“There was a fire. My shop is gone.”

“Oh, Tina. I’m so sorry. Do they know what happened?”

“No…”

“Listen, do you want me to come over? I can bring some wine. We can talk. Or not talk. We could watch a movie or something.”

“I don’t have a TV.”

Bette paused. “I don’t either. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Okay?”

Tina didn’t feel like entertaining anyone, but she didn’t feel like being alone either. “Okay.”

Bette was true to her word. She showed up with a bottle of nice white wine and a hug. Seeing the mood that Tina was in, Bette didn’t press Tina for details, but instead kept her talking about other things. Eventually they moved from the living room to the kitchen and Tina sat at the table while Bette rooted around looking for food to cook. She managed to put together a pasta dish with the ingredients on hand, insisting on no help from Tina. Tina was surprised when Bette set a steaming plate of food in front of her in about fifteen minutes.

“I thought you couldn’t cook?”

“This is about the best I can do. It’s hard to get pasta wrong.”

Tina smiled. “Thanks for doing this, Bette.”

“It’s what friends do. Let’s eat.”

So they ate, and talked, and split the bottle of wine. Bette told Tina more about her life growing up and the more they talked the more they realized they had in common. When it was around eleven Bette got up to leave and Tina realized that against the odds, simply hanging out with Bette had made her feel better and forget about her store for a few hours. If she had been alone, she would have simply been brooding in her bedroom, jumping at every creak indoors and every noise outside, not to mention secretly wishing she was with Grant. Bette had helped Tina get things into perspective. Just by being there, and being a friend.

“Thanks,” Tina said at the door. “I’m glad you came over. It helped. A lot.”

“It was nothing. I just thought you might need someone…” Bette trailed off. “Well anyway. I’ll call you tomorrow. Are you going to be okay tonight?”

Tina gave a quick nod and a smile. Watching another car drive off, Tina was alone again. Instead of crawling into bed like she normally would have, she stepped out onto her porch and took in the unusually bright moonlight that covered her surroundings with a soft glow. She could hear the sea in the distance. The peaceful scene seemed mocking with all the inner turmoil she was struggling not to allow herself to be consumed by.

She thought of the gun in her bedroom drawer. For a long time she had felt that she didn’t need it. It was more a precaution more than anything else. Was she wrong in thinking that she had outrun her past by coming here?

She went inside and locked the door, then went into her bedroom. Tina pulled out the gun and looked at it. She hadn’t left her past behind. It was all right here with her in Mercy. And she had no idea what she was going to do next.