“No, no, no, no, no, no. My guest house is empty and you’re going to move into it until we get the deal we want.”

“Joyce, I can’t do that.”

“Why not? What, you don’t have luggage? Can’t lift heavy things? I’ll get somebody to help you. You know how many of my clients have stayed in my guest house? Plenty. I’m happy to have it to offer.”

“Okay.”

“Good girl.” Joyce pats Tina’s knee and gets up; Tina sighs.

***

Bette and Bert part ways in the parking lot of the lawyer’s office. They’d driven separate cars but now he’s concerned about her driving while she’s so upset. He tells her that he’s happy to drive her wherever she needs to go, and would later make arrangements to get her car but Bette won’t hear of it. She needed to be alone right now, but a few miles down the road she wished she’d taken him up on the offer. As she comes upon a busy intersection the light changes from green to yellow and instead of slowing down to stop she guns the engine. The light turns red just as she crosses into the intersection and she slams into the side of an SUV. The airbag deploys, her front end is smashed in, and although she’s not injured the car is totaled. She sits staring vacantly into space exasperated with how fucked up her life has become since she and Tina lost their baby. She’s lamenting over life’s cruelty and totally self-involved when blaring horns snap her out of her self-pitying mode, and back to the reality of dealing with the wreck she’d caused. The other driver suddenly jumps out of his car and angrily runs over to hers. He tries to open her car door and when he finds it locked he starts banging on her window yelling obscenities.

“Are you blind?! You fucking went through a red!” Bette just stares at him as her exasperation turns to anger. “Get out of the fucking car! C’mon! Get out of the car! Get out of the fucking car!” Bette loosens her seat belt, unlocks the door and gets out of the car. At 5’8” she towers over the stocky middle aged man. Barely restraining her anger she calmly looks down at him as he’s looking up at her. His face is red, he’s sweating profusely and the veins in his head are popping; she’s afraid he’s going to bust a blood vessel.