Dena smiles sheepishly. “Sorry bossy….”

She waves a stack of sticky-note–covered messages at Tina. “Forgot to give you these…” She drops them in a neat pile, then glances at Dana with a mischievous wink. “Hey, cutie…”

Dana blushes.

Dena walks out of the office and closes the door behind her.

Tina looks through her messages and then looks up at Dana, who’s still basking in the glow of Dena’s flirty comment.

Dana realizes she’s being watched and immediately wipes the smile off her face and sits up straight. “Anyway…any advice on what I should do?”

Tina shrugs as she continues to look through her messages. “Propose…”

Dana sighs. “But I don’t feel ready…”

Tina giggles at the absurdity of Dana’s comment. “Sweetie, you’ve been dating this woman for a multitude of years…. what could you possibly be waiting for?”

Dana opens her mouth to respond, but can’t think of anything to say. She then squares her shoulders. “Maybe I’m just not the marrying type….”

Tina nods. “Maybe…but if that’s the case, then you need to tell her that….”

Dana drops her head and plays with her fingers. “Yeah, maybe….” She sighs and then stands up. “Anyway…thanks for the talk…didn’t help but you tried, I guess….”

Tina giggles as she opens her laptop again. “Sorry, I didn’t say the magical words you were looking for….”

Dana steps toward the door, glances over her shoulder with a half-smile. “Don’t beat yourself up, kid.” She slips out, and the door thuds shut behind her.

Tina tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and rolls her eyes with fond amusement as she returns to her unanswered messages….

***

Later that night, Angie and Mickey are all tucked into their beds inside Bette’s house. In the backyard, lantern light flickers across a long wooden table set with plates and wine glasses. Bette stands at the stainless‐steel grill, the scent of sizzling ribeyes curling through the warm evening air. Shane perches on a stool beside her, passing her a pair of tongs, while Dana lounges nearby in a canvas chair, her legs draped over the armrest. Across the yard, Alice, Carmen, Lara, and Tina sink into woven rattan loungers, each cradling a glass of red or amber beer.

Alice lifts her glass to her lips, swirls the wine, then sets it down on the low coffee table beside her. She clasps her hands once, twice. “Okay, enough suspense—spill it. What’s the big announcement?”