Tina dialed Kit’s number. Kit picked up after the second ring. “Hello? Bette?”


“Sorry Kit, it’s Tina. You still haven’t heard from Bette?”


Kit exhaled. Tina was just about the last person, other than maybe Henry, that she wanted to talk to right now.


“No, Tina. Bette has not returned any of my calls. Alice hasn’t heard from her either.” Kit started to nervously toy with her hair. She wasn’t feeling too well, and really was scared for her sister.


“Have you been to the house?” Tina knew that there weren’t many places that Bette would go without checking on the house.


“Yeah. It doesn’t look like she’s been there at all.” Kit was starting to get impatient. “The mail hasn’t been touched and the answering machine hasn’t been checked. She hasn’t been home, Tina”


“I really need to talk to her Kit.”


“Tina, if I knew where my sister was, I would tell her that you’re looking for her. Not that she needs to see you or that fool of a man that you’re with. But I can’t find her. I know that you NEED to talk to her, but right now I NEED to find her. Hear me?” Kit was nearly shouting. She felt dizzy.


Tina was quiet. “I’m worried, Kit.”


“About Bette? NOW you’re worried about my baby sister? I can’t believe you Tina. You rip the rug out from under her and now you’re worried. You are something else. You have some damn nerve. Tell her you’re going to take her child away from her, tell her you’re going to make some more babies with that jackass, and you expect her to just walk away quietly. ARE YOU CRAZY??? You must be crazy! Now get off my damn phone in case my sister is trying to call me.” Kit slams down the phone. “She must be crazy,” she says to herself. Kit feels her stomach and sits down. “Okay kid, I hear you, I hear you.” Kit closes her eyes. ‘Damn pregnancy. I’m too old for this shit.’ She grabs her address book and picks up the phone.

——

Tina stares at the phone in her hand. ‘Shit,’ she thinks. She hears Angelica crying over the baby monitor. Hanging up the phone, she goes to her daughter.


“Ma Be, Ma Be…!!!” Angelica repeats.


“Sweetie your Mama B isn’t here right now. Mommy’s here, it’s okay.”


Angelica cries louder. “Ma Be, Ma Be!”


Tina picks up the crying child and tries to comfort her. The little girl can’t be consoled. Angelica continues to cry for her Mama B. Tina looks her daughter and feels as if she about to fall apart.


——

Angus bursts through the door at Kit’s. “Are you okay? You scared me to death on the phone. Are you okay?”


“I’ll be okay, I think. I don’t feel so hot. I called the doctor and he wants me to come in just to be safe. Can you drive me?” Kit looked around for her keys. “God, too much is happening at once, Mangus. I don’t know how to handle all of this.”


Angus walks across to Kit. He gently kisses her forehead. “We’ll get through this sweetie. Together.” He takes Kit by the hand and leads her out of the front door.

——


Bette looks out the hotel room window. Rain is falling steadily. She touches the window gently and wonders what her little boo is doing right now. Bette closes her eyes and sees a picture in her mind of Tina holding Angelica. Tears begin to fall down her already tear-streaked face. She looks down at the pictures in front of her. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone.” Bette dissolves in a flood of tears. “God, I’m so sorry.” She buries her head in her hands and sobs.

—-

Tina is exhausted. She had a hell of a time calming Angelica down. It was obvious that the little girl wanted Bette and would not settle for anything less. After over an hour of crying, Angelica fell asleep exhausted. Tina sits alone, wondering where Bette is. ‘I need to talk to her’ she thinks. “Where could she be?” Tina wonders aloud.


Henry comes in, looking through the mail. He throws his keys and the mail down on the table. “Hey, are you okay?” he asks.


“Just tired. Angelica has been really fussy.” Tina looks away from him.


“Tina, we really need to figure out what to do to keep Bette away from Angelica. She may try to take her again.”


Tina looks at Henry, exasperated with his obsession about Bette. “Henry, I know that you want to punish Bette somehow. But I’m sure that she is punishing herself for all of this as we speak. Let it alone.”


“We could get married, Tina. That way I could go ahead and start the adoption process. Bette would have no way of getting her hands on Angelica then.”


Tina looked at Henry with complete amazement. “Are you kidding, Henry? I never said anything about marrying you! We just met. We just started seeing each other. There are children to consider! I can’t just jump up and get married like that. I don’t want to rush into a marriage right now. I’m not ready for that.” She closed her eyes and turned away from Henry. She shook her head. “Things are complicated enough without that, Henry.”


“Complicated? I thought you said that we were going to start our own family. I thought that you had made up your mind. What is this Tina? Is this some sort of game that you’re playing? Lead everyone around and play on their emotions? What the hell DO you want Tina? Do you really want to be with me or am I some part of a fucked up game you’re playing?” Henry ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Tina. She spun around and glared at him.


