Tina came out of the bathroom dressed in a t-shirt and Sweat shorts…rounding the

corner and slipping into the den….she stopped to watch Bette sitting on the

floor in front of the coffee table going through some papers….
“Whatcha lookin at?” she asked…
“Ahhh, I was just going over some papers for the CAC…I hope to have new clients

coming to my gallery…”
“So u are trying to steal away the CAC’s client list…?”
“No, I am merely taking what was mine to begin with….I got them all of their

clients, and ‘The Provocations’ show was a success for them…so….they don’t

need any more clients..”
“What about that photographer?” asked Tina..
“Ah *****”…said Bette looking at her watch…”I need to call her first thing in

the morning to get the proofs sent to me….I have to start setting things up…”
“If..If you need any help doing that, I would be happy to assist you…all you

have to do is ask…”
“Thanks…” said Bette…”But you helped out alot today already… I didn’t

realize how much work had to be done….so I think I am going to hire someone to

do the outside of the gallery, and the landscaping….”
“And the inside?” asked Tina.
“I was actually going to ask you to help me finish that…I mean, just in your

spare time…you know, my mind didn’t change from what I said earlier…I want you

to help me…It will actually help you forget about a few things for a little

while, anyway…”
“yes it would definately help me to keep some things off of my mind..until next

week anyway..when I have that appointment…..I am starting back at the center in

the morning….but after work, I could meet you here and we could make our way

over there…”
“How about we just meet eachother there?” asked Bette.
“Oh, ok..that’s fine…what time?”
“I don’t know…just call me when you are leaving work…”
“K..”
Bette gathered her papers together…getting ready to go to bed…”T..are you

sure that you are comfortable on this sofa?”
“I..thank you for asking…but I know I can’t lay in that bed with you…knowing

that I can’t touch you in some way….and I know you aren’t ready for that

yet…no, I am not comfortable here, but I don’t want to rush things with us…I

want to gain your trust back, before we go towards the next step…”
“T, I will always love you but, the next step is not in my thoughts..I am just not

sure that we can work through this…I…I…just don’t know if I can put myself

back into that situation again…”
“Bette don’t say that…please…just say that we can be friends now..and maybe

something else in the future…give me something that I can hold onto…without

you in my life, I am nothing…I have nothing to look forward to every day…I

don’t want to live if I can’t have you….”
“Tina..that is absurd…look, we can be friends okay….just don’t expect much

more than that…cause I don’t know if I can give much more…” said Bette as she

started to walk towards the bedroom….she stopped and turned around,”T, I am

sorry..”
“It’s my fault…I caused all of this….I guess I will deal with it…”said Tina

as she grabbed her blanket, and laid down…
Bette stood there for a few minutes just wathching Tina….hearing her cry

lightly…’I want so bad to go to her and hold her…tell her that i love her more

than anything in this world, and that I want her back…but I can’t…I can’t

bring myself to slip back into that routine…not yet…but I feel so bad for

her…she is going through so much…I guess I will take it one day at a time and

see what happens..’ With that thought in mind, Bette walked to the bedroom and

laid down…only going to sleep after she cried her own tears of sadness.

The next morning, the alarm clock rang and Bette got up…waking Tina up….then

showering….and getting ready for work…By the time she was done…Tina had

gotten ready and was about to leave….
“Good luck on your first day back…” said Bette
“OOhh..thankx…it’s gonna be crazy..the first day of any job is always crazy…”
“Call me later, and I will let you know what time we can meet at the gallery….”
“Ok…” said Tina as she smiled, then walked out of the door…
Bette left shortly thereafter, heading into work…
She walked past James…”Hey…u have some messages…” he said following her into

her office….
“And…” said Bette…
“And I think you should call that photographer…she has been really ringing the

phone off of the hook this morning…”
“*****..yes…that is on my list of things for this morning…”
“Alright, I will let you be, so that you can get that call in…before I block her

number…on accident, of course …” said James as he walked out of the office…
Bette sat down at her desk….first things first…she called someone to work on

her upcoming gallery…and to do the lanscaping…insisting that it be done in 2

days or less…The company told her that it couldn’t be done that soon…but

again…she insisted…and again…she got her way….
‘great…now on to the second thing…’

Ring..Ring…Ring…
“Hello?” asked the person on the other end…
“Hi..Teresa?”
“Yes..”
“This is Bette Porter from the CAC…”
“Oh, hi…”
” I would really like this show to get on the road…how soon can you send me your

prints?”
“Well..it’s kind of time consuming getting everything together…but I can get

them out to you today….FED-EX…”
“That would be great….and as soon as I get them, I will give you a call…I am

also going to make arrangements at the Le Parc Suite Hotel in West Hollywood for

you…you will be pleased with it…It is very nice and cozy…I’ll call you back

with the information…k?”
“Ok…but what kind of schedule am I looking at? I mean, what date are we pushing

for that I will be flying there?”
“ummm..I think the gallery should be done by the first of next week….so, how

about that Monday, u will fly in…that reminds me that I need to book your flight

also…first class ok?”
“Y..Yes…that would be fantastic..” said Teresa…”Um..Monday is good for me…I

will be waiting for your call..”
“Ok..bye..” said Bette.
They hung up…’well, that is taken care of…’ she thought…The rest of the day

was good…even when Tina called…
“Hey T..” said Bette
“How did you know it was me?”
“Caller I.D. duh…” said Bette laughing…
“Duh…” said Tina laughing…
“So, are you going to meet me at the gallery?” asked Bette.
“Yes…how about in an hour….I have to go by the house and change…I forgot to

bring something with me this morning…”
“Yea..that will be great..I brought something to change into, so that I could go

straight over there after work…Work…Oh, how did your first day go?”asked Bette
“It was great actually..It all just came back to me…I guess it’s true what they

say about no-one every forgets how to ride a bike….even if you don’t ride it for

40 years..you never forget….”
“That’s right…”
“So, what are we going to do about dinner?” asked Tina..”I could pick something up

on the way there…”
“Yea..that sounds great…”
“What do you want?”
“T, whatever you pick out will be just fine….”
“Ok…I’ll pick something up, change clothes, and meet you there in an hour or

so…”
“Great…and be careful…”
“I will…” said Tina…

tbc……….