It's that little souvenir of a terrible year

"Has he talked about her?" Funny, that Sheena would bring it up. And she was asking Minnie about Josh and his wife.

"Oh," Minnie felt a little light headed. She nodded. She'd spent several nights with Josh, but he really didn't talk about her much.

"I bet you pried it out of him." Sheena, looked at Minnie as if she had a certain magic about people.

"Only a little." Minnie slightly shrugged as she played around with the cookie dough in Sheena's little kitchen. Finally, Minnie rolled the handful of dough around with both hands making it into a little ball. She pressed it into the cinnamon and sugar.

Minnie knew he missed Tina very much. "They grew up together."

Sheena attempted to make a ball of dough, but it wasn't nearly as perfectly  round. Minnie handed her more dough to make balls. Of course, Minnie could make two or three while Sheena was stuck on one.

"Maybe, they know each other too...well." Sheena then told her about a boy in her high school freshman class. "He was so funny..he loved puns.. but after awhile, we spent so much time together..and when he asked me out on a date, I just couldn't. It would be like, going out with my brother."

"Do you have a brother?" Minnie wanted to know. Sheena shook her head, no. Minnie said she only had one sister.

"I used to dream I would have a house-full of boys. Their names.. all started with M." She chuckled then.

Sheena only smiled.

"I really never thought about having kids." Sheena just said.

"I thought you would say that." Minnie smiled, trying not to think how Valentines day really was.. for Josh.

Yes, it was a terribly sad day, even if she'd made a heart shaped chocolate cake with coconut icing.

Josh got divorce papers. Of course, he ran upstairs to the bedroom and shut the door tight, so he could talk to Tina on the phone.

After awhile, she knew he wasn't coming down. Minnie remembered how she grabbed a handful of the cake and ate it. Something, she'd been waiting to savor had no flavor.

She'd had a good long cry too. Finally, she chucked the cake out the backdoor. The frigid wind gave her a headache. She knew then the snow was coming back.

Yes, she thought she was bad luck, but the baby cried and she went to it. After while they cried together. But it was soft tears. Perhaps, she'd cried enough. She wanted to think she'd cried for everything.

Sheena went to put the cookies in the hot oven.

"Be careful-" Minnie started, but Sheena already burned herself. Sheena put her thumb to her mouth.

Minnie smiled weakly and finally sighed. "I think those cookies will be like a truth serum." Maybe Omaha would tell Sheena everything she wanted to know. Minnie cleared her throat then. Josh told her everything about Tina.

As she thought about it, Tina was a girl...he used to know.