Bette listened to her friends and tears poured down her face and Alice feeling guilty said,

“I didn’t mean to put a damper on the evening.”

Bette cried,

“No you didn’t, I need to listen for once and I thank all of you for telling me what I need to know. Now I need to tell you, Al what you need to hear.”

Bette got up from the lounge chair and went to Alice, she held both of Alice‘s hands and stared in Alice‘s brown eyes then said,

“There is going to be a point where you need to get on with your life, not now because it is too soon, but eventually you are going to have to. Dana would want it that way and she would kick your ass if you didn’t.”

Alice, Shane and Kit snickered by Bette’s last statement.

Bette continued,

“You will have forever eventually, but not with Dana. In a different lifetime, fuck yes, but not this one. I hope to fucking god you will find someone that is worthy of you.”

Alice was crying also and whispered,

“Thank you.” With that, Alice and Bette hugged, while Shane and Kit looked on, crying along with them.  Then Shane got up and said,

“We said what we needed to say, now let’s get fucking drunk, people!”

Alice responded as she pulled away from Bette,

“Here here!”

So for the next few hours, the girls got drunk on beer and were laughing hysterically about all sorts of shit that they were talking about.  Then Shane and Alice went staggering home, while Kit went inside and passed out on the couch.  Bette staggered to the bedroom and stripped out of her clothes and slipped into Tina’s favorite pair of pajamas then collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. 

       The next morning, Bette woke up with a terrible hangover, but she was determined to go and see her wife.  Bette slipped on a robe and went into the bathroom to take some aspirin and wash her face.  She looked into the mirror and was horrified by how shitty she looked.  Bette could not believe how she let herself look so badly.  Her eyes were bloodshot and had bags underneath them, her skin was blotchy and pale and her hair was all tangled and in all directions.