Bette gives Kristen a hug then she says goodnight to her receptionist Maria and wishes her a great holiday as well. She then heads home to her family.

***

To her word Bette had continued to fulfill her birthday gift to Tina of her promise to perform 17 deliberate yet random Acts of Love and Kindness towards Tina. It was now mid-December and she had performed 13 of the 17 acts. She hadn’t put a deadline on when she would complete them but she knew that there would never be an end to the things she would do to show her love.

Bette knew what she would do for her part but what she hadn’t expected and what amazed her was people’s generosity when she had asked for help in fulfilling an act. Some of the acts had been completely taken out of her hands and have been carried on by others. As she drove home she thought back to the acts she had initiated over the past several months.

***

Act I was the DVD birthday wish from Angie and the family; Act II the surprise trip to Barbados; Act III making arrangements for Tina to see Kate in New York; Act IV the chocolate lover’s dream in Monterey; Act V the balloon bouquet accompanied by the poem.

For the next one, Bette had asked Kit to use her connections in the music world to get VIP tickets to a sold out concert of Tina’s favorite performer. At the end of the concert a gentleman approached Tina and gave her what turned out to be backstage passes to meet them. Tina could not believe that she was mingling with the lead singer and band members among other celebrities. It was made even more special when the singer whispered in her ear Act VI.

***

Bette made arrangements at one of their cooking classes for Tina to win a gift certificate for a Personal Chef to come to the house to give them a private lesson after which they had an intimate candlelit dinner of the food they had prepared. After they finished eating Tina went into the kitchen and found the business card that the chef had left. On the back in bold letters was written Act VII.