Chapter 4

The morning had been a whirlwind of activity from the moment that Tina had stepped into her office. Her assistant had given her a stack of messages, most being tagged as urgent and needing her attention before the afternoon began. Since Tina had spent the entire morning handling multiple fires that were laid before her, her afternoon seemed slow, almost tedious given her accomplishments already that day.

Tina brought her laptop to life with a flick of her mouse, ensuring that she hadn’t forgotten any changes in her schedule. When she confirmed her afternoon was free, she let out a deep sigh and picked up a pen and a pad of paper that was lying on her desk.

Tina began to tap the pen, thoughts drifting in and out of her head, begging to be addressed in some form when she heard a familiar voice trump the background noise of the office, demanding attention from anyone that would listen.

“This is the sorriest excuse for a script I’ve ever been handed!” Kate bellowed from a nearby conference room.

“I take offense to that!” Jenny shouted back. “You seem to forget this is my work of art, you’re just here by my choosing to get it to the screen.”

“You seem to forget that movies aren’t the same as what you term your work of art,” Kate emphasized the last part of the sentence to prove her point. “Not to mention that you don’t write a movie script the same as you do a manuscript, you’d be wise to note the differences.”

“Kate,” Tina’s boss began to try to make peace between the two strong-willed women. “Can’t you just coach Jenny on the changes that need to be made?”

“Absolutely not,” Kate said determined to handle the project in her own way. “The time spent correcting her changes alone would put us over budget before we even loaded film in a camera. I think we can do better than that. Changes can be made more efficiently without her. I’m sure we can all stop pretending that this is actually a work of fiction.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Jenny,” Kate bit back quickly. “Fiction isn’t writing down one’s life story and just changing the names, and poorly at that I might add. Fiction is developing storylines, characters that aren’t actual people but perhaps combinations of personalities of those that you know.”

“I stand by this being fiction.”

“I know a group of women that would adamantly disagree with you since it’s their lives being strewn across this story.”

Tina tapped her pen in anger against the pad of paper that sat in front of her. She closed her eyes, determined to conjure up a happy thought, when her mind flashed to Bette. She instantly felt her body begin to relax, a smile cross her face, and she opened her eyes to begin to write this particular thought down on paper.

The sun began to shine through the windows of their bedroom, waking them up prior to the alarm actually ringing out to announce the morning. Tina felt the weight of Bette’s leg comfortably resting on top of her own. Bette’s hand was resting on Tina’s bare back and Tina could feel Bette’s soft breathing on her face. When Bette stirred due to the glare of the sun, Tina took the opportunity to stretch and open her hazy eyes.

“Good morning Babe,” Tina groaned as she stretched her arms above her head.

“Morning,” Bette grumbled back. “I need coffee.”

With that, Bette was on her feet and headed out of the bedroom to wake herself up with a jolt of caffiene.

Tina quickly threw on pajamas and headed into the bathroom to begin her day. It was her routine, to go to the bathroom before anything else, desperate to check her ovulation levels with the specialized kit they had purchased through Dr. Wilson. She closed her eyes as she performed the routine task of wetting the stick, now mastering the skill based on how many times she had done that very thing morning after morning. This morning, however, was different. She smiled as she stared at the stick, clearly indicating that she was ovulating.

“Bette! Come here!”

Tina turned and faced the door waiting for her wife to enter the bathroom based on her demand.

Tina stopped writing and took a moment to relish in the feelings the moment was calling up for her. As she paused, she heard Kate once more from the conference room across the hall.

“She’s made this group of women out to be backstabbing, heartless, cheating women. Not all lesbians, or people for that matter, are like that. If you’re going to use these characters, bring the true essence of them to life and be honest with their stories.”

“What does that mean?” Jenny hissed.

“Take ‘Bev’ for example,” Kate said ignoring Jenny and speaking directly to the head of the studio. “She has the potential to be one of the most complex characters in this story. You’ve made her one dimensional Jenny, you’ve made her into a cheating, illiterate to boot, woman and we both know is not Bette Porter.”

