It was a dark and snowy night. Well, not reallyit was summer and this was London, so it was a dark and rainy nightnot quite stormy either. Not a creature was stirring, not even Alice. The earth mother was asleep in the den area of the hotel room. Kit was in one of the two bedrooms, with Shane on the couch, Helena on another couch and the mocha beauty, still beautiful in her sixties and looking just a few years older now than she did when torn sweatshirts were in style, was in her grand bedroom. Kit’s son, Angelica’s cousin, was on a cot in the living room. Percywell that’s what Angelica called himwas Angelica’s best friend. They were all so excited and couldn’t get to sleep until latetheir pride and joy, their Angelica, was playing in the semi-final match at Wimbledon today. It was a dream come true, and a voyage of success that Angelica dedicated on live television in the preceding days to her hero Dana. Well, Dana was one of her heroesthe others occupied this ‘hosh posh pgosh’ hotel room in central London. Bette was of course first among equalswell, not reallythere was Bette and then there was everyone else. She had lived quite a life these past yearsafter the Tina years. Bette became the director of the Whitney and did so well that the Whitney moved its flagship location to Los Angeles, and Bette Porter was at the helm.

The Tina yearsthey ended rather abruptlyright after the horrid Hellry weeks. After her breakdown, Hellry leftran for the hills really, and took his little Mikey with him. Left alone and disgraced, Tina was almost tarred and feathered, with the proverbial scarlet letter A affixed to her chestshe had all but destroyed the Bette, and if it wasn’t for Joyce Whishniawell, maybe things would have been different. At the celebration, the night of the day that the judge released his decision granting sole custody to Bette, Wishnia pushed her luck and put the moves on Bette. If she hadn’t been such a help to Bette, she would have been in big troublebut Bette was grateful so she let her down easy and introduced her to Moira/Maxwell Max I guessandthe rest as they say is historybut enough about Max.

The Tina yearsdid I mention they ended rather abruptly? She disappeared. Tina lost herself. Anyone who watched her just didn’t understand her, so the feeling rubbed off and she almost went insane. After waking from a really bad dream during which she thought Bette had kidnapped Angelica the night of Shane’s almost a wedding wedding, Tina went nuts and made a scene at the wedding, causing sufficient evidence to amass via the private investigator that Peggy had hired. The judge agreed she wasn’t fit and it all came to a head the day he granted custody. Bette, being forgiving for the Hellry fiasco, the broken heart shattered into a million pieces and almost having her daughter taken away, decided to share custody with Tina anywayshe really couldn’t totally shove Tina out of her heart and she had Angelica to think about. So, with all of this to mull over, Tina, realizing she had likely lost Bette and half of West Hollywood, started running up and down the courthouse steps and after handing Angelica to Kit, disappeared into the polluted California morning haze, never to be heard from againwell, until now that is.

Tina ran and ran that day, not knowing where to go, where to stop, where to lookshe got onto a bus that was headed to the outskirts and then into the hillsshe didn’t know it, but she boarded a bus for the Good Sisters of Charity, Hope and Lost Causes Monastery. After Tina arrived, remembering only her fist name, and mumbling something about ‘The Bette’, ‘The Earth Mother’, and ‘Take your little Mikey with you!!’, Mother Superior Barnaby didn’t know what to do with her, but, enjoying a challenge, decided that this poor woman was another lost cause sent to her via the Holy Spirit for healingSister Feckla Feranda tried to convinced the Mother Superior that this confused blonde was probably in need of psychiatric assistance, but noSister Barnaby would hear nothing of itshe was going to help this poor childthis beautiful, gorgeous, hazel eyed wonderyeshm hmshe was going to help save her troubled soul.

And what a good development that wasTina thrived at the monastery. She was, well truth be told a little flaky, but well loved and valued by her fellow sisters. She took care of the sick sisters, cooked wonderful dinners, particularly during the Lenten season, and was all a rage with the monastery’s world renowned Sisters of Charity, Hope and Lost Causes Choirthe sisters affectionately, if not imaginatively, called it their CHLCC. So, the years past as Tina thrived at the convent, finding herself, and forgetting the pastthe condition with which she came to them diminished. post-traumatic stress is what they’d become accustomed to calling itor at least that’s what Sister Maradoona called it. Then again, Sister Maradoona had been expelled from medical school before finishing her internship in psychiatryno one really knew whysomething about missing amphetamines, barbiturates, and the smelling salts. In any event, she was well-meaning. So, the years past and Tina was finding some peace. She was all excited recently because the choir won a special award from the Vatican for all its success- an all expenses outing to England for all choir members and tickets for the whole lot of them to the semi-final of Wimbledon.

Angelica awoke on that fine June morning and got herself ready to face her dream at Wimbledon. The earth mother, the actual motherwell, all the mothersthe whole contingent got into gear. Angelica didn’t have to worry about a thing. Just before they left in the Porter bus awaiting them downstairs, Angelica had a private moment with Betteone mocha beauty to another. Bette told her how proud she was of her and kissed her on the forehead. Angelica asked, “Do you think she’s looking down on me, wherever she is? Do you think she’s happy mamma?” Bette looks at her lovingly, not really knowing what to say but comforting her, “Yes my love. I know she loved you. She left us too soon. She lost herself. But you were the love of her life. If it were within her power, she would still be by your sideyour mamma T.”

Bette thought to herself, ‘I wonder whatever happened to that man-hungry loon.’ But somehow, she still thought of her affectionately and always wondered what would have happened if they had been able to work things out. Bette was devastated after Tina ran off. She was inconsolable. After a few weeks, Kit, Shane, and Alice took her on a trip, to help her forget. Angus came along to babysit Angelica. Anyway, during that trip, Bette rediscovered Peggy Peabody, Peggy rediscovered her hasbian days, and due to her new found happiness re-wrote Helena into the family fortune. It was a one-night stand at the island getaway, but Peggy was a new womanand Bette, well, it was a shock to her system. Her and Helena became like sisters after thatthough it was never talked aboutBette could just understand her now.

Off they went, the whole Porter clan, to the tennis club for the match. They sat in the private boxes to watch their Angelica play. It was awesome. The match was grueling. Angelica was playing against Svarnaka Splitarova, ranked fifth in the world. In the third set, things were getting intense. Angelica was hungry for victory but this game was rough. As she threw up the tennis ball and lunged her tired body forward to hit the ball during this serve, she miscalculated just a bit and the ball went into the audienceway out into the front section of the audience, on the sidelines of the courtway out to a group of seats reserved by the Vatican for the Sisters of Charity, Hope and Lost Causesand there, in those seats, were the CHLCC membersTina watched as the ball approached, but given its speed lost sight as it swirled towards her and hit her right between the eyes, sending Tina falling unconsciousSister Tina had keeled over the barrier separating the court from the audience and fell to the floor.

The sisters stood and ran to her. The players ran over. Angelica, feeling particularly badly, walked right up and looked down at the fallen nunwhose habit had fallen from her head, given the sheer force of the errant tennis ball and the resulting fallAngelica looked perplexed. She started to gaze at Sister Tina ‘wait,’ she thoughtthis blonde hazel eyed older woman looked likeshe looked familiaroh my goodness thought Angelica, she looks like the woman in the photos that she found floating one day in her childhood after the flood in the basement sent all the storage boxes into a mayhemthis was that womanbut that woman wasmamma Tnoit can’t bebut could it be?