“Stop it, Henry. I can’t do this right now.”


“What about what you said, Tina?”


“Henry, I know what I said. Now is not the time to talk about it.” Tina didn’t want to have to admit that she was talking out of anger when she said all those things. She hadn’t even though about a future or a family with anyone other that Bette.


Frustrated, Henry walks across the room. “Whatever, Tina. Do what you want. But I can’t understand why you don’t want to do whatever it takes to get her out of our lives. She is dangerous.”


“Henry, Bette brought Angelica back. She didn’t hurt her. No one has heard from or seen her since. She is not a danger to Angelica or me.”


Henry just stares at Tina. “You don’t want her out of your life, do you? DO YOU?”


“Henry, I just have to keep Angelica’s interests in mind as well. Angelica cried endlessly for Bette before you came in. She misses her. No one can take Bette’s place for Angelica.”


Henry shakes his head. He walked over to Tina and moved close into her face. “Angelica will get over Bette. Will you?” Angelica begins to cry again in the distance. “Ma Be…Ma Be!!!” Angelica’s cries out for her mother. Her wails intensify. Tina looks up at the ceiling. Tears start to roll down her face as Henry walks out of the room.


——

Sitting at home, Alice looks nervously at her phone. How could things be so out of control? Dana’s gone, Shane’s gone, and now Bette’s gone. “Everyone has left me,” Alice whispers. ‘God, what do I do now?’ she wonders. “Bette, please call somebody,” she pleads to the phone. “Where are you?”

——

Lying on the hotel bed, Bette drifts slowly out of consciousness. She thinks of the first time she saw Tina…the most beautiful woman in the world…their first kiss…the kiss that breathed life into her very soul…their life together…the insemination at home…love…losing their son…losing Tina…loss…finding out about their daughter…their reunion after the ultrasound…Tina coming back home…another chance for them…Angelica’s birth…the distance growing between them…losing Tina…”I love you, T. I love you forever,” she mumbles as she passes out.

——

Tina stared out the window of her car at her former home. After her argument with Henry she had to get out of that house for a while. She hadn’t planned on driving to the house that she and Bette made into a home for so many years. It was as if the car drove there on its own. At least the ride had soothed Angelica. She looked into the rearview mirror and saw Angelica stirring in her sleep. ‘She misses her other mother,’ Tina thought. She looked back out at the house. She hadn’t spent much time there since she started sleeping with Henry. She had planned to move in full time with Henry once they returned from Whistler. Things were obviously over between Bette and her. But now that she was back, all she could think of was Bette. Where could she be? Is she okay? Where did she go? She put the car in reverse and headed to The Planet. She had to talk to Kit.


——

Alice walked into The Planet and looked around. She catches herself still looking for the gang, even though there was no gang anymore. Saddened, she walks up to the counter and sits down. She sees Kit across the room, appearing distracted and staring into space. She catches Kit’s attention and Kit comes over.


“Hey Kit. How are you?”


“I have definitely been better, girl. I am out of my mind with worry about Bette.”


“No word, huh?”


“Not a peep, nothing. Alice, this is not like her to not call anyone. I’m scared that she’s done something stupid. We have to find her.”


Alice shook her head. “Kit, Bette is too stubborn to do anything like that.”


“I would have said that before, Alice. But losing everything may have sent her over the edge. I’m really scared.”


Alice looks past Kit to see Tina walking in with Angelica on her hip. She tries not to look surprised, but Kit reads her face and turns around.


“What are you doing here, Tina? I don’t have anything to say to you. I don’t know where Bette is, okay?”


Tina turns to Alice. “Alice, could you watch Angelica for a few minutes. Kit and I need to talk.” Tina hands Angelica to Alice starts towards Kit’s office. Exasperated, Kit throws down the papers in her hand and stomps toward the office.


Closing the door behind her Kit begins. “Look Tina…”


“Kit I know that you’re pissed off with me right now. But I’m really worried about Bette.” Kit starts to interject. Tina continues before Kit can stop her. “I know that you think that I have no right to be worried, but I am. Bette has not called or contacted anyone in over 24 hours. That is not like her. She may be in some sort of trouble and I am not going to idly stand by and let anything happen to her. I know I may have no right to care about her but I do. I can’t help it. I have to help find her.” Tina stops to take a breath.


“And how do you plan to do that? I have looked everywhere, called everyone, and done everything I can think of to find her, Tina. What else can I do?” Kit replies.


Tina looks at Kit. “I don’t know what you can do, but I think I can do something.”