BACK IN LA


Bette and Tina walk through the door of their home. “Home sweet home,” Tina says quietly.


Kit opens the door to the patio and walks through with Angelica in her arms. “Hey boo, here’s your mommies.”


“MaBe…MaBe…!!!” Angelica yells.


Bette rushes over to Kit and her daughter. She takes Angelica in her arms and hugs her, spinning around. Covering the little girl in kisses, she says, “I’m here, baby. Mommy’s here. I missed you so much, boo.”


Tina watches Bette’s reunion with their little girl. She smiles softly. Bette turns and brings their daughter to her.


“MaMa!” Angelica shrieks as she reaches out for her mother. Tina pulls the little girl into a tight embrace.


“Hey there baby. Did you miss us? We missed you so much.” Tina turns to Kit. “I hope that she wasn’t too much trouble, Kit.”


Kit smiles back at Tina. “No trouble at all, and worth everything to have my baby sister back home.” Bette walks into Kit’s embrace. “Hey there little sister. You scared the hell out of me. Don’t you EVER do that again. What are you thinking scaring an old pregnant gal like me?” Kit laughed and pulled back to look at her sister. “Seriously, Bette, are you okay? I was really worried.”


“I’m getting better, Kit.”


Kit looked at Bette, then over to Tina. “Is there anything I can do for you guys? Dinner? Anything?”


Bette looked over at Tina. “No, Kit. I think we’ll be fine. We just want to spend some time with our baby girl.”


Kit raised her eyebrows. ‘We? Hmmm’ She put her arm around Bette. “Well, okay then. But you call me if you need anything, okay?”


Kit grabbed her bag and headed to the door. She stopped and turned around. “And Bette? You know that we have some talking to do.”


Bette watched her sister close the door behind her. She switched her attention to her family. Walking over to Tina, she swept Angelica out of her arms and spun her around. “So, boo…how are you?”


Angelica giggled and smiled at Bette. “MaBe, MaBe.” The little girl reached out and touched Bette on the cheek. Quickly she grabbed one of her mother’s dark curls. “MaBe..”


Bette held on to Angelica tightly. She sat on the couch and looked up at Tina. “I feel like I should apologize to her, but I know she won’t understand.”


Tina walked over to the duo and knelt down in front of the couch. “She knows how much you love her and that you would never hurt her, Bette.” Tina smiled as Angelica reached out and took her finger. “She cried for you so much after you left. She was inconsolable. Even I couldn’t calm her down. She loves you so much.”


Bette smiles and hugged Angelica closely. “She means so much to me, T. I don’t know what I would do without her…or you.”


Tina stood up, looking down at her family. “Well, we’re not going anywhere. How about we get unpacked, cleaned up, and I’ll make some dinner?”


“That sounds great.” Bette stood up and swung Angelica around once again. “What do you say, boo? How about some fun with your mommies and then some dinner?”


Angelica squealed with delight. She clung tightly to Bette.


“Tina, why don’t you get settled and cleaned up. I’ll stay with Angelica until you’re done.”


“Okay, I won’t be long.” Tina grabbed her bag and disappeared into the master bedroom.


Bette plopped Angelica into the floor, then joined her. Angelica spotted one of her toys and crawled over to retrieve it. Helping her, Bette scooted over to where Angelica began to play. She ran her hand over her daughter’s silky curls. “I missed you so much, my little angel. I’m sorry things got so crazy.” Angelica continued to play with her toy. “There’s a lot that your mama and I have to work on, but know that we both love you very much.”


Bette propped herself on her elbow and watch her little girl play. ‘I’ve got to do everything that I can to make this work.’ She exhaled, and continued to think. ‘I do love Tina, but I’ve got a lot to get past with all of this. I know that I can’t do this by myself. This is really going to take some work.’


Bette sat up. She looked over at a picture of herself and Tina. She felt a sense of fear come over her. ‘I don’t think that I can get over this if it doesn’t work out.’ Bette shook her head. “Get it together, Porter. You can do this. You know it.” Bette looked over at her daughter. “We should be together. All three of us, right, boo?”


Angelica looked at Bette. “MaBe, boo!”


Bette laughed. “Okay, kid, we’ll work it out somehow.”

——————————–

Tina walked into the living room. She stopped and watched Bette and Angelica interact. Smiling, she leaned against the doorway and observed for a while, until Angelica noticed her standing there.


“Mama!” Angelica started crawling towards Tina. Tina walked over to her daughter. “Hey, Angel…how are you and mommy doing?” Tina knelt down and met her daughter in the middle of the living room.


Angelica began to babble as is she had a lot to tell her mother. Tina just smiled and shook her head ‘yes’ a few times as if she understood the little girl.


Bette watched this interaction, and laughed as Angelica ‘talked’ to Tina. She leaned back against the couch, feeling complete peace at this picture of her family.


Tina looked over at Bette. “Hey there, you. Are you going to get cleaned up for dinner?”


“Yes, I am. I’ll grab a shower and be back in a few minutes.” Bette stood up and headed for the bathroom.


Tina looked down at her daughter. Angelica had turned her attention to a teddy bear in the floor, and was starting a conversation with the toy.


“Angel, I am so glad that I found your mommy. I was so worried about her. But, we’re home now and your mama is going to make everything better.” Tina smiled at the little girl. Angelica continued to babble at the bear. Tina grabbed her daughter and placed a kiss on her forehead. Angelica smiled and placed her tiny hands on either side of her mother’s face. Tina laughed. “Do you know how much you remind me of your Mama B?”


“MaBe! Boo!” Angelica squealed. “Mama…”


Tina stood up and picked up Angelica. “Let’s get dinner started, okay, sweetie?”


