“Yeah, Tim.  Bette and I had this huge fight because I hired Candace to work with Oscar and me.  It was such bullshit the way she responded.  She accused me of not thinking of her, showing her a lack of respect, and using Candace.  My God, what she meant was, ‘don’t be hiring Candace for outside work.  She needs to be doin’ me on her off time.’”  Tina tried to make light of it, but her voice cracked with emotion.

Bette’s eyes widened in disbelief that Tina was both so crass and that she was interpreting their argument in such a way.

“You just never know.  I never would have guessed that Jenny and I wouldn’t spend the rest of our lives together.  I never would have guessed that she’d turn from me into the arms of a woman.  All of my dreams were friggin’ shattered.”

Tina and Tim were allies in the war of love.  “I feel like I wasted seven years on a woman I never really knew.  The truth is, Bette was never able to give me what I most needed.  She was loving, but I don’t know if she ever really loved me or even if she was capable of it.”

Bette was staggered to hear this and her hand shot out to brace herself against the fence. 

“The past couple of months haven’t been the first time I’ve wondered if I was more than just a glorified servant to her.  She didn’t need me per se, but she needed a personal assistant at home.  She had James at work and me at home.  That was what I was for her.”

Bette’s shoulders slumped and her lip began to quiver in an attempt to fight back the sadness coursing through her.   

“Tina, you don’t mean that?”

“I really don’t know, Tim.  I’ve dissected our relationship.  I mean, these past few weeks, I’ve gone over every conversation, every glance trying to pinpoint where and when it fell apart.  Trying to figure out when it started with Candace.  I’m clueless.  I thought we were happy, but there were problems.  And as I thought about it, even in the first year, I saw how things were between us.  We were never equals in the marriage.  Bette was the one in control and I went along.  I didn’t want to fight, so I just agreed.  I was the one who was supportive—taking an interest in her job, asking her about work, trying to soothe her when she was restless or angry.  She didn’t do that for me.”