“Why had it gone so horribly wrong? Neither of them had the strength to work on it. To try to keep it together. Maybe it just wasn’t worth working on. Maybe there were just too many obstacles standing in the way of them ever being happily together again as a couple. The work they have been doing on their friendship has improved their ability to talk to each other but there was still this, “at arms length” thing going on between them.

The train enters the station and after getting through security and immigrations, she was finally on her way to the Louvre  Museum. She could not be in a country near the museum without going there. She loved it. She would linger in the halls looking at the great artisans who have inspired all of those who have come after them. She particularly loves Leonardo de Vinci. She has and will again stand in the room that holds this masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, gazing upon the soulful eyes of this woman. Breath in the beauty of this painting. Although it is not her taste in collecting, it is her taste in consuming the art for pure art’s sake. This grand museum is a sanctuary from her life at this moment. It is magical and majestic. It is so inspiring that it always, as with this visit, reduces this ultimate art lover and aficionado to shed a tear at the truest of overwhelming visceral euphoria.

As the hour moves late into the afternoon. Bette returns to the train station for her trip back to London. As the train pulls away she turns her head slightly to see Paris quickly fade into the darkness. She closes her eyes and her mind is awash with the beauty and splendor that the Louvre has lent upon her this day.

Making her way from the train station, she takes a cab to Piccadilly Circus. She walks around the West End and thinks. She would love to not be alone on this trip. She would love to not be alone ever. But as she walks through London she is alone and she wants it to change. She decides that when she returns to LA she is going to sit down with Tina. They need to talk this out. When Tina was ready Bette wasn’t. She hoped that when she returned she could convince Tina to work on more than a friendship.