11

Chapter

Oh, my… Tina…

            That morning none of them said anything to each other. Tina was still mad and Bette was, strangely, hesitant to speak to her, afraid of saying something wrong that may get things worse. Both women left earlier that morning, while Angelica stayed home with Peggy. Bette was in one of the offices, at the mall Tina worked at, talking to one of the staff. After a while a woman approached her.

            “Um, Miss Porter, sorry for bothering you but… um, well I think you should come see it with your eyes” the woman said politely, trying not to annoy her boss. The brunette frowned and followed her. They made their way to the warehouse and a cute Christmas song could be heard, along with light laughs and chatters. Turning the corner of one of the shelves, Bette saw a huge table with beverages, plates, cookies and sweets on it. As soon as the people saw her, a woman yelled: “Oh, she’s here!” and started singing “For she’s a jolly good person” with the others. As soon as the ditty ended, all of them clapped their hands and thanked her. Needless to say the look of shock on Bette’s face. She turned her head and saw Tina, who was smirking. The blonde approached her and Bette, grabbing her hand, pulled her with her and hid behind one of the shelves.

            “What the fuck is going on?” she whispered.

            “Um, I thought that the good Bette Porter should have done something for her good employees. You know it’s Christmas… so I, um, let’s put it like this: I gave you a hand” the blonde smiled broadly.

            “But, wha— How, I mean… how did you—” the brunette stammered.

            “Oh, I told them this is you Christmas present for them” she kept smiling.

            “What?!”

            “Yeah, well” Tina ignored her and then pointed to the people that were now laughing and enjoying the little party, “See those people? You are shattering their lives” Bette opened her mouth, trying to say something but Tina stopped her “They’re going to lose their jobs and God knows how and when they’re going to find another one” she waved her hand “See that woman? Her name is Molly. She’s due in a month, she’s having a little boy and her husband left her… She has no one. She needs a job in order to take care of her child”