Chapter 15

The typically frantic movie studio was virtually deserted as Tina and Angelica approached the building early in the morning. Tina flashed her badge at the security guard and received a smile and polite nod in return. Angelica always felt odd given her mother’s position in the company because adults often doted on her, but it was obvious the polite attention was forced.

“What do I have to do today?” Angelica asked sheepishly as the doors to the executive elevator closed.

Angelica noted that Tina pushed the button for the lower level of the building and an odd feeling settled in her stomach. She was unsure whether the protesting growl that escaped her stomach was due to the eggs or dread that felt like rocks settling deep in her stomach. Whatever the source of anguish was, it forced Angelica into concentrating on not vomiting as the elevator descended.

“I don’t feel so well Mom.”

“Too bad your day just started,” Tina said calmly as the doors opened and they stepped out into a dingy hallway.

“Where are we?”

“This is where the behind the scenes work is done. Your first job is to wash the costumes from the latest action film we’re producing. Given it’s been record heat waves this week and the location shots have been physically demanding, I’m pretty confident in saying that you’ve never experienced the level of odor you’re about to.”

Angelica followed Tina into a dark room where there was an older lady sitting reading a magazine. She smiled, obviously familiar with Tina and her position in the company, but shot a disapproving look at Angelica.

“I think I’m going to yack,” Angelica mumbled with her hand over her mouth.

“That is the scent of hard work,” Tina muttered as she shut the door and smiled at the woman in charge of the laundry room. “This is my daughter Angelica. Angelica, this is Mrs. Jacobs, your boss for the day.”

Tina turned and walked closer to the older woman and leaned on her folding table.

“After she’s done here, send her up to set maintenance because she’ll put in a few hours there as well.”

“Do they know what she’s supposed to do?”

“I’ll stop by and tell them what I expect,” Tina said calmly. “She gets no special treatment Nina and I mean it.”

“Don’t worry about it Ms. Kennard,” Nina confirmed with a worn smile. “You can count on me.”

Tina turned and began to walk out leaving a tired and nauseated Angelica in the small, humid room with the stench of sweat permeating the air.

“If you so much as step a toe over the line today Angelica,” Tina warned over her shoulder. “You’ll wish you would have died from your stunt last night.”

Tina slammed the door behind her and quickly walked to the elevator confident that Nina Jacobs would likely work Angelica’s hands to the bone, enforcing her punishment. Tina quickly hit the arrow button to call the elevator and stepped inside once it arrived in record time.

“I hate being the bad guy,” Tina mumbled to herself in the empty elevator.

The elevator doors opened one floor up where Set Maintenance was located. The department manager, an older stocky gentleman named Gus, quickly met Tina as she stepped off the elevator. Gus looked rather puzzled at the unannounced visit from one of the higher executive members of the company and began to sweat as his nerves got the best of him.

“Everything ok Ms. Kennard?”

“Fine Gus,” Tina smiled politely. “In a few hours my daughter is going to be escorted here to be put to work as a punishment. I want her to feel the pain of manual labor but not be killed.”

“I think I catch your drift.”

“I appreciate your willingness to help.”

“Anytime Ms. Kennard,” Gus smiled as Tina shook his hand and summoned the elevator once more.

The doors opened and Tina stepped inside once again, relishing in the silence. Tina checked her cell phone for a message from Bette and slammed it shut upon not seeing one. She cursed herself for even allowing herself to hope for a message from Bette if she were at the gallery.

“You’ll never learn Kennard,” Tina muttered to herself. “She needs time to cool down.”

The elevator doors quickly opened on the top floor and Tina stepped out and walked in a haze through the common area she shared with Helena and into her own office. She flicked the light on and dropped her badge on the floor as her chair spun around revealing a familiar face.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Bette said sincerely.

“Sneaking into one’s office tends to do just that.”

“For the record I didn’t sneak,” Bette said as she leaned back in Tina’s chair. “I begged and pleaded with the guard downstairs and promised him I’d hit you up for a raise for him.”

“Promising things you can’t keep?” Tina asked arching her eyebrow in challenge to Bette.

“I didn’t promise I’d get him one,” Bette corrected her with a smile on her face. “I said I’d broach the subject with you and I have.”

Tina shook her head as she sat on the corner of her desk and folded her arms defensively over her chest.

“So does that make this a social or business call Bette?”

“Purely social and selfish,” Bette said in a regretful voice. “Selfish being the key word as it is the same adjective I’d use to describe my behavior yesterday when I walked out on you. I shouldn’t have, you could have used my help.”

Tina still remained seated, with her arms folded over her chest, on the corner of her desk.

“I can see honesty and owning one’s mistake isn’t the route to take for forgiveness,” Bette muttered sarcastically.

