But it had all worked out, and Bette had been thoroughly surprised and pleased to see it hanging when she staggered home, grumbling about Thanksgiving traffic “from the airport, to the taxi stand, and all the way to this blasted apartment,” she’d complained.  The smile she gave Tina was well worth the effort and complications of pulling it off, though, Tina thought at that time, as Bette’s temper quickly cooled off.

And Bette had commented about the painting just the other night, as well; they were relaxing on the couch, with Tina resting against one side of it, and Bette lying against Tina’s chest, her head in the corner of Tina’s shoulder, “my nook,” as Bette said.  Tina’s arms were around Bette, and Bette had been nuzzling her neck. 

“I’m so glad you surprised me and hang that painting on that wall, last Thanksgiving, T,” she was saying, as she smiled at Tina.  “It’s just the right spot for it.”

“When we were having all those problems between us a few months ago, about not communicating, etc., there were times when I thought I would lose it, or blow up, or else go the other way and feel deeply depressed.  Let me just tell you now that, inevitably, I would find myself staring at that painting, eventually finding some peace in it, and then be able to still my mind.”  With a smile, she also admitted to Tina that she had stared at the painting, back in LA, when it hung in her office in the gallery, after their episode in the video art booth. “You really shook me up then, you know…” Bette sighed, as Tina bent her head to kiss her.

Now, with Bette gone, Tina herself stood in front of the painting, drawn in by the strong brush strokes and surprising interplay of bright, primary colors mixed with brooding ones.  Individual strokes, haphazard at first glance, began to collectively contribute to a fragile sense of order.  To Tina, the painting dramatized the dynamic and tension of dark colors versus light, strong and bold strokes versus barely-there strokes, a storm and tempest brewing on the outer sections of the canvas as against the peaceful scene in the core of the painting.  There was romance; there was anger.  There was darkness, crowding into light.  Push; pull. Calm; unrest.  Fear. Against hope.