—–

Bette laughed as she finished her story. Kit recognized a sparkle in Bette’s eyes that she thought she’d never see again.
“I know it was an accident but I would never admit that to Tina. I’ve teased her about how forward she was hundreds of times,” she grinned.
Kit smiled at her sister. “You guys had so much chemistry… I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest. It makes me wonder how the love, the playfulness, the connection was lost… cause those things eroded long before you slept with Candace, you know?” Kit thought out loud.
“Hmmm, I don’t think the love went away, Kit…. it was just dormant for a while. My feelings for Tina are just as strong now as they were five years ago… but I’ll admit there was a time when I thought the love was gone. I was wrong… at least about my love for her.”
They fell into a comfortable silence. An hour later Kit went home.

—–

First thing Monday morning Bette called James into her office.
“James, I need you to do some research for me… it’s not work related, so I completely understand if you don’t want to do it. I’ll respect that,” Bette said and reclined in her chair.
“Ok, now you’ve got me curious… what sort of research?” James asked and sat down.
“I need you to find out where Tina lives. She’s living with some guy, Henry I believe he’s called. They met through her work. So you could start by getting in touch with Oscar at the Center. If you can get hold of any information on who this Henry is, that would be good too,” Bette said, “but James, as I said, it’s completely ok if you decline the assignment.”
“How fast do you need this information?”
“ASAP…”
“I’ll get right to it then…” James said and got up.
“Thanks James. I really appreciate it…” Bette said feeling strangely exhilarated.

At four o’clock James strolled into Bette’s office with a smug expression on his face. Bette looked at him with her eyebrows raised in question.
“Yes, James?”
“Well, it took a little work, but I have the information you asked for…” James said and looked at Bette expectantly.
“I’m listening… please go on.”
“Ok… his name is Henry Reynolds, he’s a civil rights attorney. The Center used him on some legal matter a while back. I’ve got his address. He lives not too far from the beach. Pretty nice area actually…”
Bette cut him off, “Yes, that’s fine, James. Have you written the address down?”
He slipped Bette his notes. “He has a kid… four or five years old, who lives with him part time. That’s about all I know.”
“Ok. Thanks James. I really appreciate the work you’ve done. I’m going to leave in a few minutes. Will you hold down the fort for the rest of the day?”
“Sure…” James said, surprised that his boss would leave work this early. She never left before 8pm these days.