“Our daughter is alive,” Tina said offhandedly. “Now can I please sit in my chair to get some work done?”

“Can’t we talk about this?” Bette asked as she stood up to allow Tina to sit in her desk chair.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“How about why you’re angry?” Bette shot back but quickly backpedaled hearing the aggression in her voice. “I can apologize for that too, it was a juvenile thing to say given I know why you’re angry and it is justifiable.”

“Having our daughter arrive shit-faced on our doorstep at the ripe old age of 14 isn’t every parents dream.”

“Of course not,” Bette agreed quickly. “But can’t I offer my sincere apology for my own behavior and have you accept it for what it is?”

“Followed by her other parent walking out, because she was angry, leaving me to deal with said drunken teenager alone,” Tina continued talking as if Bette hadn’t uttered a word. “Somehow I feel I have a lot to be angry at.”

“Can I sincerely apologize for my part in that fiasco last night?”

“You can,” Tina uttered as she turned on her laptop and watched it come to life.

“Babe,” Bette stepped in Tina’s line of vision and rotated her chair so that she had her full attention. “I understand that it was selfish of me to walk out. I understand that you needed me at that moment, but I also know that nobody knows me better than you. You of all people know if I hadn’t of walked out, our daughter wouldn’t be alive this morning.”

“It still doesn’t make it right.”

“I tried to do what was best at the time,” Bette said hopeful that Tina was softening with conversation. “But you and I both know I would have strangled her.”

“And I didn’t want to?” Tina asked shocked at Bette’s double standard.

“You’re better at reigning your anger in,” Bette complimented Tina. “I had to work off my aggression.”

“And you did this how?”

“Didn’t you get my message?” Bette asked not waiting for Tina’s response before continuing the discussion. “I ended up at the gallery because I had planned on working. But Megan’s car was there so most of my time was spent looking over revisions to the piece I went to work on and the sketch of her new piece.”

Tina’s answer was simply an eye roll as she turned her chair back toward her desk. Bette stepped behind her and rested her chin on the top of Tina’s chair watching her login to her computer.

“How utterly convenient that she was there working,” Tina said sarcastically. “I have no choice but to think it’s coincidence given she likely couldn’t have predicted Angelica’s little stunt last night, but there is just something about her that I don’t trust Bette.”

“She couldn’t have known I’d go back there later in the night,” Bette agreed.

“Well was her work worth her being in your gallery without permission?” Tina finally asked dying to know what was going on what Alice fondly termed ‘the Megan front’.

“She truly is brilliant,” Bette answered without thinking. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been as excited about a show as I am this one.”

“So I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Tina,” Bette admonished Tina for her jealousy. “I can assure you that Megan understands who has my heart and attention in all forms.”

“So it’s not that she’s played things by the book, it’s that you’ve refuted her advances?”

“Does it matter?”

“To me it does!”

Tina pushed her laptop aside and grabbed Bette’s hand to urge her to walk around and stand in front of Tina’s chair. Tina arched her eyebrow and signaled with her eyes that she wanted Bette to sit on top of the mahogany wood and face her to talk. Once Bette complied, Tina began the conversation once again.

“She already knew about me before you had to say something and yet it doesn’t stop her. It’s completely disrespectful to me.”

Bette contemplated Tina’s remark as she parted her legs and swung them under the desk as a child would on a carnival ride. Tina placed her hands on Bette’s thighs to still her movements.

“Why does it feel like everyone seems to want to fuck things up for us?”

“Not everybody does,” Bette answered honestly. “You see Megan as a predator and that causes you to defend on instinct what’s yours. I can’t blame you for that. As for Angelica, I don’t think she meant to ruin our evening.”

Tina’s hands massaged Bette’s legs over the worn denim that stretched perfectly over her shapely thighs.

“I still wish I could strangle Tracy, revive her, and strangle her once more to make sure she gets the message that I don’t want her around.”

“What?” Tina mocked with a small smile on her face. “You’re not fond of someone that provides alcohol to minors when her parents are out of town? I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t find the hussy quality she possesses, particularly when it comes to you, endearing to say the least.”

“So now you believe me!” Bette exclaimed with a smile. “I’m not very happy with that little conniving bitch.”

“I’m more disappointed in Angelica,” Tina shared her views easily. “Tracy never poured that alcohol down her throat and she’s lucky it ended the way it did and wasn’t much worse.”

“It could have cost her a lot more than her stomach.”

“Not to mention our evening and morning,” Tina added. “I thought you’d be happy that you successfully avoided our morning discussion.”

“Which one is that?”

“The baby one,” Tina said hopeful that Bette would be open talking about it once again.

“And there goes my stomach,” Bette mumbled.

“You can’t keep putting off having a discussion about a decision that’s working against a clock,” Tina rationalized. “If we’re going to do this, we need to act quickly.”

