Chapter 5

Yale – 1996

Bette had arrived to the cafeteria around 10 am. She had had a rough night, not because of having sex with Drew in order to get her out of her room in the morning and maybe later, in some other less compromising circumstances trying to explain to her that “dating” was not happening, or it would ever happen. No. Bette was exhausted from doing exactly the opposite.

She had spent most of her night sitting in her room trying to persuade Drew from what was going on only in her head, and then walking her back to her dorm.

It wasn’t that this girl had turned into a bit of a stalker that only scared Bette. It was the whole concept of a relationship that did it. The mere idea of such commitment had no space in Bette’s head. Although it had crossed her mind a couple of occasions, it had disappeared as fast as it had entered her thoughts.

Bette had always thought of herself as a loner. Someone who was so well on her own that had accomplished that level of self-sufficiency that allowed her to convince herself that she indeed was better off alone, than allowing someone to turn down those tall and thick walls, walls that had taken her many years and many tears to build.

Bette was so immersed in these thoughts that she didn’t notice Tina arriving and standing next to her table.

“Well well… I think someone had a rough night.”

Bette was startled by Tina’s voice, a voice she hadn’t realized how much she had wanted to hear. She shyly smiled at the blonde who was now taking the seat across from her.

“Well… it was… bizarre to say the least.”

“I imagine how hard it was to decide the name of your first child.” Tina was clearly in teasing mode.

“Ha Ha Ha… keep teasing me… I’ll find your dirt… eventually.”

“Oh come on, Bette! You can’t tell me that last night was… and I quote: “Bizarre to say the least”… what happened after I left?”

Tina mentally tapped herself in the head after that question. After all she did not know Bette at all, or how could she react to that sort of intrusion. She did not want to sound nosy, but she was certainly intrigued.