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September 6th, 1991 — Cape Canaveral, FL 6:15 PM, EST
"Tony's engaged?" Shelby felt as if the pit of her stomach had fallen out from under her. Donna had called with urgent news, just days after Shelby had seen her in Boston. She'd just gotten back to Florida and was currently in a three-way call with Donna and Lisa.
"He's going to be. And, if he bought the ring from Tiffany's, there's no way she'd say no," Donna said.
"I know I sure as hell wouldn't say no," Lisa quipped. "I mean, if the man proposing wasn't Tony, of course."
Shelby remained silent for a moment, feeling slightly numb. It was the kind of shocking news that froze a person for a few moments.
"Shelby? Are you okay?" Donna's kind voice called out.
"I — I'm fine. Good for him," she replied, blinking slowly. "Good for him."
"Shelbs, I know you guys haven't spoken in a while, but do you still have feelings for him?" Lisa asked carefully.
"For Tony? No, no." Shelby shook her head, even though the other girls couldn't see her. "I'm with Adam. I love Adam. I just ... wow. It's surprising, that's all."
"I just wanted to tell you," Donna said. "I figured Rob would, after the fact, but ... he said he was going to propose at dinner tonight and they had a reservation for seven. I wanted to tell you before it was too late."
"Too late for what, Donna?" Shelby asked defensively.
"Too late to bring up any lingering feelings," Donna said.
"There's nothing I would say," Shelby said. "There's no lingering feelings. Tony and I aren't friends anymore. Anyways, thanks for letting me know. I've gotta go."
Before either of the other two women could say something, Shelby hung up the phone. She didn't need to prolong the phone call, as it was not just long distance, but a three-way call. She and Maggie weren't made of money.
"Shelby?" Maggie ducked her head from around the corner, having overheard the entire conversation. "Are you okay?"
Shelby had never been good at composing herself when someone asked if she was okay, especially when she wasn't. She let out a sob and tears began to trickle from her face. "Tony's getting married."
"Oh, honey," Maggie walked over to her, quickly pulling her into a hug and leading her to the couch.
"Donna saw him today, just after he had bought the ring." Shelby sniffled, reaching for the tissue box that they kept on hand by the couch for sad movie nights.
"Do you still love him, Shelby?" Maggie asked. "I'm not trying to insinuate anything, but ... I know how important he was to you."
"No," Shelby answered firmly. "I mean, I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't think so, it's just ... it's so final. Tony's proposing. He's in love. He's got this whole life in New York that I don't know about, and ... we just used to be so close, Maggie."
