. It’s ok. It’s going to be ok” Carmen said as she put her arm around her friend.  ‘Wow, Jenny and Shane. I would have never believed it’ she thought.
   

     “She doesn’t even know. She doesn’t even know that she broke my heart” Jenny said between sobs.
   

     “Well sweetie, maybe that’s for the best” Carmen said softly.

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Carmen gently closed the door of the guest bedroom. She had peeked in on Jenny and found her still sound asleep. After their conversation earlier Carmen had suggested to Jenny that she lay down to rest and there Jenny was hours later. Carmen tiptoed down the stairs and into the living room.  She sat on the couch and buried her hands in her face.  She was still reeling from Jenny’s confession and it troubled her.  She hadn’t thought about Shane in quite some time and here she was reliving all the exhausting pain that Shane had caused her.  Her mind went back to that fateful day. She remembered her mother walking her down to the alter, her eyes searching for Shane at the end of the aisle but there was no one there.  

‘Damn it’ she thought and she shook herself. ‘No. No. No. I am not wasting any more time on the past’ her mind reminded her of the steps she learned in therapy.   ‘Deep breaths. Still your mind’.    It had taken Carmen a lot of time, several sessions with Dr. Foxworthy, and finding real love to get her to the point she was at.    Carmen smiled as she thought of her partner, Jessica, and of the solid relationship they had built. It had not been easy but here they were a year later living together and planning their future.  All thoughts of Shane disappeared as she heard her cell phone ringing in the distance. She had left the phone outside and smiled even wider when she looked at the caller id.

    “Hey baby! I was wondering when you were going to call” Carmen answered.

    “Hey yourself beautiful. Are you admitting to missing me?” Jessica asked playfully.

    “You have no idea. Listen….I have some news.  I got an unexpected visitor today and I think she may be staying with us for awhile” Carmen said.