Chapter 19

 

Bella called us the next morning and told us she had found someone who could figure out exactly why Raven and I had been transported to Strangetown. As soon as we finished breakfast we got Lauren and Jessica to drop us off at the house before they went to work.

“Did you see the issue of Time magazine that came out today?” Joanna asked as Cassandra let Raven and I in the front door. It was hard to imagine that Joanna would have a copy of that particular magazine, but sure enough she held a red bordered magazine with the word “Time” written across it.

“No,” I told her, “I forgot it was Tuesday.”

“Well, check this out,” Joanna said as she showed us the magazine. There on the cover and inside the red trim was a picture of Joanna and Bella against a white background. “I made the cover! This is just amazing!”

I knew the feeling. Raven and I, along with the rest of our team, had been on the cover of Time twice: once when the feature article was about teenage superheroes, and again during our trip to Tokyo.

“You totally can‘t imagine how this feels,” Joanna said, ”or maybe you do, Supergirl.”

“Who told you?” I asked, maybe a little too roughly.

“Cassandra did,” Joanna told me. “She asked me and Randy to take you to see a friend of ours. Her dad might be able to help you.”

I calmed down. If Joanna was going to introduce us to someone who could help, then she had a right to know who we really were.

“Let me see the cover,” I said. Joanna handed the magazine over. “This is better than our cover,” I said, “and that was a live photo shoot!”

The look on Joanna’s face changed from excitement to pure shock.

“You’ve been on the cover of Time magazine?” she asked.

“It tends to happen when you save the world,” Raven said.

Bella came down the stairs and said hello. We smiled and said hello back. Joanna, Raven and I sat on one of the green couches in the living room. Bella took a seat across from us.

“I hope you don‘t mind,” she said, “but I told Cassandra about your situation to see if she knew anyone from work who might be able to help you, and it turns out that she had worked with one of the most well known scientists in town before she went on maternity leave. So she called him and he was more than willing to agree to see if he can help you out.”

“Great,” I told her.

“We really appreciate your help,” Raven added.

“Your welcome. Oh, and Cassandra told me that Joanna and Randy are friends with his daughter, so they’ve agreed to take you over there, if it isn‘t too much trouble,” Bella said.

“We don‘t mind,” Joanna said. “I needed something to do today.”

“So when are we meeting them?” Raven asked.

“This morning,” Joanna said. She stood up and picked up the copy of Time that I had left on the arm of the sofa. “They‘re busy this afternoon.”

“We‘d better get going, then,” Raven said. We got up to leave and Bella pulled me aside.

“Do you have a phone on you?” she asked me.

“I‘ve got one, but it doesn‘t work,” I replied.

“Then take this.” Bella handed me a small white flip phone that I had seen Bella use just a few days before.

“Wait a minute,” I said, “You‘re giving me your phone?”

“I got a new one so it could be added to the family plan,” she said. “I kept this one for you because I figured your phone wouldn‘t work here. I also figured that there should be some way to contact you.” I slipped the phone into the pocket of my jean skorts.

“Thanks again for everything,” I said, and headed over to where Joanna and Raven were waiting by the door.

“What did Bella want?” Joanna asked.

“To make sure that Raven and I are no longer phone-less,” I told her.

Randy was outside and joined us when we walked past.

“So who’s your friend we‘re meeting?” I asked Joanna.

She smiled and said, “Kelly Curious.”

 

***

 

The house of Kelly Curious looked more like a science lab than an actual house. The base of the building was one huge rectangle, and we could see several staircases on the roof leading to platforms that seemed to be suspended in midair.

“Well, this is it,” Randy said when we reached the house. “I have go back home. Cassandra asked me to watch Amanda while she gets some much needed rest.” He left us at the driveway and the three of us went up to the door and rang the bell.

The girl who answered the door had bright green skin and black eyes. Her hair was made up of black waves, and she had on long cargo pants and a tank top complete with a tie.

“Hey Joanna,” she said. “I can‘t believe you made the cover of Time magazine.” Then she noticed us. “Oh, hi. You must be Joan and Raven. I‘m Kelly. Come inside. My dad will be down in a minute.” As she let us inside, she stayed by the door and whispered to Joanna, “They didn‘t even notice.”

“Notice what?” I asked Raven quietly. Kelly looked like she had swallowed a golf ball. I wasn’t that loud, but then again I was right in front of her. She had heard me the same way I had heard her. “I‘m right here. I can still hear you.”

