”Here we go”

”Hush, Bette, hear me out. So um… I think it’s great that you found love, because…love is simply great, girl”

Bette looked at her like she had two heads and broke into a guffaw.

Shane remained in the ignoring mode, continuing wistfully. ”Love makes you strong if you are weak and weak if you are strong while still managing to be the best feeling a person can ever experience in his whole life”

These words were enough for Bette to calm down and even sensate the menacing tears in a depth of her eyes. She began to blink rapidly before it’s too late, inhaling the smoke deep into her lungs.

”Maybe one day Tina will make you leave this business. Somehow I’m pretty sure she will.”

”You are talking nonsense”

”I am not”

”You are too” Bette argued back, leaning her elbows forward on her lap. ”No way out, remember?”

But Shane was adamant in her viewpoint. ”There IS one though. We just need to do everything levelheadedly. As for our future, we all will be fine, ya know, Helena with her night club, me with…I dunno, I’ll find my place in this life. Then, there is Marcus with his family, he clearly has had enough too, he’s torn into two parts. You, with your passion for music. This kind of talent shouldn’t be wasted. Helena will make arrangements for you to perform at her place at first, besides, you are already popular amongst people who frequent there, so the halfway is passed. You would need only little effort and then you are gonna play countrywide maybe… So, you see, we’re gonna be just fine”

Bette was listening very patiently to her carried away by ramblings friend, trying to grasp every detail that was being said. But she was having a rather hard time, because the more Shane talked the more Bette felt her ire kicking in.

She took off the sunglasses from the top of her head slowly, but surely. Turning to look into Shane’s distant eyes, she sucked on her teeth. Then, surprising not only Shane but herself, Bette convulsed with a fit of half-suppressed laugher, mixed with rage, bitterness and anguish. Finally letting it all out, she laughed heartily in full voice as she stood up from the bench. Managing to settle down with a subdued chuckle she leaned forward so that her face was inches away from Shane’s.