Beka woke up the next morning to her phone ringing unaware of her surroundings.  The name on her caller ID really was in the top four on the least likely people she’d expect to see on it right after her parents came Scott, then Joe and finally Bryan.  It was in fact Bryan. 

“Hello?”

“Hey, Beks whatcha doing, how’re you settling in?”  He said like nothing had happened in the last few weeks to throw off their brother/sister relationship.

“Um, I was sleeping.”

“Oh, sorry to wake you, just calling to check up on you, how are the new apartment and the morning sickness going?”

“The apartment is great.  But the morning sickness sucks Bry, it’s every morning and later even if I don’t eat I’m still puking.  Wait a minute, you’re calling to check on the one thing that only you know about but everyone disowned me for without even knowing it was true?”

“Yeah”

“Oh Bryan, you’re the best big brother I could ever have.”

Just then a knock on the pool house door and Beka leaves her bedroom with her robe on and is greeted by Tina’s smiling face.  “Good morning, want some toast?”

Beka had absolutely no idea what to do, Bryan on the phone and Tina standing right in front of her.  She was planning on writing home to tell Bryan her address but if he heard her voice.  How would he react?  So she did what anyone would do she told Tina ‘one minute’ and continued to talk to Bryan telling him “I’ll call you back my landlord is here.”  Then hung up and went with Tina to the main house and the toast that had her name on it.

Avoidance, it works when you need it to and right now Beka needed it like she never had before.  It just wasn’t yet the time to have Bryan hear Tina on the other end of the phone line and Beka sure wasn’t ready to explain why she was with Tina.  ‘Ah, the sweet sweet life of an avoider’ Beka thought to herself as she followed Tina past the pool and into the main house.

Beka arrived at the main house and walked into the backdoor to be greeted by a smiling Bette whose arms were wrapped around Tina making French toast.

“Good morning Rebekah, how are you feeling?”

“Morning Bette, I’m feeling a little better today than yesterday.  You know you can call me Beka it’d be okay with me.”

“Thanks” Bette responding with a smile, thankful that she had been accepted by Tina’s sister.

“Tina, can I have some plain with no cinnamon on it?”

“Sure, you’re feeling better but not totally let me guess.”

“Yeah, I feel okay but think it’ll be back again soon.”

“Probably but you should try and eat what you can, when you can.”

“Thanks Tina” not only thanking her for the food advice but for so much more, being back in her life, back being her older sister and confidant and hero.