“It‘s nothing,” Kelly said, “but I guess if I know that you‘re superheroes then you should know that I‘m half alien. I was kinda surprised you didn‘t notice. Most people in Strangetown don‘t, but you‘re not from around here.”

“Oh, it‘s totally fine,” I said. “To be honest, I did notice, but it‘s not really a big deal. One of my really good friends is from another planet.”

“Really?” Kelly asked.

As I nodded, a man walked into the room. Unlike Kelly, he had normal skin and eyes and had no traces of alien genetics whatsoever.

“Hi girls,” he said. “You‘re Joan and Raven, right?” We nodded. “I‘m Pascal Curious. It‘s nice to meet you.” He sat down in a chair and invited us to do the same. “Hi Joanna. Congratulations on making the cover of Time.”

“Thanks,” Joanna said.

“I‘m sorry for having you come over this early,” Pascal continued, “but I have a lot of work to do over the next few days. Things in the world of alien abductions have become very busy lately, as I‘m sure you are all aware.”

“So, you‘re an alienologist?” I asked.

“Yes. I study aliens. I‘ve even been abducted myself. Kelly was the result of that.”

“Wait,” Raven said. “How can aliens reproduce through men?”

“That‘s one of the things my colleagues and I are trying to understand,” Pascal said. “That was the reason I set myself up for an abduction. I wanted to experience the process firsthand so I could improve my studies.” 

Kelly rolled her eyes and mumbled something about being born for science. For the most part her father ignored her, but he did shoot her a “not now” glance.

“So you wanted to get abducted,” I said.

“For me it was great experience,” Pascal said. “However, I have been wondering about Bella. For someone who isn‘t interested in aliens, an abduction can be scary. And add to that what happened to Bella after her abduction…” He shook his head. “I would like to talk to her, but I‘m not sure if she will be able to handle it. That’s part of why I agreed to help you. When her daughter called with a request directly from Bella, I couldn’t turn it down. Could you do me a favor and tell her I would like to talk to her sometime? I want to know how she‘s doing.”

“Of course.” I replied, “She‘s our friend.”

“She‘s been doing fine,” Joanna said.

“That‘s good to hear,” Pascal said. “My colleagues and I are trying to figure out what exactly happened to her. But while you two are here, let‘s focus on what happened to you. Although my primary field of scientific study is aliens, I also know a lot about other disciplines as well, so chances are I will be able to help you. So could you tell me exactly what happened?”

We told him everything, from the lighting strike to our arrival in Pleasantview and Strangetown. Pascal took notes on every detail, and at times he would tell me to slow down so he could get everything written. Other times he would ask us about specific details, and we would have to replay the scene in our heads to figure out the answer. Finally, after we had finished telling our story, he put his pen and pad of paper down.

“In order to figure out exactly what happened to you, I‘ll have to run some tests,” he said.

“No blood tests!” I said automatically. The last thing I wanted was a needle in my arm.

“It doesn‘t have to be blood,” Pascal said. “I just need something from your body so I can search for any abnormalities.”

“Like hair?” Raven asked.

“That would be great,” Pascal replied.

It was the perfect solution. My head wasn’t going to miss a few strands of hair.

By the time the hair samples had been collected, Pascal had to leave for an investigation. He asked us for a phone number to call when he got some results and I gave him the number to Bella’s old cell phone.

“Thanks so much for helping us,” I told him.

“It‘s no problem,” he said as he and Kelly showed us out the door.

 

Chapter 20

 

“I‘m sorry I missed rollerblading yesterday,” Joanna said as we walked down Kelly’s street towards Road to Nowhere. “I didn‘t know you were going until I ran into Raven on my way home. I was busy.”

“What were you doing anyway?” I asked while trying to keep my flip-flops on. I wanted to walk barefoot in the sand, but with the midday desert sun, the sand was hotter than blazes.

“I was at my new school,” Joanna said, “taking placement tests. The schools here have advanced science and math curriculums, so my old school‘s science program was horrible by their standards.”

“My middle school‘s science program was horrible period,” I told her. Joanna looked confused.

“You went to middle school?” she asked.

“I lived a normal life for 14 years, so of course I went to middle school. And I also have a high school diploma. It‘s not like I never went to school.”

“How‘d you get that?” Joanna asked.

“Same way everyone else does,” I told her, “four years of hard work and determination.”

