Bette was not prepared for that question from Angie but she knew it was coming.

“Well, sweetie I thought she might want to come back but we decided it would be better for her to stay in New York. She has a lot of work to finish.”

Bette’s answer was a bit noncommittal so Tina and Kit couldn’t figure out if Jodi stayed to finish her work or if she stayed because she and Bette were finished. They both gave her a curious look, but she doesn’t elaborate, instead she pulls out her iPhone and shares the pictures taken at the site of her sitting on the tractor and some of Jodi and the crew unloading the sign. She passes her phone around so everyone can see them.

“Pretty funny huh! You didn’t know I could drive a tractor did you? Anyway that is the sign that I took for Jodi.”

“Auntie Alice said you stole it.”

“I know you heard Auntie Alice say we stole it but this wasn’t stealing. The sign was on top of an old building that they were going to knock down and throw away. Jodi thought it was beautiful and she said she wanted to use it in a sculptor so I got it for her.”

“You understand the difference between what Momma did and stealing don’t you baby?”

“Yes Momma.”

“OK. So we’ll tell Auntie Alice that we don’t take things that don’t belong to us without permission. The sign was junk that didn’t really belong to anyone. That’s the only reason we took it down.”

“OK Momma.”

Bette stifles a yawn. It’s getting late and close to Angie’s bedtime. Bette wasn’t sure what the arrangements were for the evening so she turned to Tina.

“Hey Tee what’s the plan for the evening? Were you going to leave Angie with Kit? Did you have plans to go out tonight?”

Bette knew that Tina usually went out on dates or with friends on Saturday nights since she wouldn’t normally have Angie with her. She wasn’t sure if she’d planned to leave Angie with Kit to go on a date with Kate. She wondered how serious that relationship might be getting but she never asked as it wasn’t her business. She wouldn’t pry.