Bette’s eyes welled with tears, but none fell.  She wouldn’t give her father the satisfaction nor would she allow him to see her lose control. “You don’t care if I’ve found love?  If some one loves me?”

“That is not my affair.”

Bette shook her head.  “That’s unconscionable, Daddy.”

“Be that as it may.”

_____

It had been a long day already.  Before going to work, Bette had dug out her digital camera, taken several photographs of her new Calder, and then driven to a local storage facility to store the painting.  On her way to work, she had contacted her insurance agent and procured extra insurance for her latest acquisition.  She had an appointment to meet with the agent tomorrow at the storage locker to authenticate and examine the piece.  Once at work, Bette had handed James a list of items to look into—artists, art galleries of interest, and articles on the business of art to photocopy and file appropriately.  It was when she was examining the hideous bronze statues that her father had called and she drove to LAX to meet him.  After leaving Melvin, Bette needed some downtime and drove to Redondo Beach and walked the boardwalk for an hour.  The walk had not calmed her, but had served to put her on edge.  She had played her father’s words to her over and over.   By the time she arrived back in LA, her disillusion with her father had reached a straining point that was ready to burst her wide open.  She had just enough time to make her appointment.

_____

Suzanne glanced at the small, beaded, Moroccan-inspired, saffron and terra cotta colored clock on the table beside Bette’s chair.  She shifted in her seat and continued to look at Bette.  Her expression showed nothing.  The psychiatrist was not going to force Bette to speak.  When the museum director had walked in at 3:00pm, Suzanne had politely asked how she was doing.  Bette barely opened her mouth when she responded monosyllabically, “fine.”  Now, ten minutes later, Bette sat with her legs crossed, her arms crossed over her *****, and staring out the window.  Suzanne had never seen her so tightly wound and she was curious as to what had happened, but it would be Bette’s choice to share that in the therapy session.