Bette walked through the deserted offices of the art gallery toward her office. No one would arrive for another few hours. Bette made her way toward her old office and stood in the doorway trying not to think about everything that this place had meant to her. It had been her pride for so long that even now she refused to believe that it was over. She remembered the exhilaration that she had felt the first time that she had stepped inside this room, now she just felt lost. She walked slowly over to the desk, which was, surprisingly, still holding all of her things. Bette began placing her things in the box that she had brought in with her and found herself wondering for the first time in her life what she was going to do next. She started to think about the last year and a half and everything that had happened. Everyone that she had lost, gained, or thought she had lost.

“You just – you never expect your life to throw you so totally off plan. You know what I mean?”

Tim’s word echoed in Bette’s head as she continued to place her things in the box, still fighting back her tears. Still trying to make sense of everything that was going on around her. She was so deep in thought that she almost missed the picture that she was currently setting inside the box, but when it caught her eye Bette smiled and stared at it. Dana, Alice, Jenny, Carmen, Shane, Mark and herself all stared back at her as they posed lazily for the picture. Tim’s words echoed in her mind again as she examined the photo. No one would ever guess from this picture that, now, Dana and Alice were barely speaking, or that Jenny and Carmen were no longer a couple, or that Jenny had to hide herself away so that she could cope with her life. No one would ever guess as she leaned into Alice that it had been the first time in weeks that she had been able to look at her without wanting to kill her. No, this picture had captured a perfect moment for all of them. Especially Bette herself, who had felt for the first time in months that even though her life was such a mess that she might be okay. She had been feeling so alone for so long that she barely remembered what it felt like to be happy. But this had been her turning point. This had been the night that she realized that life went on. She had been in the kitchen thinking about everyone over at Tina and Helena’s beach house having fun and toasting the new place when she heard the knock. She knew that she had barely given it away, but when she looked over and saw all of their faces pressed against her glass, in that moment she had realized that it was okay if she started to forgive herself. And so, slowly she had begun to work on making herself stop trying to control the world. She started seeing the shrink on a regular basis and slowly she had started to build something that made her feel like her old self. Bette placed the frame gently inside the box and closed her eyes. She breathed in heavily as she brought herself back to that night. Smiled as she recalled all of the food, the conversation, and the alcohol, and, mostly, the company. She fought with herself to be able to find that feeling again. The one that told her that everything was going to be okay. And when she found it, Bette opened her eyes and set about finishing her task. When she finished Bette took one last glance around the room as she turned three keys off of her key ring and laid them on her now empty desk. And even though she thought she might die at the loss of the one thing that never failed to make sense to her, Bette bit back her tears and walked out of the office the same way that she had walked in so many years ago. With a small smile and a confidant stroll that expertly withheld the churning that was present just below her skin