Two Hours Earlier

Feelings of contentedness and love flowed through Bette as she maneuvered through the freeway traffic toward the gallery. This morning when her eyes had slowly opened she had experienced something uniquely rare–the desire to stay exactly where she was with T snuggled close to her side. Usually her mind began working on the tasks of the day before her feet hit the floor, this morning the intimacy that they had shared the night before lingered like a welcome blanket over her and she had found herself envious of Tina’s ability to stay at home with the children.

"T’s right you need to take some time off, new gallery or not Bette’s mind said to her as she found herself stuck once more in one of the frequent traffic jams along the LA freeway.

Seeing an opening in the mass of metal in front of her Bette sighed her relief and depressed the gas pedal –the new shipment would get to the gallery before her if she couldn’t make any headway soon, not a good way to impress! Surprisingly the traffic began to flow at almost normal speed and Bette’s mind wandered to the likely candidates for the holiday she had planned, a holiday in which she intended to treat the love of her life and her children as they deserved–giving them ALL of her attention and all of herself.

Porter you are one of the luckiest women alive she congratulated herself as the traffic continued to flow smoothly alone, not only do you have the family you always wanted but you’re going to be able to make that good impression after all

Without warning white hot pain shot its way through Bette’s head as a gasp and a moan erupted from her lips aand the world in front of her shimmered and went black. The last conscious thoughts that punched through Bette’s conscious thoughts were "O God TINA" as her car propelled out of controlled hitting the concrete median, flipped, and landed on its roof and was instantly driven by the hummer behind her back against the concrete barrier.

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Swinging violently between fear, rage and impatience Tina sat in the cruiser as it seems to take the longest path possible to the hospital. Finally their destination came into sight and as the cruiser barely stopped in a parking spot Tina’s feet fit hit the concrete with one goal in mind–seeing Bette. Vaguely conscious of the dark clad sentinels of grim news that followed her T thrust her way into the emergency room. Instantly as if by a homing device her eyes locked with those of the tall, attention commanding, brooding African American woman that seemed determined to create a trench in the scuffed tile under her feet. Fear once again tore a jagged path through T’s soul shedding shrapnel as it went. Both women headed immediately toward each other and the next thing that Tina knew she was enfolded in the strong arms of her sister-in-law Kit Porter.