Both mother and daughter watched the former senator until she was out of sight. Bette straightened up, pulling the stroller along as she returned to her seat. They spent the next few minutes chatting in a way only a little girl and her mother can.

When Angus and Kit came over much later to collect Angelica, they found the little girl on the lap of Bette, dancing to their private song. The couple stood and watched from aside, not wanting to intrude.

“Hey you two,” Bette motioned for them to sit down.

“Your friend’s gone?” Kit inquired.

“Yes, Kit,” the younger Porter sibling answered offhandedly.

“Sorry to cut your time with Angie short, Bette, but we have to go,” Angus said.

Kit frowned. “Where’s my Boo going?”

“She’s got a play date with the gay dads group in the neighborhood,” Bette offered, tickling Angelica at the process. “I should head back to work, too.”

“Are you coming over tomorrow night?”

Bette readied herself. “Probably not. I had to move my schedule around to free up Wednesday. I’m having dinner with Tina.”

“What?” Kit’s head snapped around quickly. “Why?”

“Because we’re Angelica’s parents and we should try to get along if we’re serious about raising her,” Bette replied calmly. “Whatever mistakes we made, it’s ours to fix.”

“What does Henry have to say about it?”

“They broke up,” Bette turned her attention back to Angelica, who was just about to leave with Angus. “Bye Boo, Mama B will see you very soon.”

“Bye,” the little girl waved at her mother, flashing a gummy grin at her.

“I’ll see you later,” Angus told Kit. “Bye Bette.”

“Be careful, you two,” Kit crossed her arms and stared at her baby sister. “So Tina breaks up with Henry and she comes running back to you?”

“It’s not like that, Kit,” Bette assured her. “We talked. A long overdue talk.”

“So what’s going to happen now?”

“We’re trying to be more open to each other. Communicate more, and not just yelling at each other.”

The older Porter had reservations about the recent development, but she wisely kept to herself for now. “Let me rephrase that, what do you want to happen?”