The Adventures Of Bette Porter And Sissee Gardner Living Happily Ever After (Part 1, Chapter 5) 

PART ONE:  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Chapter 5

Our conversation drifted to other subjects as we sat at our kitchen table and ate our Cobb salad with a nice Chardonnay.

Earlier Bette had said she had a frustrating day. She mentioned Phyllis taking off, James breaking a finger, three teachers being truant and Tina and Sam planning a trip.

“So how did James break his finger?” I asked.

“It’s not only broken, it’s smashed.”

“What happened?”

“He got it slammed in a car door and then he twisted it in a panic to pull it out and broke it.”

“Oh, God! That sounds gross! So painful.” I showed her my arm. “Look at the goose bumps.”

“He’s got a metal cast on his right hand, index finger. It sticks out a mile and most of his work is on the computer. He can’t even peck and seek. The only thing we could do is find a student to do the work for him.”

“And what did you say about Phyllis taking off?”

Bette nodded, “Yes, she was gone for two, almost three hours.”

“Where?”

“She just winked at me when she came back but how can you bitch at the boss? She couldn’t have been gone at a worse time. She’s supposed to be at the teacher’s meetings.”

“Was she gone just before 3 p.m.?”

“Yes.” She looked at me with sudden interest. “Don’t tell me she was at Joyce’s office?”

“She was just leaving when I was coming.”

“I should have guessed it. They’re like too horny teeny-boppers.” Bette paused and stabbed more lettuce on her fork. She held it suspended for a moment when she said, “She really has been flaky lately. She’s been putting more time and energy into her personal life than her work. I’m even wondering if her job is in jeopardy.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes it is, I’ve been getting some feedback from the rest of the staff. I hear she may be called in front of the Board of Trustees.”

Bette added a few more comments on the subject and then turned her attention to her salad.

I was hoping she would volunteer why she got upset about Tina and Sam going on a trip together. I thought Bette was okay about that relationship because she had said several times that she was happy for Tina and hoped they would have a future together.