“Isn’t that going to be hard on you?  Having her cut her visit short?”

“No, I felt bad that Ellie would miss that big weekend when all of the kids come back home after being at college.  She doesn’t know anyone here.  This works for everyone.  You know how it goes for college kids after the first few times coming home they all make new lives, but right now they’re still tied to those high school friends and it’s important…ya know.  Besides, she and I will be attached at the hip when the semester is over.  She’ll be home for almost 5 weeks and that’s the slow time around here.”

“Ya know Tina you never cease to amaze me.  You’re just so instinctively able to put other people’s needs ahead of your own.  Do you ever get tired of it?  I don’t mean with Ellie… I mean with everyone else.  Don’t you just wanna be, I don’t know, a selfish brat sometimes?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m Saint Tina the Selfless…I wish”

“Come on Tina, I mean it.  Take tonight for example.  I have been telling you to leave for like 3 hours and you’re still here.  What kind of person insists on staying after their boss tells them they should go home?  You stayed late yesterday helping James and I might say, I have not missed a meal since you started, which by the way has really caused a need for me to start getting back to the gym regularly.  Thank you very much.”

“Well let me just say, I see no flaws in that body Porter and secondly, if the roles were reversed you’d be right here by my side.”

“Um…

“Nice come back Porter.”

Bette leaned back, smiled and threw a pillow at Tina.  Tina picked the pillow up slowly stood put her hands on her hips while still holding the pillow and said, “This means war.”

Bette started to stand and Tina pounced knocking her back into the couch.  Tina straddled Bette as she came down onto Bette’s head with the pillow.  Bette’s hands went up as Tina came down again.  Tina howled, “Say I give”.  Bette had her head buried in her arms, “Never”.  Tina raised her arm high, “Well then prepare to….” At that moment, in one fluid movement, Bette grabbed Tina’s waist and lifted her and threw her onto the couch.  Looking down at Tina, Bette said with a wicked grin, “You were saying…”  Tina sputtered, “Um…”  Bette began tickling Tina’s stomach and sides mercilessly, while Tina, wriggled and squirmed and shouted, “No Fair, No Fair, HELPPPPPPPPPPPP…”  “Say, I give.”  “Never…” Bette started tickling again Tina again while Tina yelled, “AHHHHHHHHH.” 

At that moment James came running into the office.  Bette and Tina jumped about a mile.  James looked at the women, obviously shaken.  “I’m sorry, I came back because I forgot my phone, and…um, I thought… I’m sorry… I just thought…I’m sorry…

Bette had pulled herself together a bit.  “It’s fine James, we were just, um, fooling, um kidding around, um tickling…um never mind.  James go home.  Everything is fine.  I’ll see you first thing Friday morning.  Oh and James, Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Okay guys, Um…Bye, Happy Thanksgiving.”

After James left, Tina looked sheepishly at Bette.  “How long do you think we would have gone on without either of us giving up?”

“A long, long time.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”