Bette:  Tina was right…. Tina had a theory. Now we have no evidence but Tina seemed to know Melvin in ways Kit and I couldn’t see.  Tina said that Melvin was a very clever man. He had a lot of contacts in the business world and the legal world.  Perhaps he found out that Maxine was alive and that she had changed her name and given birth to a child. Believing this child was his, he created an entity for the sole purpose of giving you support for your education. He had that entity find out where you were and made sure you entered this contest and bingo; you were the winner.  Mary would have researched the entity to see if it was legitimate and by all practical purposes it looks legit. It was registered, had assets, had a board of directors and they were willing to write the check for your school. Mary has no idea that the real source of funds was Melvin Potter. And once you get to college, the entity continues to pay the scholarship for your tuition, books, supplies, room and board and maybe a little pocket money. Anyway, that’s her theory. And if it’s true, Mary had no way of knowing. But Melvin has managed to do his parental duty and provide you an education, but he has also deprived Mary of her child for all those growing up years. And that is what I would call revenge on Mary for depriving him of his child. That last part is my thought not Tina’s. Melvin was not always a nice man. At least you were not permanently separated from your mother. But somehow, I feel like we were all manipulated. He knew my mother was alive and he never told me. So, he denied me my mother as well.  I think that was more revenge on Mary.

Paris:  Oh Bette, I am so sorry. We are a sad pair, aren’t we?

Paris put her arms around her sister and pulled her close.

Bette:  I’m sorry too. We’ll we at least found each other. And now we are about get Melvin’s money.  Let’s get back to our better halves before the send the calvary to look for us.

Paris:  Thanks for this.  I’ll call Mother later tonight. I keep you posted on what Joyce has to say. Oh, and are we still on with the kids for next weekend?