***

It could be said that Bette was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Maxine and Melvin were both independently wealthy when they married, so she never lacked anything materially growing up. If there was anything that Melvin excelled in, it was making money but more importantly he had the financial savvy to invest wisely and grow it.

Maxine didn’t trust Melvin with much after their divorce but she did trust him with money. As the sole beneficiary, Bette stood to inherit millions from both her parent’s estates. They had named each other as the Executors of their wills in the case that Bette was a minor at the time of death. Maxine had left explicit instructions that Melvin oversee her investments and capitalize on the gains to secure their daughter’s ivy league education and financial future. Melvin had held to his ex-wife’s wishes and to this day, Bette never lacked for anything that money could buy. If only he’d been as devoted to getting her emotional and relational needs met.

Bette was a beautiful, well-behaved, gifted, intelligent child. From birth Maxine, had put her baby girl at the center of her world. Bette knew unconditional love, and deep caring from her mother but she also experienced suffering and heartache. Although she was young, and somewhat sheltered from the intricacies of her parents relationship, she saw her mother’s pain. She felt that her father had done something unforgivable to break his wife’s heart. Perhaps in the same way that she herself had done something unforgivable that had broken her wife’s heart.

***

When Bette went to live with her father after her mother died, he hired a live-in Nanny. Her name was Maria. Bette adored her. If it wasn’t for Maria she probably would not have survived puberty. Maria was the first person that Bette confided in about liking girls. She tried dating boys when she turned 16 and could have a boyfriend, but the relationships were short-lived until she met Coleman Alt. Bette and Coleman became best friends after admitting their attractions to same sex partners. They started exploring their sexuality by using each other as a front, and eventually got the courage to come out. Bette openly dated girls in her senior year in high school and was terrified that her father would find out but he hardly noticed the switch.