“I guess I‘m kinda nervous about going to school here though,” Joanna said. “I placed in the highest science class and in eighth grade algebra, but at my old school, I wasn‘t in that level, so I‘ve missed half a years worth of stuff. The school didn‘t even want me to take the placement tests, but my mom insisted and got them to change their minds.”

“Don‘t worry, Joanna,” I told her. “You’re going to do fine.”

“Maybe you could get someone to help you catch up,” Raven suggested.

“That‘s a good idea,” Joanna said.

Almost as soon as she stopped talking we could hear screaming. The owners of the voices, a group of what seamed like 50 teenage girls, came running towards us out of nowhere. Joanna just stopped and stared at them in disbelief, but I knew exactly what to do.

“Raven, go see if you can find a fast way out of here,” I said.

She took off into the crowd as they flocked around us, barely giving us any room to breathe. The girls were taking pictures and shoving random pieces of paper in our faces. The noise was so loud I couldn’t make out any individual words. Not that I needed to. I knew what was going on.

I couldn’t tell if Joanna knew what the crowd wanted or not. She was just standing there unresponsive to all the paper and pens shoved in her face.

“What do we do?” she asked me.

“We run.”

I grabbed her arm and began weaving my way though the crowd as fast as I could. My flip-flops didn’t slow me down - I can run in anything - but hauling Joanna did hamper our speed.

After what seemed like five minutes but was probably only 30 seconds, we broke through the crowd and bolted towards the main road, the swarm of girls on our tail. As soon as I got past those last girls between us and the road and let go of Joanna, I felt relieved. There, at the intersection where Raven was waving at us, was Bella driving a bright red Porsche. She quickly unlocked the doors and Raven hopped into the back seat. I pretty much dove in right after her, slamming my door behind me and shoving my seatbelt into its buckle. Joanna got in the passenger seat and as soon as her seatbelt was on, Bella took off down the road.

“Are you okay?” Bella asked us.

“Yeah, I‘m fine,” I answered.

“Well, I‘m not,” Joanna said. “I nearly got trampled back there. What the heck did those girls want anyway?” I looked at Raven.

“Something from you,” we both said.

“Like what?”

“Autographs, pictures,” I told her, “you know, stuff like that.”

Joanna held her head, like she couldn’t believe that a large group of girls had just swarmed her for autographs. She probably didn’t.

“Joanna, you‘re going to be fine,” Bella said. She turned onto a side street and maneuvered the car through a u-turn. “I‘m glad I was heading to Lauren and Jessica’s when I did. You don‘t mind if we go there, do you? I don‘t want to keep them waiting.” We turned back on the main road and started heading the other way.

“No, it‘s fine,” Joanna said. “Thanks for getting us out of there.” I nodded in agreement.

“Anytime,” Bella said.

We sat in silence until we passed the side road where we had been swamped. The girls had gone, leaving the road as empty as it had been when we were walking on it.

“I just don‘t get it,” Joanna said. “I mean, why would all those girls do that just to get something from me?”

“We‘re in a small town in the middle of nowhere,” I said. “It‘s not often that those girls get the chance to see someone their age who just appeared on the cover of Time magazine. You’re a celebrity now. That kind of thing happens to them all the time.”

“Has it ever happened to you?” We shook our heads.

“We fight crime,” Raven said. “People respect us for that.”

“Wait a minute,” Joanna said, “are we in a Porsche?”

“You just noticed that now?” I asked.

“Well, I‘m sorry,” Joanna retorted, “I was too busy running from all the crazy, screaming girls!” Her reply sounded harsh and almost insulting. My automatic defensive reflex kicked in.

“Well, I was too, but I can read while I‘m running.”

“Okay, that‘s enough,” Bella said. She slowed down to approach a yellow stoplight and I realized that what I had said came off as more of an insult then a defending statement. Woops!

“I‘m sorry if that was insulting,” I told her.

“It‘s fine,” Joanna said. “Don‘t worry about it. So what kind of car is this, anyway?”

“You’re right, this is a Porsche,” Bella said. “Mortimer and I went to the dealership yesterday so I could have a car, and I would have been happy with anything that worked, but Jessica‘s always wanted to ride in a luxury car, so I figured I‘d live it up and get it for her. In fact, I‘m actually going over there to surprise her.”

The light changed to green and we were once again moving down the road.

“So how long is this swarming going to last?” Joanna asked, going back to the reason we were in the Porsche in the first place.

“In this location,” I said, “maybe couple of weeks, or months at the most.”

“MONTHS?” Joanna shrieked. She hit her head on the seat’s headrest. “I won‘t be able to go anywhere.”

