“Tina,” Bette began to shake her head, there were so many questions racing through her she had to focus enough to at least voice one. She placed her wine glass down on the table and sat up. “You’ve known about his trip for months and our sleeping arrangements should have been one of the first things on your mind.”

“It is, and it has been. That’s why I’m asking you what do you want to do when we get there? I don’t want to make a decision and assume that you’re ok with it.”

“No, you’re not asking me, you’re giving me options that are really just illusions. We could stay at a hotel but they want to spend as much time with Angie as possible, we could stay at their house but we’d have to sleep in separate bedrooms?”

“I never said that.”

“Well it was implied.”

Tina was getting upset, Bette was not understanding where she was coming from at all. “Bette, I want you to be as comfortable as possible, but you have to understand how delicate of a situation this all is.”

“I do. But you can’t ask me to change what and who I am just for Rick’s family Tina. This entire situation, the trip, the clothes, the people, are all out of my comfort zone. But I’m willing to make the sacrifices for you if you’ll meet me half way.”

“I’m not asking you to vote conservative, dye your hair and move to Alaska.” Tina sat straight up as she got increasingly upset. “But these people are going to meet you for the first time, I don’t want to give them any reason to think that we are…” Tina winced and gestured with her hands trying to convey what she wanted to say without actually saying it.

“What? Fooling around in his room?”

“Uncaring.” Tina answered upset that Bette would go so far as to mention something so farfetched. “It’s more of a respect to their home.”

“Tina I hadn’t planned on making out with you on the kitchen table or making a home video in Rick’s bedroom, but I don’t want to feel like a pariah while I’m there. Banished to some dark room, out of sight and out of mind.”