Betty DeGeneres secretly watched Ellen and Regina during the breakfast. Regina had clearly shown every hints of liking Portia. The way she looked at her, the way she talked to her, and the way she smiled at her. Dear god, Regina didn’t even try to hide it. Portia must be blind or really stupid if she didn’t know that Regina liked her.
While Ellen…. Betty didn’t know what was going on inside her daughter’s mind. Ellen was definitely not as easy to read as Regina was. Ellen had always been more quiet, calmer, and better at hiding her feelings. But every once in a while, Betty noticed Ellen would stare at Portia when that girl wasn’t paying attention. Betty couldn’t quite define the meaning of that look, but she was pretty sure that there was something there. There was something going on between Ellen and that girl.
Something unclear just yet.
According to Betty’s observation, between Ellen and Regina, Regina was the one who seemed to be closer to Portia. Regina was the one who oftenly started the little conversations with Portia on the table. But the thing is, it seemed that Ellen was the one who knew Portia better.
Betty paid attention to how Ellen would take the napkin and handed it to Portia when she saw that the girl was looking for something. Betty also saw the way Ellen automatically pushed the little bowl of lemon slices on the table towards Portia when the girl walked out of the kitchen while carrying a cup of tea on her hand and sat between Ellen and Regina.
This was interesting, Betty thought. Regina was closer to Portia, but Ellen was the one who knew Portia’s habits better. What about the girl herself? Betty was curious of Portia de Rossi’s thoughts.
Portia seemed to treat Ellen and Regina in the same way. It seemed like she didn’t have any special interests in neither of Ellen and Regina. That girl looked at them in the same way, talked to them in the same way, and smiled at them in the same way.
Betty frowned slightly. Did Portia really put no interests at all on both of Ellen and Regina? Worse, did that girl only try to toy them? No, that’s not possible. Everything about that girl clearly showed that she wasn’t that kind of girl. Betty was quite sure about that. She trusted her instinct. Women’s instinct was never something to underestimate. And this time, her instinct told her that Portia de Rossi wasn’t playing with Regina, nor Ellen. Perhaps Portia was just uninterested in both of them.
Ah, my poor girls, Betty sighed in her heart.
Right at that time, Portia stood up and lifted her empty plates. She turned to Ellen who was sitting on her left. Ellen nodded and Portia took Ellen’s plate too. And then Portia was seen to say something else to Ellen. Betty couldn’t quite catch what was that because Regina and Vance was talking about some new talent show. Betty pretended to be interested and she said something once in a while to catch up with the conversation even though she was secretly stealing glances at Ellen and Portia.
Perhaps Portia asked Ellen if she wanted more coffee, because Ellen looked down at her almost empty cup and nodded. Then, when Portia carried both of the plates on her left hand and reached for Ellen’s cup with her left hand, Ellen stopped her. She said something and motioned her hand, initiating something. Portia left the table and walked to the kitchen. Ellen reached her cup and followed Portia behind.
Betty needed to change her position in order to have a look of what’s going on in the kitchen. She saw Ellen sat in one of the high chairs on the kitchen bar while Portia poured her coffee. Portia said something that made Ellen smile. Then the girl herself smiled, too.
Betty was stunned. No, her earlier thoughts were absolutely wrong. From what she had just witnessed, Portia de Rossi might talk to Regina and Ellen the same way. She also might smile at them the same way. But she surely didn’t look at them the same way.
It was as clear as a crystal.
Because Betty DeGeneres had witnessed the difference with her own eyes.
This was profoundly interesting.
“So, you’re going to help your brother with the whole recital thingy?” Portia asked Ellen who sat in front of her, sipping her coffee.
Ellen nodded, and softly snorted, “You didn’t hear what Vance said earlier? He said he’s happy that my wrist is sprained and I had to call off all my concerts, because that way I am now available to help him with his recital.” She looked at Portia for a while, then she grumbled, “I thought he was going to thank you for spraining my wrist.”
Portia squinted her eyes hearing the last sentence from Ellen but decided to not say anything about it. So she said, “But I think you too are happy with this idea.”
Ellen shrugged indifferently. “Well, eitherway, I’m not currently busy at all. So I have all the time in the world.”
Portia rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“So,” Ellen muttered and she looked at Portia hesitantly, “since I’ll start working tomorrow, I won’t be at home that much.”
“Oh.”
Ellen still seemed to hesitate for a while, but finally she took something out of her pocket and put it on the kitchen’s bar. Portia stared at that thing. A key?
“A key?” she asked in confusion and stared up at Ellen.
“That’s the main door’s key and the room’s key,” Ellen quickly mumbled. “That way, you’ll be able to come here anytime with or without me in the house.”
Portia blinked. “But why?”
Ellen stared back at Portia. “You’re not forgetting your task to clean up, are you?” she asked.
Oh. Portia just comprehended. “Oh,” she muttered. Right. She still had that one task to clean the woman’s apartment. Why did she think……....? Portia shook her head to wake herself up from her daydream.
“And you still have to take care of your plants,” Ellen added.
“Of course,” Portia answered and took the key.
“But you won’t need to prepare any foods for me,” Ellen said. “One of the perks of working with my brother is he’ll make sure I eat 3 times a day.”
