“Oh, Shane! Look who decided to grace us with her presence!” Alice marveled sarcastically, hands clasped in front of her in mock excitement. As Tina neared their table, she slid her sun glasses off and folded them with one hand.

            “Nice to see you guys too!” she breathed, tidying her hair and smoothing out her purple sundress. She threw the sunglasses back into her purse and put both hands on her hips, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.

            “Quit it, Al. Tina has some news for us…don’t you Tina?” Shane smiled, her eyes expectant. She lightly patted the seat next to her.

            Laughing, Tina wandered over to sit next to Shane, collapsing into the seat she occupied most mornings. “It’s over. Officially,” she said unenthusiastically, shrugging her shoulders for effect. When she was met with silence and more staring, she continued, “I told him I wanted to break up, and he got the message. He wasn’t happy about it, but it’s done.”

            Her words hung in the air for several more moments until Shane finally cut in. “I’m proud of you, Tina. I know it must’ve been hard for you,” she said, throwing her arm around Tina and leaning in close to her ear. “Let me know when you feel like dropping men,” she whispered. “I’ll be your tour guide.” Batting Shane’s arm away mouthing ‘Come on,’ Tina scooted her chair over and laughed. Shane was notorious in the lesbian world, and Tina, being the only proclaimed straight woman in the group, found herself the target of Shane’s efforts lately. Shane desperately wanted to know if it was possible that there was some chance that her good friend Tina could be the slightest bit gay if she met the right woman. Though she fiercely denied it, Shane always believed Tina was really a closeted lesbian.

            “Well how’d you break up with him?” Alice interrupted, waving her hand impatiently to get Tina’s attention. “Tell me what happened, Tee! I’ve waited so long that you definitely owe me details!”

            As Tina relaxed in her chair and got ready to begin telling the story to her eager audience, a familiar face walked through the entrance of The Planet and moseyed on over to the table. Sliding one hand over Tina’s shoulder and offering the table a look of concern, she asked, “So which one of you ordered my coffee today?”