“I am getting so damn tired of nobody hearing me that this is fiction! It’s not Bette Porter!”

“It is indeed Bette and do us all a favor and just admit it,” Kate successfully put Jenny back in her place. “She didn’t cheat because she couldn’t keep it in her pants. She cheated because of the failing dynamics of her relationship, be true to that and you’ll sell this movie. Make your characters one dimensional and think you’re going to sell it simply because you can throw a few lesbian sex scenes in here and you’ve got a flop on your hands, one that I don’t want tied to my name.”

“What are you proposing?”

“A rewrite,” Kate said simply. “This time without Jenny’s two cents until we get further along. You have the chance to use the entertainment industry to break through barriers and stereotypes, don’t pass this up. Show the relationships for what they are, trust me when I say they’re far more interesting as they happened and not as Jenny spun them in this book.”

“Fuck you Kate!”

“You’d like that Jenny, but based on your ‘work of art’ I know where you’ve been and I’d rather not.”

Tina stifled a laugh as she shut her eyes once more, thanking Kate silently for helping her do justice by her relationship with Bette, and recreating the scene once more in her head.

“I’m ovulating,” Tina announced as Bette entered the bathroom looking at her.

Tina had looked deep into Bette’s eyes, a smile gracing her face, as she read the many emotions that were reflected through Bette’s soulful eyes. She couldn’t help but to smile wider as Bette placed her hands on the stick to read it for herself.

“You’re ovulating,” Bette confirmed in a slightly husky voice. “Let’s make a baby.”

Tina shivered as she remembered the feeling of excitement she had. Bette’s sexy voice oozed over her and excited her like no one else’s had before or since that time. She smiled as she thought back to Bette sliding her hand behind her head to brace her for a kiss.

Bette brought her lips to Tina’s, pressing her body against Tina’s slightly while their tongues dueled for control. Tina leaned back against the sink, confirming that they were going to move forward with their family, but fighting the urge to make love right there with Bette to begin their day.

Bette aroused her further when she reached down and gently caressed Tina. The feeling of silk being pressed against her, the weight of Bette’s hand, and Bette’s mouth on her own was intoxicating.

“Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll drop you off on my way to work,” Bette said as she stepped back and began to begin her morning routine to prepare for work.

“That was disastrous,” Kate said leaning against the door jam with her arms crossed over her chest. “Where did you just go?”

“Huh?”

“You were somewhere else,” Kate said as she walked into Tina’s office and sat down. “Where were you?”

“In the past.”

Kate took the pad of paper from in front of Tina and glanced over the words that were scribbled in Tina’s handwriting. She read them once, then again, before handing the pad of paper back to Tina.

“That’s where you’re starting the rewrite?”

“It just came to me when I was trying to block out the meeting that you just termed as disastrous.”

“So you heard we got the go ahead to rewrite the script with minimal influence from Jenny?” Kate asked with a smile. “We can start from this memory of yours. What made it so special?”

“I don’t know,” Tina said leaning back in her chair. “When you look at it on paper it seems dysfunctional, but I never felt that back then.”

“Dysfunctional?”

“She walked away from me in the bathroom,” Tina said softly. “She avoided the intimacy to get to work on time.”

“She did that often?”

“Work was very important to her,” Tina said. “She really defined herself by her work back then.”

“She still does doesn’t she?”

“Not as much,” Tina said in Bette’s defense. “She’s passionate about it, but I think to some degree Angelica has freed her from her previous mindset. Angelica is the most important thing in Bette’s life now, she backs that sentiment up by putting her first and foremost always.”

“Go on,” Kate urged.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Tina shrugged her shoulders.

“Spill it Tina, if we’re going to do this, you have to be honest with yourself and with me.”

“It’s just that later that day, in our therapist’s office, we were told we had a shitty sex life for 3 years when we explained where we were. I ignored it, defended that we didn’t, but I guess if I would have listened I would have seen that this was just one example of that.”

