"Why do you ask?"

"Because if she did she would cut her trip short. I know my lil cousin wouldn’t want you to be going through this alone."

"No she doesn’t. And I wouldn’t want her to cut her time with Melito any way. She needs to be around him."

"You don’t want her worrying about you while she’s down there, do you?"

"No I don’t. She has enough to deal with down there with Melito, Alicia and all that other shit. I just don’t think it’d be fair for me to throw my shit on top of hers."

"I see." Carmen had to sit back and absorb all the new information before she came to this conclusion. "You’re the type of person who thinks of other people before you think of yourself aren’t you?"

"I’ve been told that once or twice."

"Well whatever you decide do it for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you decide to forgive her do it for you, if decide not to do it for you, if you haven’t reached any decision yet then let that be it. Don’t forgive or not based on what other people want you to do. Especially if you think it’ll please Vanessa, because even if you don’t want to I can still see that you love her very much. You’re trying to prove that love by pushing yourself towards forgiveness. Otherwise this wouldn’t be as hard as it is right now."

"How is it that you know me so well?" Tina was absolutely blown away by Carmen’s resolution of their short and concise conversation. Here it was Carmen was telling her what she needed to hear. Whereas talking to Shane would’ve probably left her with more questions than answers. She was always so objective in her answers.

"Because you’re just like Bette. She sees other people when she’s trying to solve her own problems, you’re the same way." the look on Tina’s face was just a little disappointed, Carmen saw this and tried to comfort her. " Hey it’s nothing bad sweetie, it’s just that you’re to kind hearted and completely selfless. Some people see this as a weakness and will exploit it. But the trick is to give it in moderation, you’ll see who you hang onto in life and who comes and goes as quickly as a breeze." Carmen’s quick words to life’s problems really put things into perspective for Tina. She left the kitchen feeling just a bit more confident now.