Tina started to tremble even before Bette became visible. She could feel her presence. When Bette stepped into Tina’s field of vision she felt as if she had been punched in the gut. She crossed her arms in front of her and held tightly around her own body as she watched Bette cross the room with a confident swagger. Everything moved in slow motion. Bette stopped not thirty feet from where Tina was standing to talk to James. Her hair, her smile, her hands, and body – Tina memorized every little detail. She willed herself not to cry, not to move, not to breathe as long as Bette was right there. When Bette turned and walked back to where her office was, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She breathed in deeply as the tears started to fall. She turned and walked back to her car.

She didn’t get back on the road until the tears had dried up and her heartbeat returned to normal pace. This time she knew where she was going.

She parked the car in front of The Planet. Everything looked the same at least from the outside. Tina grabbed her purse and hurried to the door not to lose her nerve. It was relatively quiet inside, the lunch crowd was thinning out and it would still be hours before the evening crowd appeared. She ordered a cup of coffee at the counter as she had done thousands of times before. She sat down at a table in the back – not their usual table, somehow she felt as if she had lost the right to sit where she used to. As Tina leaned back and blew air over the hot coffee she felt both relieved and disappointed that none of her old friends were around this afternoon. She smiled at no one in particular as she let a sense of peace wash over her entire being.

Kit came out of her office and went behind the counter to talk to her staff about the menu for the evening. Her eyes scanned the room to see if anyone looked as if they needed anything. She was startled as she saw a well-known figure sitting in the back room. Kit went back into her office and picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Bette, where are you?”
“Oh hi Kit. I’m at work… just getting ready to leave as we speak. You sound weird. Is something wrong?”
“Well not wrong exactly… but an unforeseen opportunity has just walked in the door…”
“What are you talking about, Kit? An unforeseen opportunity…?” Bette mumbled as she flipped through some papers on her desk.
“Baby girl. If you want to put some action to your resent thoughts of you and Tina, then you need to come over here right away,” Kit clarified with impatience.
Bette went silent.
“Bette, Tina is here at The Planet… right now… If you want to run into her accidentally, so to speak, now is your chance…”
“She is? Oh Kit, doesn’t she look good?” Bette breathed.
“Yeah sis, she looks great. Now are you gonna get over here? And by the way, how do you know what she looks like these days?”
“…uhm… I don’t… I guess… never mind! I’ll be there in twenty minutes tops.”
“Good!”
“…and Kit, stall her if she tries to leave. Don’t let her out the door,” Bette said with determination in her voice.
“I’ll do my best.”
“… and Kit?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks!”
“You’re welcome… now just get your ass over here.”
“I’m running to the car right now – see ya.”

TBC