“Sure you will,” I told her. “Just wear a hat and sunglasses. No one will know it‘s you.”

Bella reached in a compartment between the two front seats without taking her eyes off the road.

“You can use these if you want,” she said, handing Joanna a pair of sparkling red sunglasses.

“These aren‘t, like, really expensive, are they?” Joanna said, looking at them.

“No, I‘ve had these for a while,” Bella replied. “There really isn‘t a point in buying expensive sunglasses anyway.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “why would anyone pay 200 dollars for a pair of sunglasses that look just like ones you find at Target for 20 bucks?”

“Hello! Porsche!” Joanna said. “Wait, they sell sunglasses for 200 dollars? I thought expensive sunglasses were, like, 45.”

“Don‘t worry,” Bella said, “I didn‘t pay anywhere near 20, let alone 45.”

“Thanks,” Joanna said, putting on the sunglasses.

“Your welcome,” Bella said. “I have more pairs where those came from.”

We pulled into the parking lot of Lauren and Jessica’s apartment building after picking up lunch from a fast food place. They were waiting for Bella and as soon as Jessica saw the car her eyes grew wide.

“Oh my gosh!” she yelled as she jumped up and down in excitement. “No way!” She took off toward the parking lot as we got out of the car. As soon as Bella closed the door Jessica pulled her into a hug. “Bella, you‘re one of the most amazing friends ever!” she said as jumped in her friend’s arms.

“Thanks,” Bella replied. “I picked it out with you in mind. You‘re also an amazing friend.”

Lauren looked shocked as well. She stood speechless as she stared at the car. Jessica let go of Bella and they walked over to their friend.

“You look surprised.” Bella smiled.

“Yeah,” Lauren said. “I just never thought one of my best friends would pull a luxury car into our parking lot.”

“Well, come on,” Jessica said. “Let‘s go! Can I drive?”

“No,” Bella told her. “I just got this car, Jessica.”

“And the last time you drove, we rear ended someone at a stoplight,” Lauren added.

“That was two months ago!”

“Look,” Bella said, “if you want to have lunch at my house, we have to leave now.”

“Fine. I get shotgun,” Jessica said while getting in the passenger seat.

The rest of us got in back and Bella drove us out of the parking lot and back to her house.

 

Chapter 21

 

“No! No! No! NO! NOOOOOOOO!” I said, almost slamming the GameCube controller in my lap. I looked up to the big screen T.V. where I was playing Mario Kart Double Dash to see my character be hit with one of those blue spike shells and lose the lead. I was so close to winning the battle hardest tacks, but now I didn’t have any balloons left and I would have to settle for second.

Raven and I had been spending the morning hanging out with Joanna, Randy, and Amanda, and they were arguing about what to. We couldn’t go anywhere - at least not after Joanna’s fans had mobbed us yesterday. So I figured I’d show them a video game. I knew that if Joanna was anything like my 14 year-old self, she would have a GameCube and the some racing games. So Joanna ran home and got them both. Then I plugged the GameCube into Randy’s T.V. and started the game. Everyone watched in amazement as I played the game and explained how to race. Then I got to race and battle with the others. Even though the girls weren't that good they were still enjoying themselvs.

I looked up at the screen and saw that I still had one balloon left.

“I didn‘t even know I had that,” I said. “My butt is saved!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassandra and Bella enter the room, probably thinking someone was in danger from the way I had been yelling. Great. Just great.

“I thought you tried to avoid turning the kids into zombies in front of the T.V,” Bella said to Cassandra.

“Yeah, well, apparently I‘m too late,” Cassandra replied.

“How many more times do you have to hit him?” Joanna asked me.

“He should be out after one more,” I said as made my character pick up an item box and wait for an ambush. He appeared just in time, and when he tried to turn past me, I pressed the button and tossed the red shell in my opponent's direction.

“Why does he keep doing that?” Amanda said from the floor. “Shouldn‘t he know that you're going to do that by now?”

“I don‘t know where she'll be,” Randy said as the hit his kart and pooped his final balloon.

As my the winner screen showed up on the T.V, Amanda, Joanna and Randy started clapping. 

“Mom, Grandma,” Amanda said after she glanced behind her, “Joan just beat Randy!”

“That‘s great,” Cassandra told her.

“That wasn‘t the person she beat in the last two hours,” Joanna added.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Cassandra said as she headed for the T.V. “We have rules in this house, you know.”

“Mom!” Amanda said. “It's my turn next.”