“What do you want me to say Tina?”

“That you’ll support me because you want me to be happy.”

“This isn’t a simple decision,” Bette said. “I do want you to be happy, but there are consequences that last a lifetime. The worst-case scenario for a woman your age could be fatal Tina. That’s not something I can live with or want to risk on any level.”

“You always tend toward the negative Bette,” Tina countered. “What if in the end, we have a beautiful child?”

“That graduates from high school when we’re walking with canes.”

“How do we come to a compromise on this?” Tina asked sincerely.

“I don’t know that there is one.”

“I’m afraid,” Tina admitted in a small voice.

“Why Babe?” Bette reached out and rubbed Tina’s arms as she leaned into Bette’s lap.

“It seems like such a final ending to things,” Tina admitted. “It’s not that we decided not to have another child, it’s that the decision is handed to us and I hate feeling powerless, like I have no choice. I’m just not ready to shut the book on this one.”

“I understand,” Bette said lovingly. “But I’m a firm believer that when your body is telling you something, it’s best to stop and listen. Your body is clearly telling you that the time to have a child is past us.”

“I still have a chance,” Tina said as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

“I’ll tell ya what,” Bette pulled Tina to her feet and embraced her as she stood between Bette’s legs. “I know how to compromise.”

“How’s that?” Tina laid her head on Bette’s shoulder as Bette stroked her back.

“Make a list of the reasons why you want to have another child. It can’t be because you are running out of time, that’s not a reason to do anything in my opinion. We can look at the list one by one and logically approach this decision.”

“It can’t be made without emotion Bette.”

“It also can’t be made quickly and entirely on emotion because you feel pressured by time. Deciding to have another baby because soon you won’t be able to, to me, is not a valid reason.”

“I know,” Tina nuzzled Bette’s neck lovingly.

“You also can’t do my thinking for me,” Bette warned. “Nowhere on your list should appear that you want me to share in something I missed out on.”

“Why is that?” Tina questioned. “You did miss out on a lot of it.”

“But I don’t feel that void in my life Tina,” Bette explained carefully. “That can’t be a reason to have a baby. If I feel I missed out on the experience and wanted to have another baby for that reason, then it will appear on my list.”

“You’re making a list?”

“The pros and cons of having a baby,” Bette confirmed. “I can see it now.”

“Am I supposed to do a list of cons too?”

“Yes,” Bette said. “It forces you into empathy for the other person and from empathy comes listening.”

Tina stepped back and looked Bette in the eye with a smile plastered on her face. She held Bette’s face in both her hands as she tilted her head and placed a gentle kiss on Bette’s lips.

“What was that for?” Bette asked as she licked her lips in need of more contact.

“You really have grown in the communication arena.”

“Well it only took me, say…” Bette paused for dramatic effect with a smile on her face. “I’d say it took me almost 14 years to get to this point.”

“I’m glad we’re at this point.”

Tina leaned in and kissed Bette once more, this time, more aggressively. Her fingers dug into the denim on Bette’s thighs as Bette grasped the back of Tina’s neck and held her still to kiss her back.

“You better not start something you can’t finish,” Bette said breathless.

“I plan on finishing it,” Tina nipped at Bette’s lips playfully. “It turns me on when you’re so compassionate.”

Tina moved one of her hands up one of Bette’s thighs smiling at the reaction she received. The moan that escaped past Bette’s lips was fueled with arousal. Bette frantically looked around the room and saw Tina’s distressed leather couch on the other side of the room.

“Couch?” Bette suggested not knowing whether her legs could carry her the distance of the room but she was eager to try.

“Not a chance we’re moving,” Tina said in a husky tone.

Tina placed one hand on the edge of the desk to steady herself while the other snaked up the front of Bette’s shirt. Tina yanked the cup of Bette’s bra down freeing her breast for Tina to touch. Tina’s fingers tickled the skin around Bette’s nipple, careful not to please Bette too soon. Tina finally rewarded Bette’s frustrated moans and demands by rolling Bette’s nipple between her fingers, causing it to become painfully hard and sensitive.

“Oh,” Bette moaned as she allowed her head to fall back in ecstasy.

Tina massaged her nipple and was rewarded by seeing Bette quickly unravel in front of her. Bette was holding onto the desk, but removed her hands to unbutton her own jeans. Bette slipped the zipper down as Tina licked her neck and blew cold air on it giving Bette goose bumps.

“Touch me,” Bette watched in awe as Tina seductively wet her fingers by using her tongue. She then went one step further and placed them in Bette’s mouth and Bette sucked on them. The wetness on Tina’s fingers began to mirror the wetness growing between her legs.

Tina snaked her hand down Bette’s pants and through her dripping folds to her center. When Tina stroked Bette, she grabbed onto the desk and worked hard to control the movement of her hips.

