Bette walked out of the bedroom and went to the guestroom which also served as a study. She turned on the computer and went online to book her flights and make her reservations for the 10 day silent retreat in Mt. Olympia Washington. Afterwards she stretched out on the leather recliner with a lap blanket and the paperwork Julia had giving her to read regarding the job offers. She had several weeks before she had to make any final decisions. This time she wouldn’t be hasty.

***

If Tina wouldn’t move to New York the Whitney job might not even be a consideration but if she wasn’t willing to work on their marriage what would be keeping Bette in Los Angeles except Angie. If they split up they would have joint custody and separate households anyway. Though she’d never leave her daughter completely she could try bi-coastal and make it work one way or another.

The Whitney was a sweet deal. The Directorship would establish her in the art world to where she could call her own shots. It just required a two year commitment with options of course so it was workable. On the other hand academia might present an interesting change. It would keep her closer to Angie, but could she really get on with her life being in such close proximity to Tina on a daily basis and not have her? Things were estranged between them now but at least they were still together. Bette couldn’t believe that she was thinking about a separation or possibly a divorce when just an hour earlier she was excited to come home to try to fix things between them.

Meanwhile Tina lay in the bed still wide awake. She really had a lot to think about too. Moving her life to New York wasn’t an option she even wanted to consider but could she really hold Bette back from a once in a lifetime opportunity? If they moved surely she could find work with a movie studio or some other entertainment venue in New York. She could possibly look at a graduate program since she hadn’t given up the idea of going back to school or changing careers. A change of environment might be exactly what they needed for a fresh start, but did she really want that with Bette?

Tina thought about what she’d said to Bette. It was getting to where everything that she said came out wrong. Why the hell did she feel the need to demean Bette and her abilities? Was she so insecure in her own skin that she had to lower Bette in her estimation to raise herself up? There were so many residual effects of unresolved issues between them. Maybe she should consider the couple’s retreat in Vermont. The studio could survive for a few days without her. Helena could work with Josh Becker if needed. She could take the time off … the question was did she want to?