Portia nodded without saying a word. Very strange. Why did she feel lonely out of the blue?
“If I need any help from you, I’ll call you right away,” Ellen added.
Portia nodded again and inhaled deeply to push aside a slight feeling of disasapointment in her chest.
For a brief moment, neither of them were saying anything. Portia just looked down to the key on her hand and Ellen got back on sipping her coffee. Seconds later, the silence was broken by Regina’s cheerful voice. “Hey, you guys. What are you talking about?” she asked while walking towards the refrigerator, opened it and took a bottle of water.
“About me who’s going to help Vance with his recital,” Ellen answered lightly.
Regina stood next to Portia and smiled broadly. “That’s good news for both of you,” she said. She moved her bottle towards Ellen and continued, “You’ll have activity to do and Portia will have more free time. Great, right?”
Ellen shrugged. “Sure. If you say so.”
Regina turned to Portia. “So, what are you gonna do to fill your extra free times?”
Portia smiled. “I don’t know yet,” she replied. “I just found out today that I’ll have extra free time. But I think there will be lots of things for me to do. I’ll have more time to practice. I also can go out and hang out with my friends if I’m not needed here.”
Portia ignored the look Ellen gave her.
“You can always call me if you’re bored,” Regina offered. “You know I’ll be really glad to hang out with you.”
Portia laughed. “Didn’t you say that you and your crews will be busy with the hip-hop campaign next week?”
“Crap, you’re right,” Regina groaned. “I forgot about that. Well, after that campaign then, I guess.”
“Sure,” Portia said lightly. “Just call me if you have time.”
Again, Portia felt like Ellen was piercing a hole through her head. But when she turned to Ellen, the woman had already switched her sight direction. Deciding to not think about it, Portia glanced at her watch and said, “I have to get going now.”
“To Small Steps?” Regina asked.
Portia nodded. She looked at Ellen and asked her, “You want me to come here later on eve?”
Ellen didn’t give any direct reply. She looked down to her coffee while mulling over, then she finally looked up at Portia and said, “No. No need.”
Portia was stunned by the sharp tone on Ellen’s voice. The blue eyes that were looking at Portia were also cold and flat, without any expression, as if the Ellen DeGeneres she had gotten to know for the last couple of days had gone back to her original self, just like when Portia first met her. What just happened?
“Oh,” Portia muttered hoarsely. Why did her voice go hoarse? She cleared her throat and continued, “Very well, then. I better say bye to your mom and brother first.” She was about to walk to the living room when she suddenly remembered something. She turned and asked Ellen who was still sitting on the high chair. “Have you seen my car’s key? I think I left it here yesterday night.”
“Car’s key?” Regina asked confusedly.
“Perhaps it’s in the living room’s desk. Just look for it there,” Ellen answered flatly.
Portia nodded, then she walked out to the living room to find her key and to say bye to the other two DeGeneres’.
“Portia, how did you leave your key at Ellen’s place?” Regina asked when they had walked out of the building and got into Portia’s car.
When Portia said her goodbye to Betty and Vance, Regina decided to tag along with Portia to the Small Steps. She didn’t quite understand how could that girl left her key at Ellen’s apartment because Regina herself saw that the girl was leaving Ellen’s apartment with her car yesterday evening after dropping Ellen home from the hospital. That girl probably went back to Ellen’s place after teaching because Ellen herself had said that she didn’t need any other favors from Portia when Regina asked her to go out for a dinner. Right?
“Oh, I came here yesterday night,” Portia answered while glancing at the rearview before stepping on the pedal.
Regina furrowed her brows. Portia cancelled their dinner because she said that she wasn’t feeling well, but why…?
“But, you said that you weren’t feeling well yesterday.”
“I was not feeling well,” Portia answered carelessly, “but she asked me to come.”
“Ellen?”
“Yes.”
“But why did she ask you to come? I already told her that you weren’t feeling well and she still asked you to come?”
“Actually, she tried to call me to just go home after she found out that I wasn’t feeling well. But I was already on my way and I left my phone at my place.” Portia explained.
Regina was still staring at the girl next to her. Her brows were still furrowed. “Then, why did she ask you to come?”
“She wanted me to prepare her dinner.”
“What? She….”
“At the moment, I haven’t had my dinner either and I was hungry,” Portia cut Regina off and smiled. “And I already had some aspirins and feeling a lot better, so no problem at all.”
“So you two had dinner together?”
Portia nodded. “She took me home afterwards. That's why I left my car at her house.”
“Ellen took you home?”
Portia nodded again, not realizing the change of tone on Regina’s voice at all.
Regina looked away to the sidewalk. She didn’t know what to think of after she heard that Portia cancelled the dinner with her but finally ended up having a dinner with Ellen. She had to admit that she wasn’t happy hearing this, but Portia wasn’t purposely cancelling their date either (if it was a date at all).
Even though Ellen wasn’t being as harsh, and cynical, and cold towards Portia anymore – and that’s a very positive change – Regina couldn’t afford the picture of Ellen running after Portia and trying to draw her attention.
Regina couldn’t decide whether or not she needed to feel jealous to her friend.
