“I missed you to He-Man.” he smiled into her hug still amused that she called him that. Tina couldn’t pronounce Nehemiah when she was a baby so she stuck to calling him He-Man. A name he adapted to very well, by flexing for her amusement and flying her around the house.

“What are you doing here?”

“I can’t just surprise my big brother sometimes, damn?”

“No, you don’t. if I’d known you were coming I would’ve asked Julia to stay here a little longer with the kids for the summer.”

“Where are they?” Tina asked because she knew her brother was very much like their father, he could barely function without his wife.

“We’re supposed to be on our way to her parents house by way of Disneyland and Rachel’s first. But I had some things to finish up here. So, what are you doing here Teeny, and don’t lie to me.” he finished by pointing his grease stained finger at her.

Tina looked up at her brother who had piercing eyes just like their mother and she smilingly said “I uhh,… I broke up with Jus. I called off the wedding.”

He looked at Tina and angled her position, she was fidgeting and not looking him directly in the eye, as they were told to do from a young age. He knew that she was hiding so much more than just a break up. “Well it’s just as well, I never really liked her anyway. I was hoping you wouldn’t go through with it.” he said turning and walking up his porch, his big boots making a loud thud with each purposeful step. “Come on, bring ya ass in here and have some pie with me.” he said as the screen door shrieked and shut behind him.

Tina couldn’t believe that he had actually just said that, right then and there she regretted not going to see her other brother in New York. Tina sucked up her semi hurt feeling and followed her brother inside to drown in some Texas sized apple pie.

………………………………………

Bette was grateful the lady at the counter was cool with her and she was able to upgrade her vehicle for free. The drive was only supposed to be 2 ½ hours but Bette was driving unsurprisingly slow to kill time. She didn’t know if she should prepare herself for Tina for the first time or take Alice’s advice and shoot right from the heart and put everything on the table.