"I can't believe it. After all the things I did for him, the hours I put into our relationship. I loved him! How could he do this to me?" My friend Verónica sobbed into my arms.
"It's okay, you're going to be okay. He didn't deserve you. It's his loss."
She let another bout of tears fall, dampening her shirt.
"I'm sorry, I'm a mess," she said weakly.
"It's okay, do you want to stay the night?" I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder.
"If it's not too much trouble..."
"Of course it's not!" I said. "You've been through a lot. It's not your fault."
Verónica slumped onto the couch, defeated.
"I thought I finally found the one," she said. "I don't know how I can trust people, when the man who said he loved me left when things got tough."
"You have to start slow," I said, brushing my hand through her hair. "Men suck."
"Easy for you to say." She glared at me. "I wish I was a lesbian. Yeah, I know your dating pool is tiny, but at least you don't have to deal with sexism and fully grown adults who can't express their emotions."
"Not all men are like that, I'm sure you could find one who doesn't take part in macho culture."
Verónica sighed. "I don't exactly have unlimited options. I mean I'm almost 30 and I suck at flirting or acting sexy. Men aren't throwing themselves at me."
"You're prettier than most 21 year olds," I said. "You just gotta see yourself from other people's perspective."