“Is this some sort of game to you Tina? You flip flop with your emotions more than any democrat in the history of flip flopping.”

            Tina was momentarily taken aback.  She felt her own anger flare and quickly squashed it.  They could fight or they could talk.  She would fight on her own terms for the love of her life.  She could not lose this war.

            “It most certainly is not a game and its not democrats who flip flop that is propaganda.”

            “Well you certainly do. You want me, you want me not.  You have feelings for men, you have feelings for women.  You accept me as the mother of our daughter; you want to strip me of my motherhood. That is flip flopping and that is not propaganda.” Bette fixed her with a cold stare. 

            “I could accuse you of much of the same.” Tina shot back before she could stop herself.

            “Really this should be interesting.”  Bette settled her hip and a stool by the counter, inviting Tina to try.

            “You couldn’t stay at Tim and Jenny’s party while Marina and Jenny made a fool of Tim right under his nose.  Meanwhile you could betray your partner of seven years who just lost your child and yell at her for offering your lover a job without talking to you first. Shall I go on?”  Tina hissed the emotion continued to be raw even after all the time that had passed.  Bette went pale for a minute before the blood rushed to her cheeks.

            “How long are you going to play that card Tina? I fucked up.” Bette yelled. “Why do you even want me back considering how you feel?  Is it just to punish me a little more? Haven’t you punished me enough?  Or is this part of the game, you forgive me again only to develop feelings for someone else the minute we get back together?  What is different this time?”

            “What is different this time is that we are talking about it and yelling at each other about it and because we both know how much we have lost and that we have to work through this no matter what for Angelica and for each other, damn it.”

            “I don’t think this is healthy.”  Bette asserted signaling that she was shutting down. She took a sip of her wine and avoided eye contact.

            “Oh no you don’t” Tina shook her head.  “You are not going to put up that wall again.  I refuse to deal with that wall again. We talk we resolve things.  I don’t care how long it takes we are going to talk through all of it.”

            Bette glared at her again.  “So are you going to answer my other questions?”

            Tina relaxed a bit.  Bette did not bolt and that was major progress.  She did not stuff her anger and they survived.  “Which one do you want me to answer first?”

            “Are you doing this just to punish me again because I am in love with Rosanna?”

            “Fuck.”  Tina blurted out as if she had just been kicked in the gut. “So you have fallen in love with her?” She had hoped that things had not gotten that far. She did not flinch as she met the ebony eyes. 

            “Yes, Tina. I am in love with her.” Bette admitted maintaining contact with the hazel eyes.

            “So you have finally let me go?” Tina asked quietly.

            ‘No Tina” Bette sighed. “I don’t know how to let you go or to stop loving you. I just don’t know if I can be with you.”