Tina resisted the urge to join Shane and Helena on the terrace, moving
instead toward a group of friends from the Alliance for *****
Mothers. She knew most of the women from other organizing projects and
fundraisers. But part of herthe part of her that Helena had
wakenedthe Tina Kennard who was not joined at the hip to Bette Porter,
slave to her whims and moods, catering to her wants and needsthat part
of her knew how much this was hurting Helena, raising money to give
other lesbians the chance that she herself had lost.

Tina felt her own pain bleeding out of the speakers, a fitting cover
for Melissa Etheridge’s raw voice, as she remembered her last
half-conversation with Bette:

I played the fool today
I just dream of vanishing into the crowd
Longing for home again
Home is a feeling I buried in you

Bette had been typically cynical when Tina told her about the event and
that Helena was underwriting it and providing matching funds from the
Foundation for every dollar the auctions raised. “That’s a little
tacky, don’t you think?” Her lips twisted to a sneer. She didn’t know
which she resented morethe fact that Helena had no shame in organizing
something so clearly self-serving or the fact that she needed
to attend. There were people there she needed to see, and be seen by.
Most of all, she hated that it was Helena presenting her with
opportunities she’d been unable to generate on her own since Franklin
fired her.

Tina held her tongue momentarily, still uncertain how to deal with this
sarcastic side of her wife which always became more caustic whenever
Helena Peabody was involved. “Not in the least,” she had countered
finally, keeping her voice level. She didn’t want to spark another
fight with Bette; she was tired of it, the tension, the friction, the
tiptoeing around Bette’s moods, made all the more black by the loss of
her job, for which she blamed Helena entirely.

“Really!” Bette had snorted. “Considering she’s a ***** fighting for custody.”

“Not anymore.”

Bette’s head snapped sideways. “Since when?”

“Since she dropped her suit against Winnie.” It was the first time Tina
had seen genuine shock on Bette’s face in a long time. “What? You can’t
imagine the dragon giving up a fight?”

“Honestly,” Bette’s eyes blazed, “no. She’ll just go at it from a different angle.”