“Well I’m happy to see that you and Tina are back together. From what I’ve observed you appear to be stronger than ever.”

“We are.”

“Well you’ll be glad to know that Emma too has found love. She’s met a wonderful woman. Her name is Liz and she has a daughter Suzie. They’ve been together for over a year now. I think it’s pretty serious.”

“That’s good to hear. Please give her my regards.”

“I will. So what is this I hear about Cole challenging you to a rematch at the pool table for some game that he lost to you 15 years ago?”

Tina looked at Bette and now understood why she’d spent the better part of the afternoon brushing up on her pool game. They shared a conspiratorial smile which wasn’t lost on Cole. He had a feeling he wasn’t getting his money back.

After dinner the two couples went to a night club for some dancing then ended their evening together with a nightcap at the Piano bar. The four friends made plans to meet up again the following day to go on shore for the first port of call on their exotic Caribbean voyage. They spent a lot of time together over the next several days of the cruise. When they got back to their homes in New York and Connecticut respectively they stayed in touch and the friendships grew closer.

***

With Tina’s assistance in writing grants and organizing fund-raising events they were able to get all the funding needed for their project. The purpose was to educate and bring awareness to the ever increasing bullying issues amongst teens in school and adults in the work place. The program offered treatment in the hopes of preventing the escalation of these issues which could range from taunting to violence to death and in some cases serious injury and victims committing suicide.

Greg and his team of medical professionals offered therapy and treatment not only to the victims but also to the perpetrators. Cole for his part focused on the legal matters making sure that the victims were made fully aware of the bullying laws and when possible found justice for them by prosecuting the offenders. This was the type of meaningful work that Tina was looking forward to spearheading in her new career. By the time they’d disembarked from the cruise ship she’d made her decision to pursue her PhD at Columbia University. The Kennard-Porter’s would be staying in New York for at least three more years.