Meanwhile, Bette watched quietly as Tina rose and then walk slowly from the table, enter the bedroom, then close the door behind her.

She was processing all that Tina had said, from last night, through this morning, and she was thinking about the tough spot  Tina had been in.  If she detached herself from the situation, and saw things the way someone uninvolved would, she would see that it was unusual that Tina had been on both sides of this issue in a relatively short span of time.  First, Eric had cheated on her, right in front of her eyes.  Then, less than six months later, Tina herself had done this with Scott, hurting Bette deeply.  And Bette suspected that Tina’s confusion, and inability to initially process the issue, on her own, was probably rooted in something Tina as a child had been exposed to.  Maybe this is what we’ll talk about next. 

Tina was now looking more confident about talking about the issue, as a result of the progress she said she was making, perhaps working with Dan.

On the evening Bette had rejoined Tina at her hotel in DC two summers ago, on the same night Bette had struck a deal with George to join him, Bette had tried to broach the topic of Eric’s cheating, and whether Tina had time to process it.  After all, they were about to undertake massive changes to their lives, and she wanted to “check-in” with the blonde about everything that had happened.

Tina had looked at her puzzled, “Bette, I want to move forward from all that, and move forward with you…. are you having second thoughts?”  Bette had shaken her head vigorously, “Of course not, T! You’re the only one I would ever consider doing this for.  Or with…”

Bette realized now that she should have brought the subject up again.  But the blonde seemed fully committed to them, and their own future, and there never seemed to be an opportunity or reason to revisit Eric.  After all, the blonde had, indeed, pulled up from LA completely for her, and was ready to stand faithfully next to Bette, whatever happened.  She’d carried out  everything she needed to do on her side of this partnership.  But Bette had not read the signs that the blonde had struggled.   Or maybe had not cared to read the signs…