‘Karolina is Bette’s head chef,’ Tina explained. ‘She’s very—’

‘High-profile.’

‘I was going to say “demanding”.’

Bette gave a tight smile. 

‘We call her the General. Bette poached her from Crossroads in LA,’ Tina went on. 

‘No, not “poached”. She’s simply an outstanding talent and a perfect fit for Amistad. All our people are the best. Which is why Tina runs the hydroponicum.’ Bette smiled proudly at her wife. ‘She and her team do an amazing job.’

‘“Team”!’ Tina laughed. ‘It’s just me and Kurt most of the time. Dylan helps a bit.’

‘It’s in-progress. But, no, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.’

‘It’d better be.’ 

‘Don’t you think it’s worth it?’ 

‘Oh, sure, it’s just money, right?’

‘It doesn’t even feel like work. It’s more a way of life, Helena always said that. And work’s never bothered me. When I started my gallery, I worked harder than this.’

‘When you started your gallery, you were twenty-eight!’ 

Bette frowned but softened instantly when she saw the affection in Tina’s eyes. She ran the back of her hand against Bette’s arm. A muscle in Bette’s jaw twitched. There was a caged quality to her, an itchiness she fought down. How that was to live with on a daily basis, Wendy could guess at, but Tina was a formidable woman. She had ways of getting past Bette’s ornate defences.

A silence developed. Wendy put her half-moon glasses on and skimmed her notes. There wasn’t much there. They were clearly tired, but still united. Then she was struck by something.

‘Do you think you’re using the word “perfect” a lot?’

Bette saw this was addressed to her. 

‘Maybe,’ she said after a long pause. She cleared her throat. ‘Maybe,’ she said again. 

‘It’s not perfection-ism, though,’ Tina said. ‘It’s just there’s no way we can compete on price, so we have to compete on excellence.’

‘That’s right, Tee. It’s next-level.’  

Wendy detected a drop of condescension in Bette’s tone, which was interesting, but not as interesting as the fact that they were almost finished and barely talked about anything except Amistad, to which all roads led back. She took her glasses off.

‘How’s Angie?’ 

Bette stared at her as if the words made no sense. Tina, however, became animated.