At eleven-thirty in the evening, Bette Porter arrived at her home, carrying a briefcase filled with notes, grades, and proposals from CU, UCLA, and her gallery. She had a very tiring day and all the work was getting to her. She considered Helena’s proposal of selling the gallery to her and the Peabody Foundation. It might be a good idea, since Helena and her mother, Peggy, had impeccable taste and would no doubt be committed to the integrity of the gallery. Helena did promise that she would stay on the board as a consultant, and that she would receive some form of commission, as it was her gallery. They had yet to discuss whether it would still be named after her or after the foundation. All she knew was that Peggy was especially enthusiastic about the idea and that according to Helena, when she becomes that enthusiastic, that meant that Bette could make the offer and Peggy would pay for it, no matter how expensive it might get.

            She continued mulling over the idea as she walked to the refrigerator and got herself a bottle of Pellegrino. It was a very long day. The graduate students at CU had a field trip at the CAC and she had to contend with seeing Franklin again, which relived her worst memories of the place. Leo, her replacement, was more amiable, though, and toured them around, showing them other collections that weren’t as prominent as the current ‘Impressions in Winter’ exhibit. Jodi would have laughed at the ‘Impressions’ exhibit, claiming it was too ‘boring’ and very much on the ‘safe’ side. Bette exhaled. Jodi, again. In hindsight she forgot what made them last that long. It was obvious that she and Jodi had some major differences that contributed to a lot of tension in their relationship, and Bette had been trying to diffuse it for the past few years.

            The front door opened and closed again, and as Bette looked up from her place at the kitchen sink, she saw a perfect stress reliever—Tina. The blonde had a way of appearing like a tall cool glass of water on a smoldering summer day. She was rocking her suit today, and her hair was flowing freely. She waved at Bette and gave her an affable smile as she held up two paper bags and dropped her briefcase near Bette’s. Bette got a few bottles of Pellegrino and joined Tina on the couch. She then handed a bottle to Tina, who immediately downed its contents.