The conversation was interrupted when Tina’s cell phone rang. It was on her desk so Kate took the opportunity to glance at the caller id. There, proudly scrolling across the screen was Bette’s name.

“Excuse me,” Tina said as she picked up the phone. “Hey Bette.”

“Hey T,” Bette happily greeted Tina as she smiled and walked further away from the site where she had been helping Jodi with her sculpture. “How’s your day?”

“Busy, but productive. This afternoon hasn’t been too bad.”

Kate got up, grabbing the pad of paper from Tina’s desk, and pacing around in her office while she read it. Tina’s attention was torn between Kate pacing and trying to read her expressions and her conversation with Bette. Bette easily picked up on the fact that Tina was distracted and cleared her throat to try to command more of Tina’s attention.

“How are things in New York?”

“Good,” Bette said slightly forced. “We’re just working on the site and I wanted to make sure that I got to nail down a time to call so I can catch Angelica while she’s awake.”

“She misses you.”

“I miss her too,” Bette said with a small trace of sadness in her voice. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”

Kate stopped and stood staring at Tina, Tina staring back with a confused look on her face. She cupped the microphone on her cell phone to block out her voice so Bette wouldn’t hear it.

“What?”

Kate walked up to her desk and threw the pad of paper down, startling both Tina and Bette, since Bette had also heard it over the phone.

“I’d have never walked away,” Kate said moving toward the door to Tina’s office. “I’d never walk away from a moment like that.”

Tina watched as Kate left her office to allow her privacy to continue her phone conversation with Bette. Tina was stunned, taken back by her body’s reaction to Kate’s seductive glare before she left.

“Tina?”

“I’m sorry,” Tina said shaking her head. “I’m here.”

“What was that?”

“A pad of paper being thrown on my desk.”

“That much work?” Bette teased. “I thought you were entirely dedicated to that drivel that Jenny wrote?”

“I am, but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about last night. We got the approval to rewrite the script before we head into pre-production.”

“We?”

“Kate Arden and I,” Tina simply said. “I need to do this Bette.”

“Why?” Bette pressed. “It isn’t like the masses know it’s us.”

“But I know us, and this isn’t us. She’s destroyed the basis of our relationship in this book!”

“She’s made an assumption on it, and I was upset too, but I quickly got over it because I know the truth.”

“Which is?” Tina pushed.

“We shared a great love,” Bette said sincerely. “One that lives on through our relationship now. We’re good Tina, we’re really good aren’t we?”

Tina felt her heart ache as she thought to their relationship as it stood now.

“We’ve managed to put all that behind us,” Bette said quickly trying to fight the urge to say more than she thought she should. “Look at us now, still part of each other’s life, great parents to an amazing daughter.”

“I have to rewrite this,” Tina said softly. “Not only for me, or us, but because it’s my job to make sure this movie sells.”

“I know you have a job to do, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Thank you,” Tina said with a small smile. She silenced the voice inside her head that was insecure about being able to do it justice, to face what had happened to tear them apart, yet the desire to be honest and accurate with the story outweighed her fear. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“I do,” Bette took a deep breath to settle her nerves. “Jodi and I have talked, last night really, and I might be staying out here a little while longer.”

“How much longer? For what reason?”

“She asked me to stay a while longer while she’s here working.”

“Can you do that?”

“I don’t know,” Bette said fighting her nervousness. “That depends on a lot of things I suppose.”

“Work for one,” Tina said shocked at the thought of Bette not returning the following morning. “Would the university let you off longer?”

“I would need to do some fundraising while I’m here I’m sure.”

“This is all…” Tina’s voice trailed off as she tried to process the latest development between Bette and Jodi. “Has she given this any thought in terms of what it means to you?”

“It really all depends on Angelica,” Bette said. “I think everything else I can work through.”

“Angelica?”

“I miss her Tina.”

“You aren’t asking me to put our daughter on a plane to New York are you?”

“No,” Bette said while she closed her eyes and rushed the last part of the sentence out due to her nerves. “I was hoping you’d both come, both of you, to spend some time with me in New York.”