“You play later,” Cassandra told her. “You shouldn‘t spend too much time in front of the T.V. at once.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll turn it off for now.” I said.

“It‘s all right,” Cassandra said. She turned off the T.V. “Spending a little time like that is fine, as long as it‘s not all day.”

Amanda ran off with Joanna and Randy in tow. Cassandra also left the room as Bella took a seat next to Raven and I on the couch.

“Hey, what‘s up?” I asked her.

“I talked to Mortimer yesterday about how Pascal wanted to talk to me, and we’ll go later today and see what he has to say,” she said.

“That‘s good,” I said. “He‘ll be happy to know you‘re doing well.”

“We also were able to set a date for the wedding.”

“You‘re having a ceremony?” I asked.

“It won’t be big. We wanted to go to town hall, but Lauren and Jessica want to see us get married so we decided to have a small, semi-formal ceremony.”

“So when is it?”

“Friday.”

“Really? New Year‘s Eve?”

“Isn‘t that impossible?” Raven asked.

“Not here,” Bella said. “It was the earliest date we could get and we took it, well, because it sounds romantic.”

“I totally agree with you,” I said.

“I‘d like you to come,” Bella continued, “not as a way for you to get home, but as my friends.”

“Sure,” I told her. “I‘d love to be there.”

“I‘ll come too,” Raven said. Then I realized that there was one major problem.

“Oh my gosh, I don‘t have anything to wear,” I said.

“That‘s okay,” Bella said. “We can go shopping tomorrow before the bachelorette party, to which you‘re also invited.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, “You‘re having a bachelorette party?”

“Lauren and Jessica insisted on throwing one, and once they talked about it, it sounded like a good idea.”

“That‘s cool,” I told her. “I never understood why guys get to have all the fun while girls have to sit around and talk.”

“That‘s almost exactly what Lauren said.”

The door bell rang and Bella got up to answer it. It didn’t take very long to figure out who was at the door because as soon as it opened we heard the visitor say “Oh look, it‘s the woman who ruined my life!”

Oh great. Out of all the people who could have come to the door, why did it have to be her? I got off the couch.

“I‘ll hold her off,” I told Raven.

I headed to the entryway to find my suspicions to be true. The woman at the door was none other than Dina. Bella was trying to hold herself together, and I could barely hear her reply.

“Why can‘t you just leave us alone?” she said calmly.

“Why don‘t you just make me?” Dina said as she walked in the house, her black cocktail dress swaying behind her. How many of those did she own?

“What the heck do you want, Dina?” I said, resisting the urge to shove my fist in her face.

“Great. It‘s Joanna‘s clone,” Dina responded.

“Okay,” I said, taking a few steps closer to her, “first of all, I have a name, and second, I‘m not the jerk who came over here to insult everyone I talk to, so that pretty much narrows it down to you. So why don’t you just back off?”

“You‘d better get who I came for before I…”

“Anne‘s not here, Dina,” I heard a deep voice say behind me. I turned around to find Mortimer rushing down the stairs. Raven must have gotten him, because she came down the stairs shortly after him.

“Then where is she?” Dina asked him.

“I‘m pretty sure you know where she is, and that you’re just using her as an excuse so you can come over here and harass Bella!” he said as he stood next to her. “Just go away and leave her alone!”

Dina gave them both a nasty look and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Mortimer took Bella in his arms and held her close as she began to cry on his shoulder.

“It‘s okay, Honey. It‘s okay,” he told her.

“She told me that I ruined her life,” Bella told him.

“You didn‘t ruin her life. She did that to herself.” He began to rub her back to comfort her, and Bella started to relax.

“I know that, but it still hurts,” she said.

“I know this is going to be hard, Bella, but we‘re going to get through this together.”

They stayed like that for a while until the sound of shattering glass came from the kitchen.

“Dad, could you help me clean this up?” Cassandra asked. “I can‘t reach what fell on the floor.”

“Are you going to be okay if I go help her?” Mortimer asked Bella.

“Go ahead. I‘ll be fine,” she told him. They let go of each other and Mortimer went into the kitchen.

We walked into an adjacent room where Bella sat down on a sofa and rested her head on the arm. I took a seat beside her.

“Why does she insist on treating me like that?” she asked.

“Do you want to know what I think?” I asked her. Bella nodded. “Because you let her.” Bella sat up.

“What do you mean?”

