Bette had digested what Tina said without assigning any further meaning to it, and snuggled further into Tina’s shoulder.  The curve between Tina’s shoulder and collarbone was fast becoming Bette’s special nook, a place of comfort. And Bette was enjoying the hair stroking that Tina had resumed, too.

”Anyway, Jodie started on her line again, about wanting to get back together, and how much she’d missed me, etc. so this is the part where you may have overheard me start to get upset.”

She felt Tina nod. Bette continued, “At one point, Jodie said she’d done a sculpture of me, and called it “B.” It wasn’t of my face or anything, but of this side of my shoulder, (Bette pointed to her right), down to this side of my back (she gestured to the region covering her shoulder blade area, down through part of the area above her waist). Jodie said it was one of the best things she’d ever done, and wanted to give it to me. The way she talked about it, it felt like she was dangling it out there for me to come get it.”

Bette sighed, “I knew what she was trying to do, and it just made me more frustrated as we talked.  I felt that she still wasn’t listening, and that she didn’t understand that it had taken a lot for me to walk away from our relationship.  To me she was making it harder to just finish things between us.”

”That’s why I began to tear up. And why I told her that it was really over for me, whatever it was between us. I wanted us to remain friends, and deeply respected her, but no longer wanted a relationship with her, the way we had been.”

”Jodie started to curse again, and I anticipated that she was about to pick another fight, so I just hang up.”

Bette paused, then resumed her story, but seemingly in a more positive tone, “Even though that whole thing happened five or so months ago, the good part I remember was that when I glanced up, struggling with everything that had just happened, after hanging up, I saw you looking at me, as if silently understanding, and your eyes were so warm, and your smile so friendly. I was oddly comforted. It helped that you stayed where you sat, and seemed to respect that I needed a steady, supportive presence. You were quietly sipping your drink, continuing to smile from time to time, keeping the waiters away from me, as my tears began to fall.  I remember that by then it was getting pretty late, so it had been just the two of us left, sitting at opposite ends of the cafe, throughout most of my conversation with Jodie.”