Knowing that her sister was under a lot of pressure from Franklin,
and not wanting to add to her stress, Kit sat by quietly, ready to offer up any
support Bette needed. She knew, realistically, that Bette would never come to
her for help. Bette relied on control.
She used it like a tool to get what she wanted, professionally and
personally. When Bette took control, she
was at the top of her game. However, the burden of having control all the time
is not knowing what to do when it slips from your grasp. Bettes affair with Candace was a devastating
consequence of losing control. Maybe that was why Bette was pushing herself so
hard. Maybe she equated control with strength and didn’t want to appear weak.

Kit was sure that there was something more going on with
Bette. She should have gotten better by now, stressed out or not. Bette assured her that she asked the doctor
the last time and he agreed that her extra time at work could be the reason why
it was taking her longer to get over it. She omitted the part of the conversation
where the doctor told her that if she didnt change her working habits and rest
more often, then shed more than likely end up in the hospital with something
more serious. Bette argued that she knew
her body and its limits. And while she was running a little ragged now, shed
bounce back once the show opened. Then shed have all the time in the world to
start to get her life back on track.

Kit almost believed her. Almost. But she woke up one morning later that week
to realize that Bette had obviously overslept and was running late for work. So
she made her way into Bettes bedroom.
Bette was sleeping on her stomach, twisted impossibly in the sheets,
oblivious to the low tones coming from the alarm clock beside her. Kit reached down to wake her up, but quickly
drew her hand away when she felt Bettes skin. It was warm to the touch and
clammy. In fact, it looked as though Bette had sweated through her clothes during the night. She
finally roused Bette, who was dismayed and angry that she had slept so long.
She had wanted to get up early to finish up a proposal due later that day, but
must have turned down the alarms volume when changing the time late the night
before. Undaunted
by Kits apparent
worry about the night sweats and the fever, Bette insisted it had
happened before and it was all due to stress. Before Kit could
comment she turned and
headed for the shower. Kit couldnt
believe Bette intended to go to work with a fever. She had to draw a line
somewhere, right?