I was in such a hurry to post last time that I forgot to thank all of you for the awesome feedback! It it much appreciated!
"I appreciate you doing this on short notice, Hilda," Betty said into the camera on her laptop.
"Lucky for you, my one afternoon appointment is done," Hilda replied as she straightened up the manicure station in her salon. "Besides, I figured it must be important for you to want to video chat on a Thursday afternoon."
Betty let out a deep breath. "It is."
"Let me guess: Daniel," Hilda said. When her sister nodded, she asked with evil in her voice, "What did he do?"
"No, he didn't do anything," Betty clarified, but then she added, "Except tell me he's in love with me."
Hilda's expression changed from protective to excited. "Ah, he finally told you! That's great."
"What do you mean finally?"
"Oh, come on, Betty, it was pretty obvious why he went traipsing after you to London. Men don't do that kind of thing unless they are in love."
"She's right, Chipmunk," Bobby said as he approached Hilda, who turned her neck to kiss him hello.
Betty said hello to her brother-in-law as Hilda turned her attention back to the computer. "So, did you say it back?"
"No."
"Why not?" Hilda screamed as Bobby pulled up a chair beside his wife.
"Because!" Betty yelled back, "I'm not sure how I feel. I mean I know I feel something, but…"
"But what? Betty, you wouldn't have gotten in this deep with Daniel if you didn't love him, too. So what's the problem?"
"It's not a problem, really, it's just that…we talked about Molly." She suddenly felt guilty for wanting to talk to her sister about this.
"Oh," Hilda suddenly understood the problem, and why Betty had reached out to her.
"Daniel said that he's moved on, and I believe him…"
"But?" Hilda prompted.
"I saw him fall in love with Molly. I saw how much it hurt him when she died," she explained. "And now, just over a year after that, he's saying he's in love with me. I mean, if it were any other woman, I would probably tell him that it's too soon."
"But you're not any other woman, Betty," Hilda said sympathetically. "I think you know that."
"Yeah, I know," Betty admitted. "I guess I just need to understand how it works: how do you love someone who died while loving someone new at the same time?"
Hilda took her time in answering, felt Bobby's hand on her knee. She placed her own over his. "It's not like it's a competition. When Santos died, I thought I would never find love again." Hilda glanced at her husband and gave him a smile. "But I did. And while I still love Santos, it's different. I think your heart makes room for new love, so you can live again."
Betty smiled at the beauty of her sister's words. Before she could say anything else, Bobby spoke up, "You know, Chipmunk, I don't have a lot of love advice to give out, but you shouldn't let this stop you from being with Daniel if you want. If I had let Santos' memory stop me from being with Hilda, I would have missed out on the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Oh, baby," Hilda said as she grabbed his face and kissed him.
"All right, all right," Betty yelled to disrupt the PDA. "Thank you, both of you. It's just so confusing. I mean, this is Daniel."
"You know, Betty, I don't think you're worried that this thing with Daniel isn't for real. I think you worried that it is."
"What?" Hilda's theory genuinely confused her.
"Just think about it," Hilda replied. "We have to go get Justin. You gonna be okay?"
Betty took a deep breath and smiled, "Yep, thanks again. Love you guys!"
Hilda said, "Love you!" as Bobby said, "Hang in there, Chipmunk!" and then they were gone.
Betty shut off her computer, pondering what Hilda has said.