Welcome To My Life

Prologue
 
 
I pulled my BMW into the drive behind Bette’s Jaguar. I smiled–just knowing that she was home always made me smile, even when I was mad at her. It had been a long day for me as I’d been with my final year film students who were all making their end of course projects, a number of different films. I love the fact that my students are so creative. I get out of my car and open the back door to get my rucksack and notebook bag.
 
As I turn the front door opens and Angie storms out slamming it. I look at her. My little girl–sure she’s 16 but I still see her as my little girl–her curly hair, just like Bette’s is up and out of her face in a clip. She’s wearing her baggy black jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, she was a rock chick just as I had been at her age.
 
She looked at me but I could see tears in her eyes. She even tried to smile at me but it wasn’t working. I walked over.
 
            "Hey baby girl!"
 
            "Hey Mom." She replied, she sounded upset.
 
            "What’s the matter?" I asked pushing a stray hair away from her face. I knew she was getting too old for me to do this but I still did,
 
            "Fed up," Angie answered.
 
            "With?" I asked sitting onto the porch step, where Angie was sitting. I put my arm around her and looked at her.
 
            "I’m so confused mom!" She said her voice wavering with emotion.
 
She had always been honest with me, but found it harder with Bette. Even though Bette is a brilliant mother, she sometimes flies off the handle at nothing. Not to mention I was a stay at home mom until recently, to both Angie and 6 year old Mattie while Bette worked hard at opening galleries in LA, Paris, Rome, and our current hometown New York.
 
            "What about baby?" I asked her, she leaned her head against my shoulder.
 
            "I.erm.I like girls," Angie said softly. I couldn’t help but smile.
 
            "So do I!" I said laughing. That made Angie smile.
 
            "I’m not supposed to know yet," Angie said.
 
            "Know what?" I asked.
 
            "If I’m gay, straight, bi or whatever!" Angie throwing her hands in the air in the frustration, a trait Mattie had picked up from her when he was four.
 
            "Baby, you’ll know. The feelings are overwhelming when you first see someone you like, or when you first fall in love. You’ll know trust me." Angie smiled at me as I spoke.
 
            "I like a girl.at.school," Angie admitted.
 
            "Like as in friend or like as in would like to be with?" I asked.
 
            "This is so embarrassing," Angie added with a small squeal.
 
            "Could be worse, you could be having this conversation with your Aunt Alice."
 
            "Good point," Angie laughed. Our loyal ‘gang’ (Alice, Shane, Tasha, Helena and Kit) remained in LA after Bette and I moved away, but they all stayed in contact with us and visited each other when we could.
 
"So this girl," I continued, "in what way do you like her?"
 
  "Well it’s like as in would like to kiss," Angie admitted after a few moments of silence.
 
            I suppressed a chuckle as to avoid embarrassing my daughter and said, "Are you friends with her?"
 
            "Yes," Angie admitted. "I can’t ruin that."
 
            "That’s understandable," I said, looking at my daughter with a small smile. It’s hard to believe how grown up she really is, she’s taller than both Bette and I, and she’s way mature for a 16 year old.
 
            "I’m scared of how I feel Mom!"
I pulled her closer to me knowing she needed that little bit of support. "I was scared too sweetie, and I bet Mamma was too."
 
            "Mamma was your first," Angie knew more about us than we cared to guess. Bette suspected that she might know about the whole Cadence, Henry, and Jodi fiasco, but if she did she never said anything.
 
            "Yes baby she was," I continued, "Your first will come in time. I just want you to be happy, it doesn’t matter who you fall in love with as long as you have love in your life."
 
            "I love you Mom!"
 
            "I love you too sweetie, now why were you slamming doors?" I asked as I got up after kissing my girl’s forehead.
 
            "Oh, sorry," Angelica said with an apologetic smile. She knew I hated that kind of behavior, especially when Mattie was at such an impressionable age. Those two looked and exactly like my beautiful wife even though neither one was biologically hers. They were all biracial (Mattie having been adopted after Bette couldn’t carry), and they shared that feisty little attitude.
 
            "Okay, you coming in?" I said shaking off my thoughts. I wanted to ask more questions but knew it was best for me not to, Angelica always told me things on her own.
 
            "Yeh, can I play on the Wii?" She asked.
 
            "Have you done your homework?" I asked, getting my bags together.
 
            "Yes."
 
            "Okay then."
 
I opened the door and we both walked into our house. I laughed as Mattie jumped off the dining room chair he was sitting on and ran at me. He had been born at 28 weeks and was lucky to be alive so he was smaller than most children his age and was as light as a feather. Bette and I both felt blessed to have him. He jumped into my arms as I managed to put my bags down on the chair beside me
 
            "Mommy!" He yelped. He was such an affectionate little boy, that’s one of the traits he learned from me.
 
I kissed him on the cheek and held him close.  "Hey baby, how was your day?"
 
            "Fun, today at school we made volcano’s."
 
            "Wow, sounds impressive," I said, he nodded at me.
 
            "It was, mine was brilliant. Mamma let me use her art supplies and she saw it when she picked me up. She said it was the best one!"
 
I smiled, anything our children made Bette would think was brilliant. She was that kind of parent. As I was chatting to our little boy, Bette walked into the room. I smiled as I always did when I saw her, can you blame me?
 
"Angie why did you slam the door like that?" Bette asked as she set up the Wii.
 
"Sorry mom it won’t happen again," Angelica said.
 
Bette sighed then turned to me, "hey baby."
 
I put Mattie down and he looked at his sister, "Angie can I play please."
 
            "Sure dude come on."
 
Together they went off to play on the Wii. When Mattie had first arrived Angie had been jealous but now she was overprotective of him.
 
"Hey love," I said as she walked to me and pulled me into a hug.
 
