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December 20, 1991 — New York, NY 12:14 PM, EST
"Well, thanks for grabbing lunch with me, Shelbs. It was great to catch up," Donna said as she and Shelby sat across from each other at a nice restaurant in Midtown. "Despite the, well, circumstances."
"Yeah, it's nice to see you, Donns," Shelby beamed at her friend. It was almost like old times -- minus Lisa.
"How is Tony doing, anyways?" Donna asked, carefully twisting a piece of pasta around her fork.
"I mean..." Shelby trailed off. "As well as can be expected."
Donna smiled sadly. "I'm glad you're here with him, Shelby. That's really good of you."
Shelby nodded. "I mean, it was about time we put our petty argument aside. I only wish ... I only wish I'd done it sooner."
Sure, she and Tony had made up, but only because of the death of his parents. How long would the two of them have gone on not speaking to each other if tragedy hadn't struck?
"I'm sure he's glad to have you here now, though," Donna said.
"Yeah, but ..." Shelby sighed. "It doesn't make me feel any less guilty about not speaking for so long."
"Shelby, you can't place all the blame on yourself," Donna replied. "I mean, Tony was a complete ass to you when you two had that fight. Not to mention that he was in love with you for a long time and never said anything, even throughout your entire relationship with Rob."
Shelby sighed. "No need to remind me."
"I'm just saying!" Donna exclaimed. "You can't hold onto this guilt, Shelby. It's not going to make it any better."
Shelby knew Donna was right. "I guess."
"So, how are things with Adam?" Donna asked, changing the subject to something that Shelby wanted to talk about even less.
"Oh," Shelby cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, okay, I guess."
"Just okay?" Donna raised an eyebrow.
Shelby's cheeks flushed. "I mean, we were doing great, but ... he was super weird when I told him I was coming to New York."
Donna chuckled. "And that surprises you?"
Shelby frowned. "It's just ... he knows how important Tony was to me -- is to me."
"Yeah, and you were in love with him," Donna said. "Can you see how that might not sit well with your current boyfriend?"
Shelby glanced away, knowing that Donna was right once again. "I guess it's not really fair to Adam." She looked over at her longtime friend. "Are you saying I should ... I should not spend time with Tony?"
