“James, it’s me.”

“Oh, hi Bette. What’s up?”

“I should ask you that. How are things?”

“Well, things are going well. Kristin is doing such a great job Bette. She was a great choice as Assistant Curator. She just seems to have the eye that you do for cutting edge work. I’m really impressed by her.”

“As long as you are impressed that’s all that matters.” Bette says smartly.

“I am and she is awesome.” James can hold his own with Bette. He has worked for her for so long that their verbal jousting is like a brother and sister sparring. But, he never looses sight of the fact that she is the boss and that she has and will always have the last word.

“Don’t let me keep you from your work James. I will see you on Thursday. By the way, are there any messages there for me?”

“She hasn’t called.” His voice sounded sad.

“Thanks James. It’s nice to know I’m missed.”

“You didn’t tell her you were going to London did you?”

“No, and she hasn’t even called to see why I haven’t called her!”

“Sorry, Bette.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow James.” The phone fell silent.

She can’t help herself, she dials Tina’s number. It goes to voice mail and Bette cannot bring herself to leave a message.

It’s late and she has had a complete day. Galleries, art, artists. Bette’s perfect day.

She sleeps peacefully without dreams of her lost love. It doesn’t happen all that much anymore. But still, on occasion, Bette will dream vividly of Tina and their life together. They drifted apart after the miscarriage a year ago. Tina had her way of dealing with it and Bette had hers and they never dealt with it together. So, their singular vision of life together became a two lane highway and they were headed in different directions.

Bette awoke early to get to the station to take the train to Paris. It was so much easier than flying. At times, it can take forever to get from Charles de Gaulle to the heart of the city.

She read from a book on her trip to Paris but her thoughts were really somewhere else.