Fan Fiction
This story has been set to a rating of R. Age verification is required to proceed.
Why Are You Here?
Login to add story to favorites
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)You need to be a registered member to rate this post.
Loading ...
Bette (shouting): How am I supposed to know something we never talked about? And I am sorry, but I am not clairvoyant. I cannot respond to something I am not aware of, Tina. You hid that from me! What was going on in your mind? If I was not paying enough attention to you or to Angie and our family, then you are responsible to communicate that to me. If I am behaving in a manner which irritates you, do you not have a duty to talk to me about it at least and see if we can’t make some adjustments? After all, we were a married couple and had pledged to pursue our future together in good times and in bad. So instead of communicating with me, you decided that your best option was just to move out? And then a couple of months later get a divorce?
Tina: I was afraid of talking to you. I was embarrassed that I didn’t have a job. I really wanted to work just like you did. I had searched for a job in the beginning, but everything that looked promising required another move. You and Angie were settled and doing well in New York City. I felt I could not disrupt that.
Bette: You assumed that I would not want to move?
Tina: Yes.
Bette: Tina, when we decided to move from Los Angeles to New York, do you remember the process we went through?
Tina: Yes. I got a job offer from Tribeca Films and you had just went into partnership with Kelly Wentworth.
Bette: Yes, and you told me about the job and said that you thought it best you turn it down because you assumed I would not want to move. But you told me that it really was a good opportunity for you and I told you not to turn that job down, that we needed to talk this through before you made that decision. Based on our circumstances at the time, I thought that it might be in both of our best interest if we moved to New York City. So, we decided, together that you should accept the job and we moved.
Tina: Yes, I remember that.
Bette: So, that being our history, why would you not come to me with any new opportunities so that we could determine what was best for our family? You know, we might could have worked something out where you lived some other town part time and with us part time. Or we might have moved to your new location, just as we moved to New York City. But that is not what you chose. You chose to pack your bags and leave your child and spouse instead. Tina, that is rejection of your family; the rejection of your life and your partner whom you said you loved. And you never said a word.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
It is a challenging task to take on the Generation Q nonsensical plot line, especially Bette and Tina ever having gotten divorced. You have written an interesting “moment in time” offering the readers one possibility of what happened. I would imagine from your description that the cabin is a small claustrophobic place and Bette and Tina are both nervous and somewhat kinetic in the way they interact with one another and move about. Neither able to relax. Trying to respect each other and each other’s space. Watching the clock. Watching the snow. With nowhere to go. Also, it is next to impossible to make sense of the Tina that Marja gave us. No one recognizes her. I think you have given it a very good shot. I also appreciate the way you wrote Bette struggling with her emotions and all of the hurt. Tina is a mystery. Why would she ask Bette if she loves her? Bette’s reply is spot on. She loves Tina but no longer knows her. She loves her because she is Angie’s biological mother. She was able to remain respectful to Tina but also get to the heart of the matter: Why did you leave me? Why did you leave Angie? That’s tough stuff. It would have been much easier to write a story that pretended away the fiasco that was Gen Q. You took it on. Well done, Martha.
Billy,
Thank you for reading and commenting. Gen Q, for me, simply decided Bette and Tina were divorced and never fleshed out why that happened. IMO, the writers never believed that they would need this backstory when they put it into the script. But for a couple as iconic as Bette and Tina, they should have known that sooner or later, they might have to reveal that backstory. But in true Gen Q fashion, it never was addressed.
So when Laurel returned for Season 1, the writers have Tina give an explanation to Angie that she needed to find herself. And then another explanation to Bette which said that Bette simply overshadowed her very existence. Neither explanation rang true for me. And I accepted Bette’s declaration to Shane under the influence of marijuana, that she did not know why Tina left and that Tina had never offered an explanation. So, when they brought in Carrie, I was even more confused as to why Tina left and who Tina Kennard was. And despite some of the fan’s responses of adoration for Carrie, that relationship simply did not reflect the Tina Kennard I so adore and love. And then in Season 3, where we get our reunion and wedding which I desperately wanted, but the path seemed more like a fairey tale than anything which could be close to reality or reasonable. The conflicts were between Bette and Tina seemed artificial and were put aside with a few soft words. Determining what the conflicts were required the most vivid of imaginations and the ability to take the darkest moments of their past and project it to their present. Bette and Tina have a long and rocky history. But the Bette and Tina I know would never dig into that bag of history and use their bad behavior as a club to justify current behavior. I feel this is particularly true for those issues which they had analyzed, apologized and forgiven the other for. Whatever the reason for Bette and Tina’s divorce, it had to be something new or something we are completely unaware of. And I do not completely explain why the separation and divorce happen, I at least ask the question. And I still believe that question can only be answered by Tina.
I am glad you mentioned the cabin. It’s a place designed for no more than 4 people as a temporary getaway. I imagine the dining table has 4 chairs in a standard square shape. The kitchen is a galley style kitchen in which it starts to get crowded with a second person. I imagine that the main purpose is to provide housing for skiers visiting the area during the winter and hikers during the summer.
Addressing this aspect of the Gen Q story is not easy. I think that getting into Tina’s mind and understanding her motivations, her thought processes, and the environment surrounding her when she made her choices is a difficult place to go. For me, the things which might explain this seem so unfathomable that I cannot make my mind go there. Things such as cheating, falling out of love, mental illness or shear boredom with the relationship simply cannot be possible in my world for these two. And they are far too intelligent to allow a misunderstanding to keep them apart. Bette and Tina have been through too much and have weathered too many storms to believe they would ever purposely pursue a path that would destroy their relationship. I also believe that it is simply not possible for the two of them to make any decision in which they did not consider the impact of such on the other. They simply love each other too much for that. So, the bottom line is that we the writers are left to try to explain the unexplainable….
My thanks for your continued support….
Well thought out and literate reply. I totally agree.