“Well,” Bette said. “What do you want to do first?”

“Go shopping!” Angie said enthusiastically.

Bette raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For mom. I didn’t find her a Christmas gift yet.”

Bette smiled. “That’s my girl.” She paused and then added, “You know, Ang, sometimes I worry that all of this is a bit too much for you.”

“All of what?”

Bette gestured to their fancy suite of rooms with a vague wave of the hand. “This. The private jet… some of the things we give to you. But I can see some of my concerns are misplaced. You’re still the same sweet girl, putting others first. I’m proud of you. So, where do you want to go and shop for mom first?”

Angie stood and put her small handbag over her shoulder primly and smoothed her skirt. “Rodeo, of course.”

Bette groaned inwardly. Spoke too soon. ”We’ll shop later. In WeHo. First, let’s go see your Aunt Kit.”

***

It’s nice to feel loved, Bette thought. Even if she couldn’t feel her arms as Kit squeezed her in a bear hug.

“Ooooh, girl I missed you so much! Let me look at you!”

“Hi, Kit. It hasn’t been that long. But I missed you too,” Bette grinned at her sister as Kit held her at arms length to get a better look at her.

“You look amazing,” Kit was saying. “I don’t know how you do it. You never seem to age at all!”

Bette ignored the reference to her age and regarded her sister with genuine affection. “You look great, Kit,” Bette said. She let her eyes roam over the newly renovated cafe. “The place looks good, too,” she added, but her comment fell on deaf ears as Kit exclaimed over Angie, and how adorably she was dressed, how big she was getting, and how much she had been missed.

“What do you say we take a little trip to my office? I have something to show you,” Kit said to Angie.

“I’ll grab a table,” Bette said. “By the way, Kit, have you seen Alice today? I called her but I didn’t get an answer.”

“I haven’t seen Alice in awhile, actually,” Kit replied.

“Seriously? Since when? She used to practically live here.”