Humans are unbelieving creatures. We like to doubt and deny the truth because they say that the mind is a powerful thing. The mind controls our perception and more often than not it blinds us from the other side of truth. When something really bad happens to a person, chances are the person becomes numb. They are left in shock over the revelation. Delayed reaction some might call it but it is just our own mistrust. Certainly something this bad would not fall onto us. Denial is the most natural defense mechanism made and our belief is that if we deny it long enough, it would turn out to be just a dream…

–

Tina stood next to the counter leaning with her lower back to it. Her eyes were barely blinking, deep in thought. Kit’s words the other day gave her a lot to think about. After much hesitation from Kit and more coaxing on Tina’s part, she finally revealed the mystery. Her face contorts in sorrow at the thought of Bette… She took a moment to gather herself. Her eye bags were getting more evident, successfully marking her lack of sleep after the revelation. A silent beep sounded. She moved to get the fresh coffee and sinks into her comfy couch. Tina was longing to see her again. The past few days have been very interesting to say the least. She spent hours, day and night, to figure out what went wrong in the first place. Suffice to say that she only came up with the gradual accumulation of unresolved tension over getting pregnant. It took a major toll in their relationship when she had lost the baby. They were both tired and both dealt with the lost differently and most saddening, separately. She understood that now. The cheating was unacceptable but she realizes now that the problems started a lot earlier. However unacceptable was Bette’s betrayal, her threatening to take their baby from Bette was wrong. After all, when Bette took Angie away the last time, she felt what she wanted Bette to feel. That had to stop.

She sipped the hot coffee in silence and stared at the blank television, thinking about Bette. She looked so peaceful the other day. Tina smiled at the memory of Bette’s laughter. It was the most she had heard Bette’s laughter in a very long time. Tina felt a tug on the cushion and soon Angie was sitting right next to her. Afraid of spilling her hot beverage, she leaned forward to rest it on the middle of the coffee table. Angie scooted even closer just as she leaned back into the couch.