It was 2 in the morning and Bette and Maxine were still sitting in Bette’s car, waiting for Melvin to come out of his office, Bette had followed him all day everywhere he went, Maxine had tried to talk to her but she wouldn’t listen, she would put the volume up or simply tell her to save it, she just didn’t want to hear it. Ten minutes before 3 am Melvin came out of his office and drove of, Bette waited a few minutes and went behind him, they drove through the freeway and made a turn to a deserted road outside the city.

Bette was careful to not let her father know that there was a car behind him, suddenly she saw Melvin’s car stop in front of a cabin, she turned her lights out and stopped her car nearby in the middle of the woods so it wouldn’t be seen. She opened her door and got out the car, Maxine walked behind her and they both made their way towards the cabin.

“You have to let her go Kevin!” Melvin yelled, “It’s been 30 years!, What are you getting out of all this, you’re just hurting her”

“The truth deserves to be told!” Kevin yelled, “Bette has to know!”

“She doesn’t have to know anything!” Melvin Snapped and from the window Bette could see a gun on her father’s hand, he was pointing straight at an african american man who she assumed was Kevin Delacove her father’s ex business partner, “I’m taking my daughter in law this time and you will be leaving us in peace like we’ve lived all these years”.  

Bette didn’t understand a thing of what she was hearing, What had happened 30 years ago?, she turned towards her mother and just in that moment the noise of sirens could be heard, Bette had called them before getting out of her car, she thought she would be helping Tina. Maxine’s eyes grew wide when she heard footsteps behind her, she pulled Bette back towards the car but Bette wasn’t having any of it, she pulled herself away from her mother and walked to the back of the cabin, the place was small, she could also hear footsteps from the front side so she thought the back was a sure thing for her to go inside.

One week had past and Tina was in the same room where she had been locked after the accident, she had been moved twice but yesterday she had been placed back in this same room, right to the beginning she thought. Just like the first day she was treated nicely, she didn’t get to speak to anyone just the same african american man, he would come once every two days and give her an update on her family, Bette, Christopher and Ashley, she knew that her wife had been released from the hospital four days after the accident and that the kids and her had been taken to Melvin and Maxine’s home. Tina didn’t know why this man would give her such details, she was grateful but had her doubts, Were those updates true?, Was she being played so she would wait patiently for whatever they would do to her?

Tina was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn’t realise that the man was already in the room, it had been two days since his last visit so she knew he would come by soon, “What are you tormenting yourself with now?”

Tina turned fast to face him, she was starting to go crazy, she wanted to be back with her family, she missed her kids and especially her wife because she knew how much Bette would be tormenting herself. Bette was like that, she wanted to always be in control and be the one they all could rely on, Tina knew her wife would be blaming herself for everything.

“What kind of question is that?” Tina snapped at him, “Should i be cheerful?”

“Well i did bring something to cheer you up, it’s not much but they haven’t been out in days” With that he tossed an envelope at the table, turned around and left the room.

“They haven’t been out in days?, WTF is that supposed to mean, unless …” She ran towards the envelope hoping she was right, she emptied it on the table and her heart started beating faster, she was right!

There on the table laid two photographs of her family, in one Christopher and Ashley were walking down their grandparents drive heading to a lonely figure that was sitting under a tree, Bette, sitting over a blanket and staring blankly at the sky, the second picture was of Chris holding his mother’s hand and Ashley leaning against her shoulder, Tina’s cheeks were filled with tears, she was right, Bette blamed herself, she could see the pain in her wife’s eyes, they were not shiny and happy nor was there the smile that her wife always had when she was with her kids, Tina could only see pain and fear in her family’s eyes.

(8 months ago, April, 2015)

It was friday night and Bette and Tina were sitting in their friends Alice and Dana’s living room, every friday they would come buy and drop the twins or pick up their god son and daughter for a sleepover. Today it was their kids turn to come over so they were listening to their mother’s orders.

“Christopher remember what mama told you before coming here, do not annoy your sister and cousin with anything again or Daniel and you will be forgetting about sleepovers for a  month, Do i make myself clear?” Tina said while fixing her son’s collar.

“Yes mom, we’ll play nice i promise” He hugged both his mother’s goodbye and ran upstairs with his cousin.

“Dane call me if anything comes up, we’ll be here as quick as we can, Ashley had a bit of a headache this morning and i’m kind of worried” Bette said while hugging her daughter to her side and saying goodnight.

“Jesus Bette, we’ve done this millions of times since the kids grew up you don’t have anything to worry about and you know it” Alice said while laughing and hitting Bette playfully on her shoulder, “Relax ok, we know what to do, I gave birth to two little devils of my own remember?”

“Oh yeah ‘cause i have nothing to do with them and the taking care part” Dana told Tina in a whisper making her giggle.

“Did you say something sweetie?” Alice asked turning around to her wife.

“Me?, Oh nothing babe” Alice narrowed her eyes a bit and turned back to Bette, “As I was saying, Don’t worry, they’re fine and we’ll see each other tomorrow” She hugged her friends goodnight and they walked out of the house towards their car.

Once inside the car Bette started the engine of her Range Rover Evoque 2015, she drived out of her friend’s house and took the road, “Are you okay babe?” Tina asked from the passenger seat, she placed her hand on Bettes thigh.

“I don’t know T, i just have this strange feeling since i got up this morning” She turned to face Tina and looked at her briefly before turning her gaze back to the road and stopping on a red light.  

Have you ever stopped to think if you are living the right life?, Are you completely sure if what you do day after day is what you are meant to be doing?, Elizabeth Porter sat in her living room staring blankly at her television thinking how much her life had changed. Her parents death had been almost a year ago, and today was a really special day for her, she remembered that this same day twenty years ago she had talked with her father and forgot about the late night parties and the one night stands, she stopped wasting hundreds over every pretty face she saw or every little thing she liked. Twenty years ago Bette came to terms with herself and noticed that she didn’t need any of that, she was young, intelligent and beautiful and she was loved for who she was.  

She remembered what her father had said the night she came out to him as a lesbian, she had come home drunk and in company of a redhead that she really didn’t know anything about, her father had been really angry at the sight, he took her by the arm and pulled her to his study,

“What is wrong with you Bette?” He had asked after dismissing the young man his daughter had brought home.

“What do you mean dad, nothing is wrong” Bette replied with a huge grin on her face.

“You show up here, after two days of not answering any of our calls, not only drunk but in the company of god knows who” He glared at his daughter waiting for an answer, “Do you even know that boy or is he just someone you picked up tonight?”

Bette remained silent and erased the grin of her face, she didn’t know what to say, she didn’t have a reply, she knew that what she had been doing was wrong, she could see in her father’s face that she had let him down once again.

“Bette, i can see how drunk you are and trust me darling i don’t have a clue of why you choose to live this way, your mother and i have tried to do everything we can to make you understand the wrong in your actions and you just don’t listen, you go on day after day with the same actions not paying any attention to any of our concerns”