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Tuesday November 17, 1998

His bright brown eyes lit up and she felt her heart expand once more. She had fallen for that smile, she had fallen for that genuine excitement. She had fallen for that passion in his eyes when he talked about what really touched him, art mostly.
“She is truly amazing, you will absolutely love her,” he reassured her. She had no doubt that his sister wouldn’t come close to ordinary. It seemed plain impossible when you looked at him, his wit and humour, his passion and playfulness, his warm, huge heart. He was something else, so she figured his sister couldn’t be a total bitch. On top of that, he had told her so many childhood stories about her that she felt like she knew her already.
Peter was toppling on his feet in anticipation. They were at the airport and his sister could appear every second, ermerging from the doors they were looking at.
“There she is!” he beamed when a tall woman that looked exactly like him came into view. “Bette!” he shouted and waved. “Over here!”
She was slightly embarrassed by his overactive behaviour, but she couldn’t blame him. It had been a while since they had seen each other and ever since he knew she was coming over, he hadn’t stopped talking about her.
The tall woman had the same brown curls and elegant way of moving. Her skin was the same light brown as Peter’s. When she came closer, she noticed the chocolate brown eyes and full lips. She looked like a female version of Peter, but still… there was something different about her. She had the same sparkle in her eyes, but there was something about her charisma that made her shiver. She seemed to be more… introverted, mysterious even. As if she wasn’t telling everything, keeping a secret, cherishing it. Bette smiled broadly upon seeing her brother and greeted him with a long, good hug.
She then held him at arm’s length and studied him. Finally she spoke and the woman beside her brother was sure she had never heard such an appealing voice.
“Peter Porter, you haven’t changed one bit.”
“Bette Porter, I can’t say the same. Once again, you have grown more beautiful since last time I saw you.”
“I’m your sister, no need to flatter me.”
“I am only speaking the truth, gorgeous,” Peter laughed. He turned to his girlfriend and proudly introduced her. “This is Tina Kennard – she refused to take my name, for the why’s you can turn to her – and she will be my wife soon!”
“Oh really?” Tina asked. This was coming out of the blue, they had never talked about these things… she surely had wanted to, but never seemed to find the right moment.
She took the hand Bette extended and shaked it. The woman looked into her eyes and Tina felt how her breath caught. She couldn’t have looked away if she had wanted to.
“Hi, nice to finally meet you,” she eventually managed to say.
“Glad to meet you too. I see my brother hasn’t lost his taste in women,” she winked. Tina felt a blush creep to her cheeks.
“Hey – hands off, she’s my bitch!” Peter immediately turned to Tina. “I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to call you a bitch, this is just an expression -”
“I am educated, thank you very much,” I smile.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go! We’ve got so much to talk about, so much catching up to do. First of all, Bette, you can get Barbara out of your pocket now.”
For a few brief moments, Bette looked sad. “Barbara and I aren’t together anymore.”
“Oh – I’m sorry,” he said. There was a short silence and the air was a bit strained, nobody really knowing what to say. As usual, it was Peter who tried to normalise the atmosphere a bit. “What a shame. It had such a nice ring to it, Bette and Barbara.”
“Yeah, well… apparantely ‘Barbara and Brenda’ had a nicer ring,” she shrugged.
“She sticks to the B’s, then.”
“Peter,” Tina said softly in an admonishing tone. It amazed her that he couldn’t see that only talking about it was hurtful for his sister, the wounds were clearly fresh.
“I’m sorry,” Peter apologized. “Let’s go and talk about it over a cup of coffee.”
“I would prefer not to,” Bette said, grabbing the suitcase she had dropped on the ground when she had hugged him. “I’m sure you are dying to show me some new pieces you’ve bought.”
“Yes, actually, you remember that Paolo Vulno piece we saw together three years ago? A friend of mine bought it for me! It’s an early birthday present.”
“Must be a rich friend then. One I haven’t heard about… male or female?” Bette asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Peter threw an arm around Tina’s waist and he kissed her on the head. “Female, but doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t want anyone but Tina.”
“I wasn’t talking about you, moron,” she smiled. “Maybe she’s something for me?”
“She’s straight, Bette.”
“They all are, until they meet me.” Bette looked Tina straight into the eye while saying this and the blonde didn’t really know how to feel. Bette didn’t smile anymore and soon looked away, as if it hadn’t happened. But something had happened. And Tina had seen what.