“God I need more,” Bette whispered as her breath came in short gasps.

Tina urged Bette to lift her hips, seizing the opportunity to yank her jeans and thong down, leaving them around her ankles. Bette finished the task of removing her pants by kicking them off her feet and onto the ground.

Tina used her hands to push on Bette’s shoulders so she’d lie back on the desk.

“The papers Babe,” Bette tried to clear her sexually hazed mind.

“I don’t care.”

Tina was thankful her desk chair was still close by as she used it to lift herself onto the desk and lay on top of Bette. She inserted one of her own denim-clad thighs between Bette’s and Bette seized the opportunity to grind her throbbing clit against Tina.

“Go with it Babe,” Tina urged.

She felt Bette’s wetness on her jeans and the urgency in which Bette’s hips began to rub against her. Tina knew Bette wasn’t far off from her pending orgasm. Tina reached between them and quickly inserted two of her fingers inside Bette, taking her completely over the edge. As Bette hung onto Tina’s shoulders, her body ridged, she heard Tina whisper in her ear.

“I love you.”

#

The desk made another clunking sound as a second foot made its way on top of the shiny surface. Megan crossed her legs at her ankles and moved the phone so it was easier to lean back and talk at the same time. She dialed the number she had engrained in her mind for the past several years. A tear escaped as the voice on the other end greeted her with a simple ‘hello’.

“Hey Mom,” Megan said working to control the quivering in her voice.

Megan wiped a tear away as she held the glossy photo in her hand once more. She allowed her fingertip to move over the surface as she had daily for years.

“How are you feeling today?” Megan asked with a quivering voice.

“Nobody ever said dying with dignity was easy on people.”

“No, they didn’t did they?”

“Have you seen your friend?” Megan’s mother enquired innocently.

“I have seen Bette, the show is coming along better than I thought.”

“So she agreed to do it for you Sweetie,” Megan’s mother simply confirmed. “I am so happy for you. And the other matter?”

“Harder to approach Mom.”

“It’s the reason you’re there.”

“I don’t need reminding,” Megan bit back at her mother. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t remember.”

“You haven’t asked yet today.”

“Fear dictates a lot of actions Mom,” Megan mumbled.

When silence drifted uncomfortably into the conversation, Megan’s mother decided to switch the subject back to Megan’s passion, the show.

“How are the pieces coming?”

“Bette’s taking one on and it’s amazing,” Megan smiled at the image of Bette working earlier that day. “She’s got such a talent for art and the tenacity to make this the biggest show ever.”

“Those are important qualities for you.”

“It’s partly why it was easy to choose her.”

“When do you plan on talking to her?” Megan’s mother pushed gently.

“I have to learn more about her wife.”

“She’s married?”

“Yes she is,” Megan confirmed with a smile on her face. “I have to say she’s unwavering in her love for Tina.”

“That’s good right?”

“I don’t know if it is or not,” Megan said honestly. “I don’t know Tina that well.”

“You need to get to know her.”

“That’s proving a bit more difficult,” Megan said sheepishly. “In order to confirm the foundation of their marriage I’ve led on that I was interested in Bette romantically.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because if she were to stray, it would be with someone that’s her type and easy to hide when it would be all over.”

“You think you’re easy to hide?” Megan’s mother mocked her through the rhetorical question.

“I know I’m her type,” Megan confirmed. “I know she still finds me attractive. I can tell in the way she looks at me and how we bond over our work. I also know that I am extremely attracted to her and I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating cookies. But there is always the underlying factor of Tina and that’s comforting in a small way.”

“As it should be.”

“Her daughter seems to be turning to the rebellious side.”

“I know how that goes,” Megan’s mom teased her. “It makes for interesting dynamics.”

“None that Bette couldn’t handle if Tina is by her side.”

Megan rolled her eyes when her mother’s tone turned to a serious note and she approached the purpose behind Megan working with Bette once more.

“Megan, you have to talk to her and be honest with Bette.”

“Mother,” Megan snapped back as she slid the photo back into the side pocket of her cargo pants. “It all comes down to choices, and I have a choice on when I approach her. It’s not the time yet, I have one more thing I must do.”

“What could be more important than your purpose there?”

“I won’t reveal it until I know more about Tina,” Megan said firmly. “She’s more of the key to this than even Bette.”

Megan hung up the phone after saying goodbye to her mother quickly. She didn’t want her mother to hear the emotion welling up in her voice. She picked up a photo of Bette and Tina that sat perched on Bette’s desk taunting her throughout her conversation. Her eyes stared past the glass and into Tina’s. She saw a happy woman reflected in the picture, she saw a smile grace her beautiful face, and she felt her own emotions begin to cause the familiar ache in her heart at the thoughts of the future.