She thought back to the holidays, vacations, weekend getaways that she had just expected Tina to automatically rearrange her schedule in order to accommodate her plans. She traveled when she wanted for business, expecting Tina to have everything in order when she returned, the heroine in her own adventure while Tina sat at home. Dan Foxworthy had reminded them time and time again that the lack of communication and consideration were the downfall of their relationship. If you aren’t talking, then you aren’t aware of the experience the other person is having being with you. Communicate. Consider. Remember there are two of you in the relationship. The rest is easy when those two pillars are solid.

They both worked through the rest of their day, the silence and distance palpable. Bette knew that Tina would be late tonight, the first day of a shoot was always a long and stressful day for her.

She picked up dinner from Kit and came home to an empty house, the quiet permeating. She put dinner on the counter in the kitchen and stood there a minute looking at the lengthening shadows and listening to the silent echo in the house. The house that Tina made a home. Her eyes fell on the watch Tina wore when she ran, it tracked how far, how fast. She had given it to her as a surprise when she was training for her first 10K. Laying on the table in the dining room it belonged there, ready for Tina to pick up and put it on before she went running. Tina loved the watch, she was always showing Bette the data it collected, standing next to her, sweaty and beautiful, her cheeks flushed and her breathing ragged. She couldn’t wait to share her success. Bette was so proud of her.

Little things, reminders that Bette was not alone. Tina’s new cookbook, the avocadoes on the window shelf in the kitchen, the camera on the coffee table. The little Buddha from their trip to India, a handwritten note on the desk from Tina that Bette treasured… “I love it when you’re happy … and naked”, it said with a lipstick kiss. All pieces of Tina and symbols of their shared life together in their home.