Previously…

A smile crossed Tina’s
face as she turned to walk out of the maze of corridors that lead to the
street. As Tina opened the door to the outside, a film crew was walking up the
steps to gain access to the building – behind them was a striking, impeccably
dressed woman. Tina had to do a double take at the similarities between
the woman and Bette – same sense of style, confident air about them, commanding
presence. Tina thought to herself that the woman must be Helena Peabody. She
made eye contact with Tina as each traversed the steps to the building. Tina
noticed an immediate difference in this woman. Where Bette’s mocha colored eyes
emoted warmth and desire, Helena’s were emotionless and cool that one would
expect from such deep pools of blue.

Tina brought herself back
to reality and grabbed her cell phone again to call Bette. Again, there was no
answer. She made her way to her car and maneuvered it out of the parking lot to
make her way over to The Planet.

Tina: Please, Bette – Be
there.

Tina opted to take surface
streets hoping that by doing so she could better maneuver through traffic. What
she hadn’t anticipated was an accident that had traffic flow at a standstill
and backed up for blocks. She thought she would try to call Bette again. Once again,
the call went directly to Bette’s voicemail. This time, Tina opted to leave a
message.

Bette’s Outgoing Message:
This is Bette Porter – leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as
soon as possible.

**BEEP**

Tina: Bette – it’s Tina. I
need to talk to you. Call me back – please.

Traffic was slowly
creeping forward as emergency crews continued to clean up after the accident.
Tina was finally able to get passed the scene and continue on her trek to The
Planet. She was easily able to find a parking spot on the street out front due
to the fact that the afternoon lunch rush had come and gone for the day.

Tina hurried inside and
frantically searched for any signs of Bette. She made her way through the maze
of tables and walked by the gang’s usual spot. The table was empty and none of
the girls were any where in The Planet. As Tina was turning to leave, she heard
a familiar voice.