“That’s impossible. You gave yourself to me and said it was for the rest of your life. How could you share yourself with anyone else if you were truly committed to me?” The question hung in the air and mocked Bette “You can’t fix this Bette. The problem is that you’re not in love with me anymore.”

“God, Tina how can you say that? I love you more than…”

“But you’re not in love with me. You don’t cheat on someone that you’re in love with.”

“But Tina…”

“Bette NO!” Her tone was final “It’s over, I can’t go back,” Defeat laced Tina’s words “And neither can you.”

“That’s not true” Bette countered, her determination rising to the surface

“The woman that was in love with me never would have taken ten days before coming to find me.” Tina’s quiet rage was now replaced with sorrow and she sighed deeply as the weight of her grief began to overwhelm. The change in Tina’s expression was not lost on Bette, she saw the anger dissolve before her.

“Tina, I was lost. I didn’t trust myself to be right anymore, when what I had done was so blatantly wrong. I was frightened of what you’d say, what you’d do if I tracked you down like I wanted to. I was afraid that I’d make things worse if I didn’t give you some space to think things through. Everyone just kept telling me to stay away when all I wanted was to see you, to talk to you – to have the chance to explain. This is new territory for me T, I don’t know what the right thing to do is anymore.” Bette implored “Please…please tell me what you’re thinking”

A short silence fell between them before Tina relented.

“For ten days I hated you Bette. With all that I am I hated you for doing this to me.” Tina stopped, unsure that it was prudent to continue. In the knowledge that withholding the truth was what had led them here she chose to carry on “Now that you’re here, I just can’t bring myself to hate you when I’ve loved you for so long” Tears fell once more down Bette’s weary face but this time she smiled, seeing her Tina for the first time through the confusion and pain.