Suddenly, both women laughed as they felt Shane’s arms encircling them roughly as she joined their celebratory hug. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks,” Shane said, happily squeezing her friends closer.

“Ok, this is getting a little too Golden Girls for me,” Alice joked when she eventually pulled away from the group hug. The three women looked at each other and burst into laughter again as they realised all of their eyes were brimming with tears of relief.

“You guys are such saps,” Shane said, wiping her eyes embarrassedly.

“Oh come on, Shane,” Alice teased, pulling some tissues out of her pocket and handing a couple to her friends. “You know that you’re the biggest sap in the room.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who spent the last twenty minutes of Armageddon sobbing uncontrollably,” Shane countered with a grin as she wiped her eyes.

“You cried during Armageddon?” Dana asked, somehow managing to preserve her incredulous expression while she blew her nose.

“I was having P.M.S.,” Alice replied defensively. “And, someone was sworn to secrecy about that,” she added, looking at Shane pointedly.

“Hey, I’m merely pointing out who the uncontested champion of sappiness in this room really is,” Shane retorted with a triumphant smile.

“I am not a sap!” Alice protested, looking to Dana for back-up.

“Sorry, Al,” Dana said. “You kind of are. But at least you’re a cute sap,” she added with a grin. Locking eyes with Alice, she felt her face flushing warmly as they shared an unexpectedly meaningful smile. After a few moments, both women suddenly noticed the silence growing heavier between them, and they looked away shyly.

“Well, I should get going,” Shane said, taking the look she had just witnessed between Alice and Dana as her cue to leave. She leaned down to give Dana a parting hug. “I’ve got a shift at Wax tonight. Besides,” she added, pulling away slightly to give Dana a significant look, “you and Alice really need to put that puzzle together, before it drives you both crazy.”

“Ok, Yoda,” Dana replied in a tone that told Shane she knew exactly what she was driving at, but with a look that warned her not to say any more in front of Alice.