“She could tell you were upset by the way you just stood there and let her insult you. That‘s how she wants you to feel. If she gets what she wants then she‘ll keep it up,” I told her. “Bella, you have to stand up to her. You have to show her that she can‘t bring you down. You saw what I did, right?”

“I can‘t do that,” Bella said. “It‘s just not courteous.” I practically jumped off the couch.

“Forget courtesy!” I said. “She stole your husband! Are you gonna let her get away with that?”

“I don‘t want to, but there‘s no way to do that politely,” Bella told me. I sat back down next to her.

“You can‘t be polite all the time, Bella,” I said. “Yes, it‘s a good thing, but sometimes you just need to be firm and if you can’t do that, then you get nowhere.”

“I don‘t know if I can do that,” Bella said. “It just seems hard to do.”

“It may be,” I told her, “but if you confront her, eventually she‘ll leave you alone.”

 

***

By the time she had returned home from talking to Pascal, Bella was feeling much better. Mortimer had gone with her, and when they had gotten back, she told us and Lauren and Jessica over the phone what had happened. Pascal told them that his team of scientists were investigating the wreak of a UFO right outside of town that had crashed at about the same time as Bella’s disappearance. Abductions occurred often in Strangetown, but that was the only UFO crash site. It had stayed in the desert for the last decade, as it was too big to move without damaging the evidence. They had looked at it at the time of the crash, but now they were examining it knowing that most likely it had been carrying her. A chemical analysis proved that the UFO had never gotten higher than the stratosphere, so the crash must have happened shortly after the UFO left Pleasantview. There had most likely been a malfunction, causing the spaceship to crash. There was no damage to the interior of the ship due to the advanced alien safety technology, so no one in the ship would have gotten hurt. However, Bella must have been tossed from the ship upon impact and had probably sustained an injury when she hit the ground. It wasn’t enough to cause permanent damage, but it would have been enough to give her a temporary case of amnesia.

Bella had taken in all the information as well as she could. She told us she took a deep breath, held Mortimer’s had, and took everything in one part at a time. It was hard for her, but she was able to hear everything in one sitting. Afterwards, Mortimer had taken her out for a meal to talk everything over and help her feel better.

What bothered her the most was the thought that if the whole thing had never happened, she would never have meat Lauren and Jessica. She was sad about not being a part of her family for ten years, but the thought of never having met the friends who had helped her though all her hardships made her just as sad. She didn’t feel that way just for her own sake, but also for the sake of her friends. She couldn’t count how many times she had been the one to comfort them through break-ups, heartaches, and the times when money was tight. They had become sisters to her, and they were just as important to her as her family. As much as she didn’t know where she would be without them, she knew that the way they felt about her had to be even stronger.

When Pascal said that the accident should have never happened, she had started to cry, and as she explained how she felt, she was expecting Mortimer to have a negative reaction, or even disapprove. Instead, he held her and told her that he understood - he felt the same way about having had Anne.

We were talking about what kind of stores we would shop at tomorrow when we heard the doorbell ring again. Bella opened the door to find that Dina was once again standing on the porch. Dina rolled her eyes and had a distinct scowl on her face, but Bella remained where she was.

“You don‘t have anything better to do than to take things from me, do you?” Dina asked.

Bella shot me a quick glance. I nodded my head.

“Actually, I do,” she said. “You‘re the one with nothing better to do besides being a jerk to me, and I‘m not going to take that anymore.” Her voice was on the verge of cracking, but she was able to keep her distress from showing.

“Yeah,” Dina said, “then explain why my life has fallen apart!”

“Dina, I don’t want anything to do with you, and I don‘t want you in my house,” Bella said as she raised her voice. “You‘re not welcome here. So just leave - now.”

Dina gave Bella one last nasty look and headed down the porch, slamming the door behind her.

Bella sat down on the floor and rested her back against the wall as she took several deep breaths. I sat down with her, but before I could ask if she was going to be okay, Mortimer got on the floor next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

“You stood up to her, Bella,” he said. “That‘s great.”

“I don‘t feel great,” Bella told him while resting her head on his shoulder. “Part of me feels bad for being mean to her.” Mortimer moved his hand to her head and started stroking her hair.

“Honey, I quit respecting her a long time ago,” he said. “She‘s treated you horribly. You have a right to tell her to back off.”

“I do feel good about one thing,” Bella said softly. “I didn’t think I could do it, but I proved myself wrong.” She gave me a smile. “Thanks, Joan. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You‘re welcome,” I said.

As I got up to leave the room, Mortimer gave Bella a deep and passionate kiss.