In the car, Tina laid her hand on Bette’s thigh as she drove. It was nice. The way Bette glanced at her. It made her feel warm. 

It wasn’t late when they got home but Angie was in her room and Alice and Joan Didion had retired to the guest chalet. Dani, however, was in Tina and Bette’s kitchen, pacing the floor with a  teething baby.

‘I’m chilling a washcloth,’ she said. ‘That seems to work.’

Tina could see Artie was flushed. ‘Poor thing.’

Bette offered to make tea, to which the others said yes, so she put the kettle on and checked her work phone, which Tina had insisted stay at home while they were out.

‘Bette?’ she said, after giving her wife about ten seconds.

‘Just a minute. Karolina has revisions.’

‘And?’

‘What?’

‘Can’t it wait?’

Bette kept reading. Tina picked up her own phone and a moment later . . .

Zzz-bkkk.

A frown appeared on Bette’s face. ‘You know everyone can read that?’

Tina shrugged. She’d messaged: Put the fucking phone down. The mood from the car slipped further away.

***

Later, after she’d spoken to Karolina, Bette came into the en suite to find Tina rifling the wall-length drawers of the vanity unit. 

‘What are you looking for?’ 

‘Serum. I thought I had another Estee Lauder.’

A pump dispenser sat on the edge of Tina’s sink. Bette recognised it but couldn’t remember seeing two of them. Tina carried on looking. She was blocking access to both sinks, and she knew it, which told Bette everything she needed to know about her wife’s mood.

‘Shall we just skip it?’ she said, watching Tina in the mirror.

‘Hmm?’

‘Skip it? Just go to bed?’

Tina straightened up and stared at Bette, hand on her hip. She’d already changed into her usual sleepwear of white tank and panties, but the latter were satin and lace rather than the cotton she usually wore. 

‘Okay,’ said Bette quietly, ‘Tee, I’m sorry I checked my phone and I’m sorry I called Karolina.’

Tina walked past her and into the bedroom. Bette followed.

‘It’s just that I think she’s actually quite nervous about the launch, but she doesn’t want to say so, so all these tweaks, she’s second-guessing herself, looking for reassurance—’