“It’s not as bad as it looks, really,” Shane insisted, but I kinda figured she was lying so Jenny wouldn’t worry. She looked like she was in pain every time she moved her hand, and she’d winced when Jenny took the cloth away.

“I’m really sorry,” Alice muttered, looking at the floor. “I thought it’d be fine…”

“Nobody’s blaming you. It’s just something that happened, don’t worry about it. It was an accident,” Shane assured her. Alice didn’t look too reassured, though.

“I should have known better than to leave it.”

“Honey, we hadn’t used the oven before, they’re all different. This one’s probably just a little stronger than you’re used to, that’s all. Hell, it took the one in the apartment a year to heat up a frozen pizza. Really, it’s okay,” I told her, hugging her and kissing her forehead.

“But I wrecked the kitchen!” she said into my shoulder. “I mean, now the oven’s ruined, and the cabinets have fire damage. The countertop’s all warped now too, and the floor’s got some weird bubble thing going on by the oven.”

“It’s just the heat that got under the tiles, Al. No big deal. It’s not a lot of damage, really,” Shane said, glancing at the aftermath. “There’s some smoke damage, but it’s nothing major. And didn’t you want to redecorate the kitchen anyway?”

“Yeah,” Alice responded miserably. Shane reached out with her good hand and rubbed Alice’s back, giving me a smile. I smiled back and hugged Alice tighter.

“It’s okay,” Shane said quietly.

“I’m really sorry, Alice,” Jenny whispered, giving her a quick hug.

“It’s not your fault,” Alice protested. “You didn’t even do anything. I’m the one who put that pan in the oven…”

“Look, it’s not anyone’s fault, okay? It’s not like you meant for there to be a fire. How could you have known? And we’re all perfectly okay, so quit worrying about it, baby. Really. There’s no harm done, and Shane’s right, now we have an excuse to redo the kitchen,” I told her.

“But Shane burned her hand!” she exclaimed, her face still buried in my shoulder.

“I just told you it’s fine!” Shane protested. “And it’s my own fault anyway, Dana gave me a towel. I just moved too fast, that’s all. It’s not your fault. See, it’ll be all right,” she insisted, holding up her hand so Alice could see it.