Fan Fiction
This story has been set to a rating of PG-13. Age verification is required to proceed.
Echoes in Darkness, Chapter 2: A toules les filles (All the Girls)
Login to add story to favorites
(50 votes, average: 2.74 out of 5)You need to be a registered member to rate this post.
Loading ...
Dimming the lights, Carmen keyed up one of the tracks Marina had
offered for the dance music, played between auctions of the artwork,
gift certificates and other items donated for the fundraiser. Marina
stretched out her hand, pulled Jenny to her feet and into her arms.
Hand in the small of her back, Marina moved Jenny onto the dance floor,
bodies held close and swaying to a European love song, “A toutes les
filles”, reminding Jenny again of Marina’s unique exoticism that
fascinated and mystified her sometimes.
Alice sat down between Bette and Tina, who weren’t speaking to each
other at the moment, and waited for Dana to finish autographing the
racquets and tennis balls she’d donated for the benefit. She watched
Marina and Jenny dance, trying to ignore the cold distance between her
friends. Bette drained the last of the red wine in her glass, rose and
steered toward the cash bar for a refill. Alice lifted her eyes from
Tina’s face long enough to take note of the stiffness in Bette’s back,
the slight unsteadiness in her walk. “Are things?” Her dark eyes
searched Tina’s face for some sign of encouragement.
The weight of her resignation fell out in a sigh. “We’re sleeping in
separate bedrooms,” Tina admitted. “The biggest arguments we have are
about where Angelica will sleepmy bed or hers. She wanted to bring her
tonight. I said no, I’d already promised Aunt Kit and Uncle Ivan they
could watch her. Bette’s not happy with meagain.” Tina couldn’t keep
the bitterness out of her voice.
“She’ll be better once she has a job again.” Alice put resolution behind words she didn’t quite believe.
“But she’ll still be Bette,” Tina answered with a sad tilt of her head.
“It’s taken me a long time to begin to seeto recognizethere are
things about Bette, that are truly part of BEING Bette, things that I
don’t like. I guess love really is blind.”
“But you still love her.right?” A spark of alarm lit the reporter’s
eyes. She had always looked to Bette and Tina to represent the kind of
love she wanted in her own life, a life that seemed awash in fear and
uncertainty the longer she and Dana were together.
Tina’s long sigh conflicted with the romantic mood of the music. But it
had been a long time since she’d felt any genuine romance in her
marriage. “I don’t know.” Tina toyed with the drink napkin, shredded it
in her fingers, added it to a growing pile of paper strips. “At first,
I just thoughtwell, the miscarriage, Candace, the separation, Melvin’s
death, losing her jobI made excuses for herthat’s always been my job,
you knowbecause god knows, she wasn’t about to admit there was
anything wrong beyond her ‘mistake’ with Candace. But I’ve run out of
excuses.”
Alice struggled to find something to say, words of encouragement that
might slap yet another band aid on her friends’ failing marriage. But
she’d watched them for months now, growing farther apart as Tina found
her own voice, her own strength and purpose and Bette struggled to hold
her in that tight mesh of dependency that had defined their
relationship from the beginning. She had come to suspect that Tina’s
resistance was partly based on her need to keep Angelica from becoming
one more knot in that mesh. As much as Bette seemed to adore the baby,
she also had a tendency to treat her like another possession.
In truth, Alice wasn’t liking Bette very much lately either. It seemed
that all the coldness, the need to dominate, the sarcasm and cynicism
was rising to the surface, after being submerged beneath the veneer of
love and happiness while things were going well with Tina. Even Alice
had begun to wonder: “Is this the real Bette Porter?”
Tina looked around the room, couples dancing, friends talking in small groups, a twinge of disappointment knitting her brows.
“Are you looking for Helena?” The words felt cold in Alice’s throat.
Tina nodded, without nearly so much embarrassment as she expected to feel.
“I think she’s outside on the terrace with Shane.”
“Oh,” Tina nodded with feigned indifference. “Well, I guess I should
mingle a little bit. After all, the Center IS co-sponsoring this event.”
“Sure,” Alice nodded at the dismissal, stood to go as she noticed Dana
had finished with the groupies and moved toward the buffet where Lara
was serving delicious foodand a very bright and personal smile. She
stopped and looked back at Tina. “It’s always darkest before the
dawnthat’s what they say.”
Tina’s polite smile froze on her face. “They aren’t always right.”
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Wind, you need to get a publisher. Really I mean it. You write so skillfully, weaving such rich tales. The characters are full, three dimensional with complex, richly explored emotions. I’m really enjoying this a lot.