The uncontested divorce settlement was richer than Melvin would have argued on behalf of a client, but Shirley had the upper hand. Under the circumstances, he had no choice but to pay dearly if he wanted his freedom, and her discretion. Shirley had put up with a lot to protect his reputation, but the payback was alimony and child support that allowed her and Katherine to maintain the privileged lifestyle they’d grown accustomed to.

***

The first year of Melvin and Maxine’s marriage was blissful for the couple. Melvin was completely devoted and faithful to his beautiful wife. He was at the top of his career having realized his dream of becoming Attorney General for his home state. Although Melvin knew going into the marriage, that Maxine wanted children he wasn’t on the same timetable. He wanted to wait a few years to give them the freedom to work together as a power couple to move his political career to the next level before having a baby but Maxine had different ideas. Her husband was 45, and though he was in impeccable physical shape he wasn’t getting any younger and neither was she. Maxine was 32 and she wanted two or three children over the next five years; as far as she was concerned the clock was ticking.

During the second year Melvin reluctantly agreed to start their family. Maxine gave birth to a daughter that they named Elizabeth Marie. Her half-sister Katherine who was 14 at the time called her Bette. The nickname stuck with her friends, but her parents always called her Elizabeth. By the same token when Bette was learning to speak, she couldn’t pronounce Katherine so they settled on Kit. Kit Porter became the older sister’s stage name years later as her career in the music business took off.

As a precocious two-year Bette adored Kit, and the feeling was mutual. Kit would give up time with friends to stay home and babysit, but everything changed during Kit’s junior year in high school. Her mother Shirley got remarried which wasn’t a problem because Kit loved her step-dad Joe Johnson. However shortly after the marriage Joe accepted a top management position with an IT firm that necessitated moving his family to San Jose, California. Shirley was all for it, not only to support her husband but she ready for the change. She thought the idea of living on the west coast would be appealing to her sixteen-year-old daughter but was met with resistance. As you might expect, Kit didn’t want to leave her boyfriend or the friends she had grown up with since grade school. She was involved in school activities that she loved which included music and drama. She simply didn’t want to start over in a new school this close to graduation, and mostly she didn’t want to be away from Bette.