I can be an ***** of the grandest kind.
I can withhold like it’s going out of style.
I can be the moodiest baby.
And you’ve never met anyone as negative as I am sometimes.

Alanis Morissette, “Everything,” 2004


Chapter 1

Darkness had settled into the house on Crescent Heights Boulevard, and its occupants struggled
with the demons that had taken up residence there.

Bette lay in the place that Tina left her, halfway in the bedroom, halfway in the bathroom. It didn’t
matter, as far as she was concerned. She was completely powerless, and for someone that prides
themselves on the power they wield, it was something that Bette was having a hard time
swallowing.

Tina was leaving her, she had taken the credit card and the cash and Bette could hear her on the
phone. Making calls that were going to get her away from Bette, away from the things she had
done. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but there was no mistaking Tina’s intent.

‘Not that I don’t deserve it,’ Bette thought. She had made the biggest mistake of her life, sacrificed
the only person that she had ever loved, for a few romps with Candace. She had been so desperate
to capture some kind of feeling from their encounters, but the emptiness was worse than what she
had been feeling with Tina.

‘Wait, Tina made it seem like we were going to work things out, what the *****?’

Just then, Tina reentered the bedroom and took note that Bette was still in the same spot.

“Are you going to lay there all night or are you going to get up and pack?” Tina asked, as she
went to the closet and began pulling out their luggage.

“Where am I going?” Bette knew she could crash at Kit’s, or even with Alice or Dana. She didn’t
want to have to leave. She wanted them to stay in their home, they could work things out there.
They always had before. ‘Of course, you had never fucked anyone else before either Bette.’

“We’re getting the ***** out of LA. You’ll need shorts, tank tops, swimsuits, stuff like that. You
also need to call work and let them know you’ll be gone a few weeks.”

“Tina, a few weeks? I couldn’t possibly..”

Tina cut her off before she could go any further. She was done listening to Bette and her sorry
excuses.

“Bette, you’ve just given the CAC the most successful show in its history. Your contract is up
next month, and they are going to let you do whatever you want because they want to keep their
little darling happy. Now, if you don’t want to go that’s one thing, but stop using
work as a ***** excuse.”

Bette stood and walked over to her dresser. Tina’s voice was laced with venom, and Bette knew
that it was all coming out, all of the anger that Tina usually kept inside was coming out with a
vengeance. She began to pull out bras and underwear, and place them in the suitcase, next to
Tina’s things. She would have to call and leave James and Franklin a message when she finished.
She has but one thought, and it goes against her very nature as a Jil
Sanders wearing, Type-A, Saab driving, Power *****: ‘***** the CAC, this is about me and my
wife.’

*******************************************************

Bette felt a bit of nervousness as she stepped onto the plane. They were in first class, and were
immediately shown to their seats and taken care of. They hadn’t really talked on the way to LAX,
and Bette had put that off as being because they had taken a shuttle instead of driving so that they
wouldn’t have to pay to store the car. She didn?t think Tina wanted to hash things out in front of a
total stranger.

“We could have Alice drop us off,” Bette had suggested, thinking that she would find ways to be
helpful to Tina, to make her want to keep her around.

“And what should I tell Alice when she asks why we’re suddenly leaving town in the middle of the
damn night?” Tina placed her hands on her hips, daring Bette to continue.

Bette didn’t answer. There was no need to. The silence from the shuttle, through the airport and
onto the plane, was beginning to annoy Bette. She was doing her best to just go with the flow, to
let Tina take control of the situation. Obviously she needed to do so, and truthfully, Bette was
happy to hand over the reins. She knew that if they were going to work this out, if their marriage
were going to survive, she would have to learn to do that more often.

The captain made his announcements and soon they were jetting down the runway for takeoff.
Tina wasn’t fond of flying, never had been, and she almost reached for Bette’s hand as the plane
began to lift. She stopped herself, not wanting even the most simple contact with her wife, instead
letting her hand rest in her lap. She had kept her mind busy getting ready quickly for this trip, but
now that she had nothing to keep her preoccupied, she kept seeing Bette and Candace together,
wondering how many times it had happened, where and how. Just the thought of Bette touching
someone else the way they had touched, or kissing someone else when they hadn’t shared a real
kiss in weeks, made Tina want to break down right then and there. She bit her lip and
concentrated on the seat in front of her, refusing to give in to the emotion. Bette reached over and
grabbed Tina?s hand out from where it lay, and while Tina felt comforted, it also made her
incredibly sad.


Three Hours Later

“Baby, baby wake up. We?re in Houston.”

Tina had fallen asleep not long after take off, letting her body give in to its need for rest. She
would have to be sure that she did get plenty of it, especially considering her recent discovery.
As much as she wanted to scream and cry and the thought of food made her want to retch, she
knew she couldn’t allow her emotions to get too out of control. She once again had another life
to consider.
They had an hour layover before boarding the plane to Acapulco, to a hillside resort that offered
the privacy and comfort that Tina thought would be good for her, for them.

“Are you hungry,” Bette asked.

“I just want some juice, maybe a muffin. I think we get breakfast on the flight.”

“There?s a coffee shop over there, we could sit for awhile.”

Tina allowed Bette to lead her in the right direction. She noticed that Bette looked drawn, pale,
and Tina surmised that she probably had not slept at all during the flight. Despite everything that
had happened, she still wanted to take care of Bette. ‘Maybe that was the problem, maybe I was
more of a mother and less of a wife.’ Tina filed the thought away as she sat at a table and Bette
went to get their drinks, she would bring it up later. The last thing she felt like doing was having a
scene in the middle of the airport.

“I got apple juice, and a cran-raisin muffin, I hope that?s all right.”

“It?s fine Bette,” Tina said as she began to drink her juice. She hadn?t realized how parched she
was.

Bette drank her coffee, not knowing what to say, or if she should even talk at all. She watched
Tina break off tiny pieces of the muffin and eat them, obviously forcing herself to chew and
swallow.

“Baby, if you aren?t hungry, don?t make yourself eat.”

“Bette, don?t call me that.” Tina said, her eyes blazing.

Had Bette called Candace ‘baby?’ That was their word, not like they owned it, but they had
always called each other that, from the early days of their relationship. Tina couldn’t imagine
using it on anyone else, and she could only hope that Bette had at least kept that sacred.
However, it wouldn’t have surprised her in the least if she had used it on that *****. She felt like
she didn’t even know Bette anymore. The Bette she knew and loved never would have done that
to them, never would have destroyed their family for a *****.

Bette sighed and sat back in her seat. Even knowing how angry and hurt Tina was, Bette felt like
the best thing she could have done was keep her damn mouth shut. So she resolved then and there
that she would do just that. She was not going to speak unless Tina spoke to her first, she would
not utter a word unless Tina wanted her to. Even if it killed her, she was going to stay silent.
Bette gave a quick prayer of thanks when their flight was finally called to board. She would sleep
on the plane, she could tell she was going to need all of her strength.