“Oh wow. That’s awesome.”

Alice could hear the sadness in Tina’s voice. She realized she shouldn’t have said anything and mouthed fuck.

“Tee…”

“I called her last night, Al.” Tina finally blurted out.

“Called who? Who? Who did you call? …Bette?”

“Yes, Bette. I called Bette.”

Alice blinked rapidly not knowing what to say next.

“What did y’all talk about? Did you make up?”

Tears ran down Tina’s face. And she felt a lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and it hurt which made her cry even harder.

“She sent me to voicemail.”

Alice wasn’t surprised. Bette had been a wreck since Tina left. It wasn’t even the fact that Tina left. It was the way she left. Bette was heartbroken. Alice had never seen her like this before. Mainly because Bette had never been in love before Tina.

“Oh, Tee. Why did you call her?”

“I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted to tell her I was a fucking asshole. I wanted to beg her to forgive me. I wanted to make sure she still loved me.”

“Do you still love her?” Alice asked softly.

“With all of me. But I’m afraid I’ve lost her because I’m an idiot and pushed her away.”

‘Whoa, Tee. This is huge. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Do you think she still loves me, Al?”

Alice wanted to scream YES but she didn’t know the answer. Bette had been a clam since Tina moved to Vancouver, locking up her emotions and her heart. Collapsing in tears every so often. But mainly putting all of her energy into the Gallery.

“Tee…”

“Al, I want her back. But I won’t be able to come home for another three more months. I told Liz that we had to have the movie wrapped by then. I’m going to try for sooner but three months is pushing it at this point.”

“Actually that might be perfect timing. Three months is when the new show opens and she’s doing an Artist Dinner too.”

Tina took her hand off of her forehead and straightened up.

“Who is the artist, Al?”

“Get this. KiKi Smith.”

Tina gasped. KiKi Fucking Smith. Tina’s mind flashed to the Fawn print on the nightstand in the apartment. This was a big fucking deal and she’d made it impossible for Bette to share it with her. Tina wondered what else she didn’t know about and wondered if Bette would ever feel safe again sharing things with her.