Claire put an orange slice in her own mouth as she tried to consider Cissie's opinion and the best way to respond, chewing on the pulp until there was no taste left to be found. As far as love went, Claire knew that she was inexperienced. Had known that even when she was interested in Brody and kissed him. Crushes and dating, none of that compared to the sort of love that her parents shared, for instance. None of that could really match the full extent of the sentiment that was expressed in love songs.

"Well, I don't know, since... I've never had that happen, like I said. But I like to think that a friendship that's really strong can get past stuff like trying to love each other in that way and not having that work out. Maybe I'm just being optimistic because I recently made up with a friend of mine who I hadn't talked to in like, years, but we worked things out and he became my best friend all over again."