            "How was your day?" Bette asked.
 
            "Good. Yours?"
 
            "Mine was fine, made just over four million dollar in six hours due to a man in Paris buying one rather expensive painting."
 
            "That’s amazing! One of my students turned in softcore porn as his project," I said. She let out a low laugh that made me shudder. I wrapped my arms around her neck and kissed her soft lips.
 
            "Mmm," Bette moaned breaking the kiss, "We need to talk."
 
            "Now?"
 
            "Yes, kitchen," Bette said with a grin. We seemed to do all our serious talking in the kitchen. I followed her into our large open plan kitchen. I sat at the breakfast bar as Bette made me a coffee.
 
            "What is it?" I asked her.
 
            "I’ve found another space for the new gallery." She wanted to open number six and let her managers run them as she retired. The Bette Porter-Kennard Galleries were taking off and she wanted to finally relax.
 
            "Where is it?"
 
            "It is the one place that I’d like to set up as the head gallery," Bette said not answering my question. "So obviously my top manager, James, would run it and I would be able to oversee all six from one place."
 
            I smiled broadly, that meant James would do all the traveling and I didn’t have to suffer those long weeks or even months without my Bette. "Where is it?" I said excitedly.
 
Bette turned to me and pushed her hair out of her face. She had barely changed from the day that I had first met her. "West Hollywood."
 
My jaw dropped in surprise. "You want us to return to LA?" When we first left 12 years ago, Bette couldn’t wait to leave–especially after Jenny committing suicide in our pool and Kelly constantly harassing her. That blonde bitch went to jail for fraud and her gallery went to Bette, that was the starting point for Bette’s success. That gallery was in Santa Monica, and now she wants another one not too far from it. Hmm, why is that?
 
            "I would like us too, I’ve not put an offer in on the space I’ve just said that I’m interested and they are holding it till I make a choice."
 
            "What aren’t you telling me Bette?" I asked at once.
 
  Folding my arms, she knew that I wasn’t impressed. We’d made a life here after the West Hollywood interconnectiveness. Angie barely remembered LA and Mattie had only seen it once on Christmas at Kit’s, plus the fact that she already has an L.A gallery.
 
            "It’s the gallery space that we met in," she said with a small smile.
 
I gasped, "What?"
 
            "I could have used the Santa Monica gallery, but the whole building is for sale and it has so many memories. It would be my largest space plus I can have offices there, no more flying around the world as much as I do now. I need to set up a base and oversee all six galleries from one large space and with the whole building being up for sale it’s a bonus!"
 
            "What about my job?" I asked.
 
            "You’ll get another teaching post within weeks Ti, you’re brilliant at it," Bette said, "plus you have a chance to teach at your alma mater USC."
 
            "You really want to do this?" I said, "The kids are so settled here."
 
            "I know, but I think it’s the best move for us," Bette said.
 
            "What’s going on?" Angie asked from the door. She must have heard most of the conversation.
 
            "I’ve found a new space were I’d like to set up the HQ to the galleries but the space is in LA," Bette said rubbing her forehead. We have always tried to be so open and honest with their children.
 
            "LA," Angie said smiling. "Seriously?"
 
            "Yes."
 
            "That’s amazing!" Angie cried, "I’ve always loved L.A plus I miss my aunties!"
 
            "You’re really okay with this Ange?" I said.
 
            "I mean sure I’ll miss my friends, but that’s what Facebook is for," Angie said, "I think you should go for it."
 
            "Angie it is not that simple." I said, "I’m sure Mattie will adjust fine but I’d have to get a new job and you’d have to go to a new school."
 
            "I remember us being happy in LA." Angie said.
 
            "Aren’t you happy here?"
 
            "Yes but Aunt Alice, Shane, Tasha Helena and Kit are there," Angie said. "I don’t mind moving. It’s not like I have a lot of friends.
 
            "Yes you do."
 
            "No, they just like me because my Mamma makes bank. I want real friends."
 
            Bette chuckled and shook her head. "So do I make an offer?"
 
"Yes, and have Aunt Shane fumigate the house," Angelica said, "you know I hate bugs."
 
            "How did you get so wise?" I asked, hugging her.
 
            "I learned it from you mommy," Angelica said wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing me tight.
 
Bette coughed, "kiss ass."
 
"Bette!" I cried.
 
Bette chuckled, "well we got the 16 year old approval, I’ll make the calls."
 
That’s when I saw Bette winking at Angie and I said, "Hey! You two have spoken about this before I got home haven’t you?"
 
           "Yes" Bette said.
 
            "Yeah," Angelica said.
 
            "So you are both ganging up on me?" I said smiling at my two best girls.
 
            "Yep," they admitted at the same time.
 
            "Are you sure about this?" I asked,
 
            "Yes!" They said together again, making each other laugh. I let out a deep breath.
 
            "Suppose I better start looking for teaching jobs in LA then?" I said. Bette grinned at me, pulling me into a long passionate kiss.
 
            "That’s gross!" Angie said with a squeal.
 
            "What is?" I asked putting my hand on Bette’s still pert ass.
 
            "I so saw your tongues then. That’s gross, old people are not supposed to do that!" Angie said covering her eyes making us both laugh.
 
            "Could be worse." I said. Angie stuck her fingers in her ears.
 
            "LALALALALALALALALA!" She said walking away. Bette looked at me.
 
            "So we are going back to LA, and I’ll buy the building?" She asked. I looked her in the eyes seeing that fire she always did when she really wanted something.
 
            "Yes baby, to make you and Angie happy. We are going back to LA."
 
"Is it possible that I love you even more than before?" I said wrapping my arms around her neck.
 
"Yeah it’s possible," Bette said kissing my lips, "I know I do."

TBC