Tina: We bought one but it became apparent that we weren’t going to use it so we donated it to a family in East L.A. That’s where I used to work.

Once Kit helped Tina to lift Roberta’s wheelchair onto the landing and saw that she could safely enter their home Kit bid them good luck and took off. Roberta wheeled herself around the house touching sharp objects de art, fireplace tools, and glass top tables with sharp corners. No doubt from her demeanor she was looking for things to criticize. Admittedly Bette and Tina’s décor was not typical of the homes Roberta usually performed home visits to, but it was obvious that she’d taken an immediate dislike to Bette.

She didn’t appear that she even liked children. She found Angie’s presence a nuisance and she also seemed to have a problem with lesbian moms or women in general it was hard to decipher. Needless to say things went from bad to worse.

Roberta: You haven’t exactly baby-proofed have you?

Bette: Well I don’t believe in baby-proofing per se. I mean first off its ugly and I really want
Angelica to develop an intrinsic sense of beauty.

Roberta: Well I can tell that’s important to you Bette. Presumably its why I don’t see an abundance of brightly colored stimulating interactive plastic toys strewn around the house.

Bette: Exactly.

Roberta: And from the point of view of safety?

Bette: Well Ms. Collier I truly believe …

“Call me Roberta.”

Bette: Roberta I believe children can learn what’s safe and what’s not safe through tactile encounters. I mean at this age she can’t really grasp concepts she can only have experiences.

Roberta: So you’re planning to let her put her hand in the fire?

Bette: Metaphorically.

Roberta: I’ll give you a metaphor Bette. Go ahead and throw yourself off the 405 overpass. It will hurt like hell and damn straight you won’t do it again because you’ll be dead.

Tina: It’s not like we’re totally opposed to baby-proofing. I mean she’s not even crawling yet.”

Bette: I know she’s not even crawling.

Bette reiterated. Tina gives her a look that says please indulge this woman we need her, but Bette’s not bowing so Tina continues.