“So. Bette. Are you new in town?”

“Not really. I’ve been here six months or so.”

Tina took a drink of her sweet tea and sized up her new acquaintance from behind the glass. She noticed that Bette didn’t give more information than she was asked for, the same technique Tina employed with most people. Tina wondered if Bette had secrets, too.

“Being in Mercy for only six months counts as new,” Tina said. “I’ve been here over a year and most people still aren’t sure that they trust me yet.”

“Really? Your business seems to be doing fine.”

“It is. Maybe I should rephrase that. They seem to trust me, but they don’t really know me and most of them aren’t sure they like me. I keep myself to myself, I guess.”

“So do I,” Bette said, smiling a little. “Must be why we never met.”

“Could be. But it’s such a small town, it seems strange that I never saw you in the past six months until a few days ago.”

“I’ve seen you around a lot,” Bette said. She dropped her eyes and picked at her salad.

“Yeah, you saw me crying out in public. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Bette nodded. “That was me. Sorry if I seemed to be staring. The women here are so… well, so uptight. Very aware of themselves, I guess. It surprised me to see someone looking so real. If that makes sense.”

“It does.” Sensing that Bette was about to ask her what had been wrong with her that day, Tina changed the subject. “How did you end up in Mercy? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Bette looked uncomfortable and Tina immediately felt bad. She was about to apologize but Bette spoke first. “If you really want to know, I looked at a map and chose it because of the name. It seemed like a nice place. Silly, isn’t it?”

Tina couldn’t stop the laugh the slipped from her mouth. She couldn’t believe it. “You’re kidding.”

Bette’s eyes looked slightly injured, and she leaned back in her chair, away from Tina. “No,” she said coolly. “I’m not.”