She smiled at me, “I would love that, Shane. I’ll see you tonight.”

She headed out of the bathroom and I just stared at myself in the mirror. I had asked her, not the other way around like it always was. That had to say something, right? Then why that uneasy feeling wasn’t going away was beyond me. I took a few more deep breaths, pushed myself off the counter, and put on an easy-going face as I exited the bathroom. I returned to the table and joined back in the conversation, which by that point had steered into the topic of favourite toys in bed. Dana looked shocked as she learned the difference between dildos and vibrators, glass, rubber, silicone, etc. I remember sitting back and laughing, thinking to myself ‘My, this girl has so much to learn…’ When it became apparent that Dana couldn’t take much more goading, and as Bette and Tina started getting friskier with each other, finally Alice fell into her usual role.

“OK, enough already! What is up with you two? You’ve been all over each other all morning! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about you two getting it on, but you’re never this public about it!”

Bette and Tina had another of their now common, eyes-only-no-word-needed conversations. Tina squeezed Bette’s hand and both looked at the table with huge grins on their faces.

“Well, I was going to wait till after I started to tell you guys about it. But… as of next week, you are looking at the new Director of the California Arts Center!”

Everyone cheered and raised their coffees to Bette. Since her own gallery had closed down a few months prior, she had been in a sort-of limbo, and while she held it together pretty well, it was becoming apparent that it was starting to take its toll on her. I had been around to their place several times over the past few weeks, and we had fallen back into our old habits, Bette venting, my listening. While she would never have admitted those fears and anxieties to Tina or anyone else, she knew that I kept my mouth shut, and that the way I saw it, I had no room to judge anyone, so she was safe voicing all that with me. Maybe that was partly why I knew I could approach her this time around.