Bette had written out everything she wanted to say, leaving plenty of space and time in her planned and written discussion for Tina to insert her expletives, vent her anger, and begin a dialogue again.  She picked up her cell, flipped it open and said, “Alice.”  As the phone rang, she took a deep breath.

“Hey, you’ve reached Alice.  I’m probably out working on a story right now.  Leave a message and I’ll get back to you today, tomorrow, soon.  Promise.  Bye.”

“Hi, Alice.  Tina, if you’re there, please pick up,” Bette said and waited.  “Tina, I need to talk to you.”  She waited and waited until the voice mail clicked off after two minutes.

Bette was sitting at the kitchen table.  An opened bottle of wine and one glass with only a few swallows left in it were in front of her.  Bette closed the phone and pressed her forehead against it as she considered what she should do.  Once more, she flipped the phone open and pressed redial.

“Hey, you’ve reached Alice.  I’m probably…” Bette waited patiently for the notice to leave a message and then began.  “Tee, it’s Bette.  If you’re there, could you pick up?  Please, baby, I need…”

Bette heard a click and she sat up.  “Hello,” came the lackluster voice through the phone.

Relief flooded her.  “Tina.  Hi.  I wanted to call you and…”

“Bette, please never call me baby again.  You can save that for someone else.  Not me, okay.  Not anymore,” Tina said and then lightly placed the phone in the receiver.

Bette stared at her cell in disbelief before shutting it. Almost immediately, it rang and she picked it up, knowing that once they spoke, they could start to mend.  “Hi.  Hi, bab…I mean, hi.”

“Hi, Bette.  I was just calling to see how you’re doing.  I know you’ve had some downtime this week.  I’ve been to the show every evening and it’s a triumph.”

Bette was confused, this wasn’t Tina, but Candace.  “Candace?”

“Yeah, how are you?”

“I…I haven’t been at work.”

“Yeah, I know.  You’re on vacation.  I’ve been thinking about you every day and…” She added with emphasis, “every night.  I can’t wait to see you.  When can you get away?  I’m not being clingy, I swear.  I just want to check in and see how you’re doing and let you know how much I’m looking forward to tasting you again.”