“But I think they can be different, is what I’m saying,” Tina said, halting her footsteps.  “I think you should just come out, Dana,” she blurted.

            “Ha! You’re crazy,” Dana said, shaking her head. “My parents will lose their minds over a thing like this.”

            “Dana, listen to yourself!  This is your life, not your parents’.  You’re a 26-year-old professional tennis player.  You own your own home.  You’re not some low-life drug addict, or some sapping bottom feeder.  You’ve done well for yourself.  More importantly, you’re a genuinely good person,” Tina emphasized.  “I think they’d be crazy not to accept you.”

            “I just don’t think I can take that step, Tina.”

            “You deserve more than the occasional one-night stand sworn to secrecy.  I just think… I don’t know, that one of us has a chance to be true to ourselves.  And it would be a real shame to waste that.”

            “Believe it or not, Tina, you have that chance, too.”

            Tina chuckled sadly.  “You know I don’t,” she said quietly.

            “But you do.  There’s nothing that says you have to stay married forever.”

            “That’s the point, though, isn’t it?”

            “What I don’t understand is why you would stay in a marriage that wasn’t at all fulfilling to you,” Dana said, searching Tina’s face for answers.

            “He hasn’t done anything wrong…” Tina reasoned.

            “That’s a bad answer, try again.”

            “Because I love John. He’s a good man and a great husband and he’s crazy about me.  I can’t just leave him.”

            “Look,” Dana sighed deeply, measuring her words. “You know I like John, you know I do.  But you’ll never love him that way.  Don’t you think he deserves to be with someone who loves him that way?”

            “Of course I do.  But he’s given me so much. He’s given me everything I have, and I’m finally about to start school…”

            “Tina, is this about money?” Dana asked.  “Because I’ll give you the money, I’ll pay for your education, you can even come live with me–”

            “God, no!” Tina interrupted.  “It’s not about all that.  It’s just… I’ll never be able to repay him, you know?  This is the only thing I can give him.”

            “Do you really think that John wants you to be with him out of a sense of obligation?”

            Tina sighed deeply, pushing the air forcefully out of her lungs and through the space between her lips.

            “Dana, there’s something I’ve never told you…”

            And this is how Dana came to know about Bette.

15 Years Ago

            “My father?  That’s ironic, I was just talking about him.  What did he want?” Tina asked her mother, mindlessly removing her earrings before bed.

            “Are you aware of a young man named John Malcolm?” Mrs. Kennard asked, her complexion remaining stoic, posture rigid.

            “Yeah, I ran into him recently at the store.  Why?”

            “Your father says he’s been asking about you all week.  Showing up announced at your dad’s office and everything.”

            “Well what does he want?” Tina asked, a look of confusion painting her features.

            “From the sounds of it, he wants you,” her mother replied coolly.  “He’s promising the world to all three of us if we can get you to move back with your dad.”

            “What?” Tina scoffed, flabbergasted.  “We haven’t known each other in years!”

            “Well, that’s how it is with these rich folks.  They see something they want and they get it.”

            “He’s not ‘getting it’, Mom.  I’m not going.  You know I’m not going, right?”

            Tina’s mother sat motionless, unwilling to give any reply at all.