Unlike Alice Shane didn’t know the details of Bette and Tina’s separation but never the less she wanted to be there for her friend. When she saw the cab pull up she walked over and hugged Bette as soon as she emerged.

“Hey Shaney, what’s going on? Did something happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know I just saw Kit’s car in the driveway and you sitting on my front steps I thought something might have happened.”

“No Bette everything is fine. Everybody is fine. I was just waiting up for you. Kit and Angus decided to spend the night. We just missed you and wanted to make sure you were OK.“

“Thanks Shane. I’m fine really. I missed you guys too.”

Shane lit a cigarette as they walked towards the front door of Bette’s house. That was Shane’s way of silently communicating that she was there for Bette should she want to talk. Bette quit smoking years before but every now and then she would take a puff from Shane’s cigarette whenever the mood struck her.

Shane reminded Bette of herself in her youth so she’d easily fallen into the role of mentor to her young protégé. When Shane would get down on herself which she was prone to do Bette would share some of the more harrowing experiences of her youth to show Shane that everyone made mistakes and had regrets. This helped Shane to put things in her own life into perspective since she trusted and admired Bette so much. Bette was one of the few people that saw Shane’s potential so she never let her sell herself short. For this reason Shane looked to Bette for approval and it gave her confidence to reach higher.

Bette and Shane had an understanding between them that most times didn’t require words. Just being in each other’s presence was enough to communicate in their silent language of love and trust. If either one had a problem they would seek the other out. Since they were neighbors you could usually find them sitting in Bette’s yard by the pool sipping on a beer and sharing a cigarette while having late night chats or finding solace by just being quiet.