Chapter 2

Her fingers were starting to wrinkle. She had been in the shower for too long but it was the only place she could think. Alice had been so attentive since she had walked into her apartment and found her sitting there. Uncharacteristically she had not asked any questions but simply held her as she cried herself to sleep.

But with the morning Tina knew that the questions would come, and she would have to answer them. So she stayed in the refuge beneath the stream of water whilst she gathered her thoughts. She didn’t know what to tell Alice, how much of what had happened last night she was willing to tell anyone.

Alice was smart enough to piece together the small bits of information Tina had been able to give her before she collapsed in her arms. Bette had slept with, or was still sleeping with someone, whose name began with ‘CA.’

It wasn’t hard through a process of elimination to list the people those letters could belong to. Alice‘s investigative skills racked her brain as her eyes searched the chart for the newest link to its latest addition. Carrie. No, she’s with Janice. Camille. No, she’s in Europe somewhere. Caroline. Hasn’t she started dating guys again? There’s a thought. Campbell. Carl. Cameron. No.

Bette’s done something they would never expect her to do but going back to men was too much of a deviation. Then again, so was Tina showing up on her sofa asking if she could stay. Not just for the night but for a few days.

She continued to stare intently at the chart. Only three names in focus. Bette. Tina. CA. ‘Jesus Bette what the ***** were you thinking?’ Alice asked herself. ‘C – A. C – A. C – A – ***** C.’ That damn museum, Alice was sure that whoever ‘CA’ was, Bette had met her, pretty sure it wasn’t a him now, there.

Bette had always spent far too much time at work, even when they were together and she was a gallerist. Alice had thought Tina had changed that, when Bette had given up her precious Bette Porter Gallery for the promise of a regular income to help support their family Alice knew that Bette was totally devoted to the idea of having a family and a life with Tina. ‘Let’s hope you haven’t fucked that up totally Porter.’