————————

Bette and Tina watched Angelica study her macaroni and cheese, gently pick up a noodle, and place it in her mouth. The little girl was obviously enjoying the attention. She would pick up a noodle and offer it to either one of her mothers and they would either take it or decline politely.


“You eat it, boo. Mommy has her dinner right here.” Bette smiled at her daughter. She looked over at Tina. “She’s such a little actress.”


“She didn’t get it from me. Must be your fault.” Tina replied. She grinned at Bette. “How’s your dinner?”


“It’s great, T, thanks.” Bette smiled back. “So, what are your plans for the next few days?”


“Well, I’ve got to get caught up with work. I want to arrange my schedule so that I can work from home for a couple of days and spend some time with Angelica. I can review scripts and make a few phone calls while she’s napping. Hopefully I won’t interfere with anything you have planned?”


Bette listened and smiled. “I haven’t told you that I accepted the Dean’s position at the LA Art College. I need to contact the Provost and set a starting date. I have to meet the staff and settle in before the semester starts. That doesn’t leave me a lot of time.”


Tina raised her eyebrows. “Bette, that’s great. I’m sure you’ll make a great dean.”


“I haven’t been directly involved in academia before, but I am also in charge of the Art Museum on campus. I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. It will also give me a chance to have a somewhat normal schedule. I want to be home with you two as much as I can.” Bette tilted her head and looked at Tina. “If that’s okay with you.”


“Of course it is. I think that the more time we spend together, the more we can work things out.” Tina looked over at Bette.


Bette sighed. “T, I’ve been thinking. I know that there’s a lot to work through, and I know that there’s a lot of things that I need to work through individually.” She took a breath. “I think I’m going to give therapy another try.”


Tina looked at Bette surprisingly. “Really? I thought you hated therapy.”


“Well, it’s not my favorite, but I know that with the right therapist it can be very helpful. So, I’ll find the right one and try it again. Foxworthy was okay, but he wasn’t a perfect fit for me as a therapist. I think I’ll try and find a woman this time. I need someone who kind of sees things from my point of view.”


“Wow. I never thought I’d hear you say you would voluntarily go back to therapy.” Tina was amazed.


“Well, I did see Foxworthy for a while after we separated last year. It was kind of helpful. But I know that I’ve got a few things to work on. I want to be the best mother for Angelica, and find a way for us to get back together. If therapy helps me achieve those goals, I’ll do it.” Bette smiled at Tina.


“It sounds like a good idea,” said Tina. “I think it is a good idea for me, too. I’ll see if I can find a therapist for myself. I don’t want anything to go wrong for us right now, and I know that I’ve got some things to get through too.”


“Wow, listen to us,” Bette grinned. “Why couldn’t we do this before?”


“All I know is that we’re willing to do it now, babe. That’s what matters. I’ll do anything to get us back together, to have our family. It’s so clear to me what I want. You and Angelica are what matters to me. So whatever it takes to have our family whole and happy, I’m willing to do it.” Tina stood up from the table. “Why don’t you get Angel cleaned up and ready for bed? I can take care of the kitchen.”


Bette stood up and picked up their little girl. “Are you sure, Tina? You cooked dinner. I should take care of the kitchen.”


“No, I’m fine. I know that you want to spend as much time with Angelica as you can. Before you know it, you’ll be back to work and not get to be with her as much.” Tina walked over and kissed Angelica on the cheek. “Plus, she’s missed you so much, Bette. I know she’d be thrilled to fall asleep in your arms.”


“Okay, then,” Bette looked at Angelica. “Ready for bathtime, boo?” The little girl babbled and laughed at her mother. “Okay, little one, let’s go.”



Tina settled in on the couch. She had opened a bottle of wine and brought it and two glasses to the coffee table. She sat back and waited for Bette to emerge from putting Angelica down for the night.


Bette walked over to the couch. Sitting down, she looks over at Tina. “Whoa, two whole stories before she even considered closing her eyes. That kid really knows how to work you over.” She grinned at Tina.


“She is something else, isn’t she?”


Bette shook her head. “She’s absolutely wonderful.” Bette eyed the wine bottle. “Shall I pour?”


“Please.” Tina sat up and took a glass from Bette.


“Tina, I feel as if I have no idea what to do now. We’re home, but not back to normal, obviously. What do we do now?” Bette thoughtfully took a sip of wine and awaited Tina’s response.


“Well, we can’t pick up where we left off when we were here before. That wasn’t a good place. But we do need to continue working on our relationship.”


“So how should we do that?”


Tina studied her glass for a moment. “We agreed to a new start, right? We move forward from here, with the goal of becoming the couple and family that we want to be. If we spend too much time in the past, we won’t get anywhere. I know that we have to deal with things from then, but we also have to move forward.” She stood up and walked across the room. After thinking for a few moments she said, “We can date.”


“Each other, you mean?”


“Of course,” Tina replied. She looked at Bette and raised an eyebrow. “Unless you have other women lined up.”


“No, no one else.” Bette grinned. “So let me get this right. We will live together, share our daughter, and date exclusively?”


“What do you think?” Tina sat down beside Bette. “We’ll spend as much time together as we can, just the two of us, in addition to co-parenting Angelica. We’ll be friends who are working on being lovers.”


“I guess it’s worth a try. It’s just unfamiliar territory in a way. But in a way it’s not. Does that make any sense?” Bette wasn’t sure that she understood what she just said.


“It makes sense. But think of it this way, babe. It could be fun. When was the last time we went out on a date, just you and me?” Tina smiled.


“Forever ago, I’m sure.” Bette took a sip of her wine and placed the glass on the coffee table. “Okay, how about I set up our first date?”


“Oh no you don’t. You handled our very first date, so now it’s my turn, Porter. Let’s see…how about Friday night? Do you think you’ll have a handle on work by then?”


Bette laughed. “I’ll make a point of it. It’s a date.”