~~~~~

"Sweet dreams, Angie."

Tina tucked the two-year-old in her crib. As she set down the nursery book on the nightstand, she accidentally knocked over several picture frames; quickly looking over to see if the noise woke up Angelica, she heaved a relieved sigh. She straightened the photos and picked up an old snapshot of a young Bette with her parents.

Tina only had pictures of her mother. As soon as she was old enough to understand that her father had abandoned them, she never gave him another thought. She tried to do the same thing with Bette – had been trying for the past three years – often wondering if they didn’t have Angelica, would she have been able to make a clean break?

Every time she remembered the affair, the abduction, the custody battle, the harsh words … It was tempered with memories of their passion, the unspoken connection they shared, how she cried all night for their baby after the TV debacle … All the years spent building a love and a home and a life together.

She took one last look at her daughter and put the photo back on the nightstand.

~~~

"Knock-knock! Mind if we come in?"

Kit looked up from her paperwork with relief to see Tina and Angelica inside the doorway.

"Well, hi, you two! How’re my girls doing?"

"Angelica was getting fussy out there; mind if we hang here for a bit?"

Kit stood up and held out her arms. "Of course not! Gimme my little Boo over here." Kit took the squirming child and nestled her in her arms; Tina looked around the room curiously.

"Did you move some stuff around?"

"Yeah, I’m spending more and more time here than I am at home, so I brought home in here," Kit sighed.

Tina wandered over to the credenza and picked up a framed photograph of Kit and her father.

"I wish he could’ve met Angelica."

"Yeah, he woulda been so proud of you girls." Kit noticed Tina’s expression darken, remembering her father’s coldness. "Look, Tina, he was coming around – "

Tina cut her off. "You don’t have to defend him: that’s Bette’s job."

"She did it, y’know." Tina looked up, surprised. "Mmm-hmm. That morning before he collapsed, we had breakfast, the three of us. Man, you shoulda been there. She really let him have it about the whole ‘Miss Kennard’ thing, how your relationship was the same as his marriage and how she wasn’t gonna give up and end up alone like him."

Tina was obviously affected by this information and struggled to hide it. Thankfully, the baby began gurgling: Kit ducked her head and cooed softly into her ear. Tina searched to change the subject and pointed to a framed phonograph on the wall.

"Uh, hey, this was in your living room, wasn’t it?"

Kit let out a snort. "The personally signed 1960 LP of Forbidden Fruit by Nina Simon in mint condition that you bought me? Hell, yeah!" Kit immediately covered Angelica’s ears. "Oops, sorry, baby girl. You gave that to me for my birthday when Bette first introduced you. Tryin’ to win me over, I guess." She broke into a shit-eating grin. "Well, it worked."

Tina returned her smile fondly. "Okay, Aunt Katie. We’ve taken up enough of your valuable time."

Kit kissed her niece before handing her back to Tina, then snapped her fingers, remembering something. "Hey, speaking of birthdays, I’m closing up at eight for Bette’s party, so be on time!" She shifted uncomfortably, trying to sound casual. "So, uh, you bringing a date?"

Did she really see herself with anyone else? She smiled at Kit again.  "Thank you."

Kit furrowed her brow. "For what?"

"I think I know what to get Bette for her birthday."

~~~~~