"It seems the winds of change have swept through the Mode hallways and swept the Meade heir right out the door - leaving the goddess of fashion herself, Wilhelmena Slater, the sole Editor-in-Chief of Mode. Ms. Slater, now fully recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound, says she is completely up to the task of taking over the illustrious fashion magazine. Apparently her editing skills are much shaper than her aim."

Justin was watching television as he did his homework.

"Mom! Bobby!" he shriek "Get in here."

Suzuki St. Pierre continued. "Just what has happened to the heir to the Meade Empire? What scandal has caused such a sudden shift in the tides? Could he be caught up in another "community" or maybe he is undergoing too much stress? Or perhaps, more likely, our former playboy of fashion has gone back to his freewheeling, man-whore ways…"

Justin and Hilda looked at each other their mouths gaping.

"Oh my god! Do you think Aunt Betty knows?" Justin asked.

"I don't know. I don't think she's spoken to Daniel since she left. They didn't exactly leave on the best terms."

Justin dove for the phone. Hilda slapped his hand. "Nuh…uh. You think we're made of money or something? " She pointed over to the desk.

Justin walked over to the computer. There was always hope she'd be on Skype this time of night. Texting just wouldn't be the same, he wanted to hear her.

"Hi A.B." He was relieved to find her connected.

"Hey, Justin…It's great to hear from you."

"Hey Betty." Hilda came up beside Justin at the computer and sat down.

"Hi Hilda." Betty loved the way technology could relieve some of her homesickness. "What's up with you guys? Did you audition for that part in Grease yet, Justin?"

"No, not yet. They start auditions next Monday. But I've been totally getting ready…you wanna see the new move I choreographed for the tryouts?"

"Sure…" Betty started but Hilda interrupted.

"Not now Justin. Remember why we called?" Hilda's elbowed Justin in the ribs.

"Ow! Oh yeah. Aunt Betty, there's some crazy news about Mode…" He was about to continue but Betty stopped him.

"I heard…Daniel quit." Betty's tone was disheartened.

"What do you think it's all about?" Hilda asked.

"I don't know Hilda. It just seems so strange. He's worked so hard for the past four years and now he's throwing it all away. It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe you should call him…you know…find out if there's something going on."

"I want to Hilda. But Daniel and I haven't spoken in over a month. We're not exactly on the best of terms right now."

"I know." Hilda was sympathetic. "But maybe this could be a good excuse…to reconnect. You could tell him you heard the news and you're concerned about him."

"Maybe." Betty was skeptical. "To be honest, Hilda, I don't even think Daniel would answer a call from me. I think he's still pretty angry I didn't tell him about the job myself." The regret was evident in her tone.

"Well...he should get over it by now. I mean after all you've done for him. And he didn't even have the decency to say good-bye." Hilda could sense Betty was upset and she was starting to get protective.

Betty felt the need to defend Daniel. "Hilda, he's done a lot for me too. I should have given him a heads up about the job. You're right though" she wanted to appease Hilda a little. "he should have said good-bye."

"Yeah, he shoulda!"

"Maybe I could talk to Marc…see if he knows anything." Justin offered bringing them back to the present.

"Amanda says Marc is in the dark too." Betty replied. She decided to change the topic. "How's Papi?"

"He's great." Hilda replied. "He's thinking about going to California to visit Elena for a week."

"Really?" Betty picked up a bit. She'd been worried about Papi being in the house alone after Justin and Hilda moved out but he had actually surprised her. He started going out more, playing cards with friends, he was even talking about travelling. Maybe this would be his first trip.

They spoke for a few more minutes – about Bobby; about Hilda's new shop in the basement of their new house; about Betty's magazine. Then Betty decided it was getting pretty late and she needed to get some sleep.

"Do you want me to send you a copy of the 100th Anniversary Edition of Mode when it comes out?" Justin asked before they disconnected.

"Yeah. That'd be great, Justin." Betty was interested to know how all the editor profiles turned out. She'd worked on Daniel's – one of the last things she'd done for Mode. Maybe he was so angry with her that he didn't print it. She pushed the last thought out of her mind.

After she turned off her computer Betty thought for the second time that night about giving Daniel a call, then changed her mind. Was this how it was going to be? Was their friendship now over completely? She really wasn't sure how to mend whatever distance was now between them. She went to bed dejected.