“Should I wake her up?” Charlotte looks down at the sleeping form in her lap.

            “No, she needs her sleep.”

            The room fills with silence with each woman retreating into their own thoughts. Charlotte looked up from Alice. Bette gave her a sad smile.  

            “So grits is what brought you and Tina together?” Charlotte asked to break the quiet.

            “Yes,” Bette pauses and looks at the container sitting on the coffee table. “I know it is silly to want to keep them but they make me feel like she is still with me. Not physically but emotionally. She is,” Bette stops and heaves a big sigh,” WAS such a big part of my life. I can’t envisage getting through the day without her with me in some way. I know I don’t deserve to have that comfort but I know I would cease to function without it.” Bette pauses again, a sad little chuckle escapes past her lips.” Everyone always thought I was the strong one, which is the farthest thing from the truth. I could never have survived the things Tina went through. I think maybe we both started to believe that image of us. That is when we failed each other; when we tried to be what people thought we were. Of course I did the majority of the failing.”

            Bette leans forward and picks up the grits. Holding them in front of her, she starts to talk to them as if they were the ones listening and not Charlotte.

            “She started to let me believe I was the strong one. I think she thought that is what I wanted. Maybe that is what I thought I wanted. In the beginning it was never like that, we were always on equal footing. Well,” Bette smiles at the grits,” she was a couple steps ahead of me most of the time but she did it with such grace that it appeared we were equal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            ‘If he thinks he can jerk Bette Porter around, he has another thing coming.’ Bette was positively seething. ‘I am going to find that ***** and make him see me. I WILL get that show.’

            Tina could tell Bette was furious, it wasn’t hard. It appeared that Bette was working out her anger or at least forming a plan. Tina decided it was best to let Bette have a few moments. So she slowly finished her coffee. As she sipped she watched Bette. Tina could almost read everything that was going on in Bette’s head. It wasn’t that Bette wasn’t doing a good job of masking her feelings; it was instead like Tina had been watching Bette all her life.