<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Chapter 25

Yale – 1998

“So how was it?” Shane asked Tina.

Tina took a big breath of air, she still couldn’t think of the time she spent with Bette in London and not shed a tear. She desperately didn’t want Shane to see it, and most especially not Alice. That’s why she had been doing her best to avoid the other blonde in Bette’s life, trying by all means to escape the zillion questions she knew she was gonna be asked.

But there was not a way of fooling Shane.

“So it was that bad uh?” Shane sounded extremely defeated, obviously their plan hadn’t worked out.

“Nooo… no… it was not bad at all… I mean, what can be bad about spending time with Bette?” Tina asked with a shy smile, purposely not making eye contact.

“Well… I know Alice would answer that question right away… and give you quite a long list…” Shane said smiling trying to encourage her friend to talk to her.

Shane knew something was up. She could smell it from across the ocean, even before Tina got back. Tina giggled at her friend’s remark thinking how right she was.

“I guess you’re right… but really… there wasn’t a moment that I felt bad or awkward or…” At that moment Tina’s voice drifted off to the memory of that couch and what almost happened there. To be honest it wasn’t awkward because they basically resumed where they had left, they talked a bit more about Bette’s past and she shared some beautiful and some sad memories and then Tina shared some of her own and that was it. They were back at joking and talking about anything and everything at the same time.

The following days neither dared to mention it and nothing was weird or awkward. Perhaps Tina regretted the fact that she didn’t ignore the oven, or the fact that she jumped off the couch like if she had seen a ghost.