“Why do you keep staring at me?” Bette asked as they ate.

“Am I?”  Tina’s mouth was full, but she managed a smile.

“You know you are.  What’s up?”

“You’re different.”

“Am I?  Good or bad?”  Bette held her fork between her plate and mouth as her eyes fixed on Tina.

Tina shook her head and grinned.  “It’s a good difference.  You don’t seem as tense as you have in the past year or two.”

“You know how much I was against it, but I have to say, therapy has done me a world of good.”

Tina’s eyes blinked, leaned forward, and said softly,.  “What?  Therapy?”

“Yeah, I told you.”

“Uh…no you didn’t.”

“I’m positive I did, Tee.”

“Bette, don’t you think I would have remembered if you told me that?”

Bette shrugged.

“When did you start?”

“A couple of weeks after…you know.  I badly needed someone to talk to.  I was sure I told you.  I’m not trying to hide it.”  Bette sipped her Diet Pepsi.

“Who are you seeing?  A woman?  Man?  Straight?”

“She’s in the same building as Foxworthy.  Her name’s Suzanne O’Brien.  She’s White, *****, new mom.”

Tina’s expression was nothing short of baffled.  “How…how did you find her?”

“Foxworthy gave me her name.  He couldn’t see me for obvious reasons.”  Bette glanced up at Tina.  She knew Tina was spilling her guts to Foxworthy and she was equally certain that the good Doctor probably wasn’t encouraging a reconciliation of the two women.

“Do you like her?  Has it been good?”

“Yeah, I do.  I’m on the twice a week, intensive program.”  Bette laughed before adding, “Therapy has helped me learn a lot about myself.  When I leave, there are times when I feel absolutely raw to the world, but it’s been worth it.”

“So, is that why you said that stuff earlier about Melvin?  Is that something that came up at therapy?”

“Uh-huh.  I don’t like what I see sometimes.  I look at my father’s behavior and I’m appalled–not so much at him, but at me; that I would allow it.  I think it will take a while to come to terms with all of that and to accept what I’ve taken in from watching him and emulating him to a degree—the way I judge, that black and white conviction I’m known for, wanting to control every aspect of my life, that my behavior sometimes is that of an *****.”