***

The next morning Tina woke up to silence indicating that Angie and Bette had gone out. She got dressed and headed down to the gallery to see Kristen.

“Good morning Tina. It’s so good to see you.”

“Good morning Kris. It’s good to see you too. Bette told me that you were part of her Act XIV. That you would lead me to the final destination to where I can finally open this gift. You can’t imagine all that she went through to get me here last night.”

“Oh she told me all about it early this morning, but this is the end of the journey. Follow me please it’s just outside.” Kristen takes Tina out the front door of the gallery and turns to the side of the building. There is a door that Tina had never noticed before.

“When did they put this in? I never noticed a door here before.” Tina was sure of it.

“The answer is in the gift box. You can open it now.” Kris answered not giving anything away.

Tina opened the gift and found the keys that were obviously for the locks on the door. There was some kind of placard on the door but it was covered.

“My job is done. Just use the key to open the door and go inside.” Kristen left Tina at that point. She used the key and opened the door and once again was greeted by an excited Angie.

“Hi Mommy. Surprise!!!”

Tina was surprised to walk into a beautifully appointed professional looking office. It had wood paneling, custom wall units, oak furniture, leather chairs, file cabinets, and a small conference table. Much of the furniture was pieces that Tina had pointed out when they were shopping for the beach house, so Bette knew she would like the décor. Bette was sitting in the leather office chair with her legs up on the desk and a huge smile on her face.

“Babe what is this place?” Tina asked.

“To answer your question you can take the cover off the placard on the door.”

Tina walked back to the door and removed the covering. She read a brass plate that said “TK-P Professional Services”. That was the name she had registered for her independent grant writing firm.