Chapter 11

Over the years, Bette had made a lot of money, more money than she really needed. She was fond of the luxurious life she lived, but she had also saved a lot. She had never really known where this urge came from, but spending all her money seemed such a waste. As a result of this, she could afford the most crazy holiday to Europe for Tina and her.

Of course, there was no chance in hell that Tina would allow Bette to pay for everything. She had insisted on paying her half and no matter how hard Bette tried, Tina’s mind was set. The brunette had made up for herself that she would pay sneakily during the holiday.

They had chosen not to take Elisabeth with them because it wouldn’t be interesting for the little girl. They planned on visiting a lot of museums and famous places, which would only be boring for her. On top of that, they really needed some time for themselves after having been apart for all those years.

Neither of them had spoken to Shane since they found out about her hiding the letters. No matter what explanation she gave, at this moment neither of both women would be willing to forgive. They couldn’t begin to imagine all the chances they missed.

“Only one good thing happened to me and it’s my daughter,” Tina regularly said. “She’s so beautiful, so bright and clever and creative that it’s hard to believe she’s actually Henry’s daughter.”

Bette winced at hearing the name of the man that had had the privilege of being married to Tina and making a baby with her, taking this for granted. He had never appreciated his wife like she deserved – she had heard lots of stories from the gang. She knew the bunch well enough to know that they probably blew up most of it, it was still horrible. Maybe in time they would be ready to hear her. Yes, they were both adults, but this was something that had started when they were only teenagers.

The holiday would surely do them good. They planned on seeing all the interesting cities: Dublin, London, Canterbury, Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Lissabon, Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Berlin, Athens, Prague, Budapest and Vienna. They’d be away for four months – including their days of just relaxing – and it would be hard for Tina to leave her daughter behind, but they planned on letting her come to them when she didn’t need to go to school.