—–

As Bette drove towards where Tina currently resided, she started to doubt what she was doing. She had no concrete plan. She couldn’t just walk up to the house and demand to see Tina. They probably weren’t even home yet. In lack of a better strategy she decided that she would just drive by the house very slowly.
“I’m turning into to a stalker… or a rowdy teenager…” Bette said out loud, “and now I’m talking to myself, jeez!”
She turned the corner to the street where Tina now lived, searching for the right house. James was right – it was a nice neighborhood.

She parked the car in the driveway of the house across the street from Tina’s. From her position she could take a good look at the place before she went home. It was a two-story building with a big yard. Bette could see a bit of what looked to be a big balcony on the second floor. There were no cars in the driveway. She knew that the house was a bit too flashy for Tina’s taste but she had to admit it was kind of nice.

A grey Alfa Romeo drove by and pulled into the driveway of the house Bette was watching. Bette held her breath in anticipation. She felt her heart beating furiously. It was Tina. It was a tired version of Tina with slightly longer hair. Bette could tell that she’d had a tough day from the way she held her body. She was wearing a black suit that Bette had always loved on her. She had sunglasses on, which made it impossible for Bette to see how she really looked. But she was, if possible, even more beautiful than Bette remembered. Tina disappeared behind the tall fence and Bette let out the breath she’d been holding.

Bette looked down at her hands. They were trembling. She knew she had to calm down before she drove home. Bette closed her eyes and exhaled.

She opened her eyes to take one last look at the house before embarking on her journey home… and there she was, standing right there on the part of the balcony that was visible to Bette. Almost as if she was in a trance, Bette got out of the car and crossed the street. She hid behind a tree while watching Tina, who had taken off her sunglasses and was now gazing into nowhere with a blissful look on her face. Bette wished that she could ask Tina for her thoughts. She wished she could step up behind her and let her arms slip around Tina’s waist. That she could breathe in her scent and kiss her neck. Bette wished she could let her know that she had thought about her all day. Selfishly Bette wished that the blissful look on Tina’s face had something to do with her.

Bette’s trance was interrupted when she heard a car slow down near by. She squatted down behind a few bushes to keep her entire body out of view. Again she held her breath, her heart pounding away. The car pulled into the driveway behind Tina’s Alfa Romeo. A man in his late thirties and a boy about five years old got out and went into the yard. Bette waited until she heard the front door slam before she let out the tiny amount of air left in her lungs.
“Damn, I’m so not cut out for this shit…” she mumbled as she rose and quickly went to her car. She put the car in ‘drive’ and pulled out of the driveway. She sped up while she repeated to herself that she needed to breathe.

TBC