Tina:  Looks like Miss Harriet Myers made a handsome salary while working for your father and did well managing her money.

Bette:  She got a small bequest at the time of Dad’s death. I think it was somewhere around half a million dollars or so. I think that he told me that when he retired, she retired also. The firm had a good retirement plan for its rank-and-file employees and I believe that they paid good wages and were very progressive in their hiring practices for the time. Dad never said much about it, but every time I visited, I was always amazed at the number of people of color as well as white people at the firm.  My high school was significantly white and Yale was too. But the percentage of people of color and Asians were sufficient that you didn’t feel you were the only ones on campus. Those were the days of Affirmative Action.

Tina:  Well, let’s go introduce ourselves and get on with this meeting.

Bette: I want a kiss first. Please?

Tina:  Certainly….

They kissed and got out of the car and retrieved their brief cases from the back seat. They then walked up the walkway, arm in arm and assuring each other that they were confident and ready to handle whatever came their way.

They rang the doorbell and a housekeeper came to the door. She showed them in and announced that Miss Myers was expecting them and showed them to the sitting room. She offered them coffee or tea and said that Miss Myers would be in a moment.

Bette and Tina sat down and Tina prepared her recording device. In the event they missed any part of the conversation, they wanted to be able to listen to it again. They smiled at one another and sat down in their overstuffed chair and waited for Harriet to appear.

After five minutes, Harriet Myers came through the door. She was tall and slightly hunched over with age and used a cane to assist her. Her hair was now snow white. Bette recognized her immediately and stood to go greet her. Bette smiled her big Porter smile and hugged her affectionately and introduced her to Tina. Harriet smiled and seemed a little awkward as she was not accustom to hugging but had seemed to get the hang of it in her later years. She found it to be a pleasant sensation and wondered what she had been so resistant to all these years. Tina shook her hand politely and Harriet took her seat on the sofa.  The housekeeper then brought in the tea and coffee and served Harriet while Bette and Tina prepared their own.