From Chapter One:

Bette thought hard, but her mind kept drifting back to how the situation started.  And she recollected the whole story, not the abridged version she told the service rep.  After all, in the end, the whole story, beginning to end, is always better. Though she wasn’t quite sure exactly where the story began.

CHAPTER TWO

Eight months earlier:

Tina leaned against Bette’s SAAB, sucking on one of the few pieces of  ice remaining  in the cup that two hours ago, when she had first arrived, had been filled to the brim with an iced latte, She was glad that the sun had moved so that now the storefronts cast a shadow over the street, shading Bette’s car. Tina was waiting outside the gallery, glad that the car had been parked a little to the side of the entrance and out of Bette’s line of sight. 

Bette had told her that she wanted to be alone when she locked up the gallery for the final time, but Tina waited outside anyway, certain that her lover would regret her choice.

Tina had said her goodbye to the gallery three days earlier.  She had timed her visit for when she knew Bette would be at a meeting at the CAC, her soon-to-be employer.  Tina had wanted a chance for a solo walk through the space that held so many memories. 

Tina had found the empty walls disconcerting.  Tina had used her imagination to envision the walls as she had always seen them, displaying dazzling artwork.  She had  wandered the display spaces, her heels clicking slightly on the polished hardwood floors,  The sound, as it  bounced off the bare walls, had been  unfamiliar.   Tina had touched the off-white walls in each room and looked at the high ceilings with the carefully placed track lighting.  She had stood in the front room and had felt the warmth of the sun that streamed through the storefront’s windows.  The blonde had stood in various spots, remembering openings and receptions she had attended over the prior three years. 

Tina had headed to the private space in the rear of the gallery and stood in the doorway of Bette’s office.  She had remembered the surprise lunches and dinners they had shared across the desk.  One picnic that lead to a very heated roll around the floor. Other X-rated evening encounters in the office, on the floor, desk and couch.  And, of course, the most treasured memory of the office.