‘Just about to take off, will talk soon. xT’

It was a simple text but one unlike she had received in recent years from her ex-wife. Tina hadn’t text her her whereabouts or what-doings since moving out. All communications were about their divorce proceedings, Angie, scheduling trips for Angie, or money. So a text signed ‘xT’ let Bette believe she may finally be healing.

Her friends had told her over and over again amidst their breakup that her heart would eventually mend and she would meet someone new. What they didn’t understand was that when Tina left her, it wasn’t just her heart that was broken, it was as if her entire world had been shattered. Bette felt fragmented, incomplete, like a piece of her was always missing. It was evident in the absence of toothpaste stains in Tina’s sink, and the way Bette still only parked on her side of the garage, or how she only slept on her side of the bed. Tina had been the sun that her years revolved around, her lifeline, a tether that grounded Bette and packaged their lives together for almost twenty-five years. That missing thread had unraveled so many minute details of her life that Bette was unsure if she would ever feel normal again.

As much as Bette wanted to profess her love in a sappy I miss you already response, she knew she couldn’t. They agreed to keep things simple, and take things slow. Whatever that meant for them. Things were never simple, and they sped through the slow sign whenever they were alone together. But Tina wasn’t ready to break it off with Carrie just yet. Their busy schedules would keep them apart for weeks at a time for the next few months, and she was hoping it would seem like something that happened gradually instead of just deciding one day that it was Bette she wanted. Again.

Bette typed ‘Safe travels 💛’ and hit send before entering Dana’s. She walked towards Shane at the bar with an unbeknownst grin still adorning her face.

“Well, someone is in a good mood today.”

“Yeah, it’s been a good morning.”

Bette’s glow had Shane scrutinizing her face as she read the text message one more time before closing her screen.