Tina wiped her tears as she read the simple message that said ”I miss you… C.” She opened the attached photo that Candace had taken of her and Bette in bed while Bette slept. It was the last thing that Candace had to hold onto to prove that her time with Bette wasn’t a dream. It was her last desperate attempt to make contact with Bette. Her phone calls had gone unanswered and eventually wouldn’t even get past the switchboard. Candace wasn’t naïve enough to think that she could ever have anything lasting with Bette but she wasn’t ready for the affair to end.

***

As much as she didn’t want Candace’s presence in Bette’s life to cause stress in her own Tina couldn’t help the anger rising inside her. She grabbed her things and fled the house. She put her suitcases in the trunk then sat in the driver’s seat not quite sure where to go. She didn’t want to go back to Joyce’s guest house just yet. Although nice and comfortable the small cottage only served as a reminder of what she’d lost. She could just show up at the Planet where all her friends had gathered including Bette to celebrate Kit’s big night but she really wasn’t in the mood for the crowded nightclub scene so she just sat.

She’d admonished herself for being so pathetic because despite the hurt and pain the truth was she didn’t want to go anywhere but where she was. Most nights since she’d left Bette whenever she felt this restless she would just drive aimlessly for hours trying to clear her head and make sense of her life, but inevitably she’d end up right back here parked in front of the house that she still considered her home.

Tina started the car and drove to an all-night convenience store. She’d been craving a Slurpee every night for the past several weeks. The sweet syrupy drink was the perfect antidote for how she was feeling right now. Not surprisingly after leaving the store Tina headed back to the house. Since Bette wasn’t expected home for hours she got out of the car and walked up the side entry to the back yard.

She sipped the Slurpee through the big straw, enjoyed the refreshing coolness and forgot all her troubles at least for a little while.  She’d intended to sit in one of the loungers by the pool to just relax but the sound of their neighbor Tim Haspel punching a punching bag caught her attention. Tim wasn’t just a neighbor he’d been a really good friend to both her and Bette since he moved next door five years before. Just recently he’d suffered his own relationship problems when his girlfriend cheated on him. He was shocked to learn not only had she cheat, but she did it with another woman; their mutual friend Marina Ferrer who’d owned the Planet at the time. Tim was doing his best to deal with his anger; the punching bag served as his antidote.