“Try me.” I walked up to him, our faces merely inches apart. I looked him dead in his eyes, mine reflecting the coldness in his. “And if you ever lay a hand or foot on her again, I swear you will long for the use of your limbs.”

“Is that a treat?”

“It’s a promise.” We stayed like that for a few moments, the other not wanting to back down until the bedroom door opened.

Bette didn’t say much to Jeff when she left. “I have to meet my friends for breakfast, well not to eat, but its Sunday and it’s tradition, care to join me?”

“Sure.”

We got there a little late. Shane, Dana and Alice were at the usual table. “Hey guys.” Bette followed closely behind. “This is my friend Bette.” I pulled a chair for her and sat in the chair next to her. I’d like you to meet Shane, you remember Dana and Alice.”

“Hey.” They said.

“They are the closest thing I have to family.” I could see on Alice’s face that any chance she got with me alone I was in for a lecture. I looked around for one more person. I spotted her as she came out of her office and walked to the register. “And the woman at the register is,”

“Kit?” She concluded.

“You know her?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s my sister.”

Before I can ask anything further she left the table and walked up to Kit. I watched the interaction, the hug, the, “You and I need to talk missy.” Alice interrupted. “What the hell are you doing?”

“It’s not what you think?”

“I was watching her. She almost drowned. I was the only person around who could save. I drove her back to her place and she asked me to stay for dinner, that’s it. We started hanging out, that’s all.”

“So is she the reason why we haven’t seen much of you lately?”

I was about to answer when Kit and Bette came to the table hand in hand. “So what’s the story here?”

‘Well,” Bette started, “Kit and I are sisters, half sisters actually.”

“Yeah, yeah we got that part.” Alice was impatient.

“I thought you didn’t have any family?”

“Our father loved women, it was his weakness. He was married to Gloria, that’s Kit’s mother. Kit was still young,”

“I was eight.” Kit interjected.

“Yes, when he started the affair with my mother Maxine.” Bette continued. “Anyway Gloria left and Maxine moved in. She was already pregnant with me. Gloria took Kit to live with her when I was three and I haven’t heard from her since. I wrote letters but you never wrote me back.”

“I never got them. I did the same too, for years, till the letters came back.”

“He did the same thing to my mother. The only difference is that my mother left me with him and a woman who made me feel like dirt every chance she got. Dad died my senior year of high school. He left everything for her. I lived in the school basement till I graduated.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I am so sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

We all sat and had breakfast. Bette and I had something light. She and Kit caught up while I watch my other friends fall in love with her. We are having fun till Alice’s cellular phone rang. Her expressions changed. She asked to be excused from the table. She walked away from earshot, and after a few minutes returned. “I need to talk with, alone.”

“Um ok.” I got up and walked outside with her. “What’s wrong?”

“Care to tell me what happened this morning?”

“He hits her Alice. I told him that he will regret it if he ever hit her again.”

“Well he is threatening to leave if I don’t fire you.” He informed me. “He is one of our biggest clients.”

“Am I fired?”

“No,” She sighed, “We’ll work something out.”