Carmen glanced at the wall clock. It was 7:05. She couldn’t
believe this. Mercedes calls her and tells her to be ready at 7:00 instead of
8:00, and then she shows up late. The doorbell rang and Carmen got up, smiling
as she opened the door, greeting her friend. Mercedes smiled.

“Wow. You look hot. Really.” Carmen just hit her on the arm
before letting her continue, “Ready to go?” Carmen nodded, and the two girls
walked down the sidewalk towards Mercedes’ Porsche. They quickly arrived at
their destination and got out, Mercedes tossing the keys to a valet and walking
with Carmen to the door, just in time to meet up with Shane, Bette, Tina,
Jenny, Alice, and Dana. Carmen winced when they saw them.

“Hey.” Shane mumbled, doing her best to avoid eye contact.

“Hi, Shane.” Mercedes eyes widened as she realized the
situation.

“THAT’S SHANE?!” she exclaimed, shocked.

 Carmen turned to her
barking something at her in Spanish.

“I’m just saying, all that bitching and moaning…” she was
quickly cut off by a smack to the back of her head and a pointed “shut up!”
from her friend.

 “Ow! Fine, I’ll shut
up. God, you’re just like your Mo…” there was a thick, uncomfortable silence as
everybody waited for a reaction. Carmen just glared at the other woman, while
the framily relaxed a little, glad the focus was off of them. “Ahh, it’s
Shane!” Mercedes fake cried, pointing towards the lanky woman in front of them..

 Alice couldn’t hold
back the chuckle at the situation. She knew Carmen’s friend was doing the best
she could to make light of the situation, and she was doing a pretty good job
in Alice’s opinion. Apparently, Bette and Tina found it funny, too, because
they were smiling as well. Carmen’s eyes narrowed, her glare getting more
intense, and Mercedes retreated.

“You know what? I think I’ll meet you inside.” She turned
and walked inside and before Carmen could apologize, everybody but Shane was
following her.

 “Yeah, we’re gonna
meet you inside, too, Shane.” The framily nodded and the door shut behind them.

“I’m really sorry about…” Carmen started, being cut off by
Shane.

“It’s okay.” Shane looked like she wanted to say more, but
Carmen wouldn’t have any.

“So, I guess I’ll see you later.” She turned and
walked into the restaurant, leaving Shane to wonder what the significance of
their little exchange was.