As the young socialite quietly drew away to join the larger group now following George, Eric stepped forward and reached out to tap the back of Bette’s hunched shoulder.

“Bette? Bette?”

—————–

(Picks up from the last scene in Chapter I. Bette and Tina head out to enjoy a day together in Paris.)

Bette and Tina arrived at their destination, and hopped out of the cab.  They looked around quickly. Tina pointed out a small gate through which they could access the gardens surrounding the imposing ancient tower looming over them.  They crossed the garden, and began to scale the winding staircase of Tour Saint Jacques, a tower in the middle of Paris that had been closed off for decades, but recently reopened to the public.   It had not, as yet, been discovered by tourists, or by local Parissienes, thus Tina and Bette were by themselves in the tower, at that hour of the morning.

”Wow!” Tina exclaimed, as they finally got to the top landing.  She paused to recover her breath, and stepped to the side to make room for Bette, who was behind her during the climb up the steep staircase.  After a few minutes of marveling at the unique views of Paris afforded to them, they exhaled together.  Unobstructed views were visible in every direction from the top level of the tower they had climbed to. Gazing out into the city, Tina sighed, “Now this is why I love Paris.”

“Yeah,” Bette nodded, moving to a spot beside Tina.  Tina circled Bette’s waist with her left arm, as she felt Bette draw near.  The brunette smiled, and drew Tina into a light hug, in response, resting an arm across the blonde’s shoulders. They looked silently around, pointing out to each other their favorite city sights, like the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Grand Arch on the right, and the Notre Dame and Ile St. Louis on the left.

They walked slowly around the perimeter of the top level of the tower, arms circled around each other, until they reached the other side, opposite from where they ascended. From there they picked out other familiar sites, a common favorite being the Sacre Coure, its imposing white dome glistening under the Parisian sun. The beautiful Basilica sat on top of the far away hill, and Bette recounted to Tina how she had enjoyed a quiet afternoon there last fall, inside the historic dome, the day after her argument over the phone with Jodie. Tina had overheard that argument, and although she and Bette hadn’t met yet, she knew how deeply Bette was affected by that call.