“Yes.”

“I think Tina would have at least one foot back in our home.  Yes.”

“So what Kit has done is both irreversible and irreparable?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that.  If Tina calls me, I’m ready to keep going, but I’m not going to force the issue.  You wouldn’t believe all I’ve done this week.  It’s like it was seven and a half years ago when we first met and I was trying to win her away from this guy named Eric.”

“You’ve been trying to impress her?”

“Yes.  Show her that I’m serious about the two of us.”

“But now, you’re leaving the next move to her?”

“I would say that it’s Tina’s turn to step up to the plate.  I’m not being a hard-***** about this.  This is realistic; this has to be a two-way street.  I’ve taken the blame for my infidelity, but frankly, isn’t she culpable to a degree?  I mean, I wasn’t getting what I needed at home. All I was getting from Tina was this tension and neediness that was just cloying.”  Bette was shocked at her last statements.  Her eyes opened wide in disbelief.

“This is the first time you’ve suggested that the problems in your relationship weren’t all of your making.  In previous sessions, you mentioned that you were bored, looking for an outlet…”

Bette closed her eyes for a few beats.  When she opened them, she said softly, “It takes two, Suzanne.”

“So it wasn’t just boredom, but Tina’s reliance on you that caused you stress?”

Bette nodded.  “I had to be the strong one constantly.  Tina would get upset, almost hysterical, frightened, worried, pop a Xanax, make requests of me.  Did I tell you that I had to leave a very important event in New York because she left some cryptic message for me on my cell?  This event was vital to my career, my standing in my profession.  First, she was supposed to attend with me, but she wasn’t feeling well because of the pregnancy.”  Bette waved a hand in the air.  “Understand.  Get it.  Not a problem.  So, I went alone and then, on a night when I was supposed to be dining with these major players, getting my name and face out there, she ruined it.”  Bette nodded.  The anger she had suppressed for so long now rose.  “She ruined it.   I flew home, worried sick about her and the baby only to discover that nothing was really wrong.  When I got home, she was sleeping off poker night with our friends.  And you know what?  She had nothing to say in response except…” Bette mimicked Tina using a whiny voice, “Thanks for coming home, baby.”