Pulling up in her driveway, Bette grinned when she spied two figures in her living room. She quickened her footsteps, her grin turning into a full-blown smile as the occupants realized she was there.

“Hiya Boo,” Bette deposited her bag on the couch before making a beeline for her daughter. “Hey Angus. Thanks for bringing her back here.”

“Not a problem,” the man slipped his hands inside his back pockets. “I should go. Have fun tonight.”

Momentarily taken aback by his parting comment, Bette was brought back to the present when an insistent Angelica started planting baby kisses on her face.

“Hi,” the girl greeted her mom with a gummy grin.

“Chatty, aren’t we?” she leaned in to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “Mama B misses you so much.”

“Hi,” Angelica repeated happily.

“We’re going to have a nice dinner tonight. It’s just you, me and your Mama T.”

The little girl tucked her head into the nape of Bette’s neck, hiding her face against her mom. She found a comfortable spot and remained there, enjoying the warmth so readily available.

Placing Angelica back in her crib, Bette began the task of making dinner. With a printout of a recipe resting on the kitchen countertop, she tackled the complexities of lasagna.

Meanwhile somewhere in town, Tina just had sat down in the finance meeting. She was glad she had gotten there early. It gave her a chance to rest.

“Hey Tina, did you see yesterday’s LA Times? There’s a great photo of Bette in there,” one of the accountants said.

“Really?” Tina feigned interest. Bette was a high-profile dean in LA, and her photos regularly appear in the newspapers. “Which exhibit did she attend?”

“Don’t think it was an exhibit,” her co-worker shook his head. “Oh yeah, the mayor’s dinner party. He had some senator with him.”

“Is it still election season?” another accountant had joined in their conversation.

The man ignored the question. “Bette looked smoking hot with that senator in the photo.”

“A photo-op with Bette? Those stuffy old guys sure will do anything to make themselves look good,” Tina joked.

“Barbara Grisham is definitely not a guy,” he scoffed, wishing his wife will be half as alluring as the former senator when she’s same age as Barbara.