Till We Meet Again | A Bette-Tina Beginning Chapter 2

3.5 years later…

Early morning @ Pieszecki residence

“Bette, have you seen my car keys?”

Bette lounged by the pool eating breakfast, muttering to herself. “Oh, now I am supposed to keep track of her things as well when I can barely keep track of where I am at any given moment.”

She clears her throat and replied, “No. Did you try checking the place we usually hang our keys?”

“Bette! Please, not today. I have a full chaotic workday ahead of me at Diva and I cannot take your caustic self this morning,” she replied, thoroughly exasperated.

Bette turns to Alice. “When can you take my ‘caustic self’ Alice?”

“Bette, I don’t want to fight please. Just help me find my keys or keep it shut.”

Bette continues to lounge around while Alice frantically looks for her keys so she is not late for important meetings at work. She finally finds them on the dinner table. Alice comes out to the poolside to say goodbye to Bette, but struggles to find the right words.

She leaned by the door thinking. How hard could it be to simply say “cya later honey” to your wife of nine years? Well, life with Bette has been difficult since the accident on their anniversary four years ago. Alice didn’t recognize the person sitting in front of her anymore—her kind, loving, passionate, humorous Bette—had indeed perished in that life-threatening accident.

She decided to join Bette by the poolside, momentarily.

Bette read the newspaper, not bothering to look up at Alice.

“Hi, I see you found your keys. Aren’t you getting late now?”

Alice ignored the jab. “Bette, I’ll be late today. There is an important social function in the evening thrown by some PR firm and as VP of Operations @ Diva, I have been invited along with a guest. It would be nice if you could come.”

Bette finally looks at Alice.

“Al, you know I hate those high-society parties with those overly pretentious fashion snobs with peas for a brain. I feel completely out of place. Besides, I have papers to grade and I need to finish and submit some of my recent artwork to the community fair this coming weekend. Maybe next time?”

Alice brightens up a bit. At least Bette was talking decently for once. “Alright, well take care. Maybe you can order some take out since I will be late. GoodBye!”

Bette winches. “Uh-huh, no problem.”

With that, Alice left to pursue her daily life of glitter and gold, leaving Bette on the lounge thinking about the moment her life turned upside-down.

Tina Kennard was a name that Bette Porter could never forget. Almost four years ago, Bette had been an up-and-coming happening artist in metropolitan Manhattan, New York. Today, she was a struggling art lecturer at the local community college who sold her self-deprecating and sullen paintings at community shows. Along with her shattered knee, her ego and self-confidence had taken a seemingly fatal blow. The reconfiguration surgery and follow-up knee rehabilitation had still left her with a telltale limp for life, an external marker for the many internal handicaps that Bette now possessed. She couldn’t recall the once thriving, vibrant and passionate artist within her who had turned anti-social, bitter and gruff, dishing out sarcasm for breakfast, misplaced anger for lunch and snobbery for dinner. Her marriage was on the rocks—Alice and her were as distant as Mercury and Pluto. They just existed in the same solar system nowadays.

And it all came down to that one fateful meeting with a certain blonde. Every waking moment of her life, Bette wished she had never met Tina Kennard.

KENNARD-LIVELY HOUSEHOLD Early Morning

[news] “Good morning New York. Our top story today: the Blackbeast continues to wreck havoc on families in the city of New York through his kidnapping of young children. The latest victim is a 10 year old abducted on his way to school yesterday…”

Eric yells from the living room, “Tina, could you please quit vacuuming, I need to listen to the news!”

Tina is busy vacuuming the kitchen and cannot hear him.

Eric gets up from the posh leather couch in the living room and steps into the kitchen area yelling, “Tina, if you clean anymore, the roof will come down! The house is spotless—Please stop waking the neighbors at 6am!”

[news] “…Keith Shepherd, who attends Shepaug Valley Middle School was reported missing by his family for the past 36 hours. Witnesses say they saw someone with a black coat and scarf in his school area—this morning police confirmed that they suspect the Blackbeast has struck again…”

Tina switched off the vacuum. “I dropped some spices on the rug this morning so I was just making sure to clean it up. Besides, it is weekday. People should be up and away to work already. That said, why are you lounging around watching TV instead of getting ready for work?” she said, noting he was wearing only the pants of his Armani suit without a dress-shirt.

“Tina…I was just trying to catch the news. Looks like the Blackbeast has struck again, and this time at your school!” Eric whined.

Tina turns around, practically screaming. “What? Who?! I am so sick of this Blackbeast. Why hasn’t the police caught the sick bastard yet?”

[news] “…Now remember, the Blackbeast derives her or his name from the long black coat she or he wears along with a black scarf, and leaves a black glove at the scene of the crime. If you see or suspect someone that fits this description, immediately contact the police. And remember to keep your children close and safe at all times, especially in public. That’s all on this news…”

Tina Kennard, now Tina Lively—had a Masters in Fine Arts from the New York Film Academy but after a terrible mishap in her life, chose to get a teaching credential and left her tough demanding career as a producer in Broadway. She didn’t regret it—Tina got to spend time around young children—teaching them, harvesting their young talents and creative minds, drawing out their energy and passion—things she couldn’t do with her own children, ever.

Eric moved close to Tina and rubbing her shoulders affectionately: “Now now, just relax. I am sure we will get him or her very soon. And by the way, shouldn’t you be getting ready to go to school?” He turned her around and kissed her forehead.

Tina calms down somewhat but is still distracted. “Eric, take off your pants please,” she said softly looking up into his deep brown eyes.

Eric looked at Tina somewhat confused. “Take off my pants, here?!”

“Yes of course Eric. Just take them off please, we don’t have much time and I need it.”

Eric was momentarily stunned by Tina’s request. They didn’t exactly have the most spontaneous and exciting sex life. Many times he would come home and want to make love, only for Tina to turn him down, citing exhaustion or just her not being in the mood. In fact, as far as Eric could remember, Tina was rarely ever in the mood—she didn’t particularly enjoy sex as much as he did, which somewhat bothered him. He had actually considered sex therapy at one point—but Tina was too shy and reluctant to take their problems in the bedroom to a stranger. Eric suspected that her lack of sex drive was due to the fact that they couldn’t have children together. So for her to request sex in the kitchen totally shocked but then excited him a great deal.

Eric starting to comprehend what Tina needed. “Oh my god Tina, yes, I have always dreamed of doing it in the kitchen.” He started to hastily wriggle out of his pants. He practically tore it off, not worrying about its price, and flung it in the corner.

Tina was somewhat taken aback. “Eric!” She went to pick his pants up and started to clean the stain on it as Eric looked on expectantly.

Tina turns around busy with the food stain on his pants.

“Just look at this big stain—and you were going to wear it to work!”

Eric finally comprehends that Tina was asking for his pants to clean the stain and was quite disappointed. “Tina, when are you going to stop using your clean freak nature as a way to avoid the real issues? When are you going to stop being my mother and be my wife?”

Tina bristled. “What real issues Eric? When are you going to stop being a child and finally act like a husband?”

“Well, we cannot have children of our own, so it is kind of convenient, no?” Eric jokingly, put his arms around Tina.

Tina was growing more impatient and hurt.

“Yes of course Eric, how inconvenient. I cannot conceive for the both of us so you can act like a child to make up for it?” She swallowed the lump rising in her throat and held back the tears threatening to break free.

Tina wanted children of her own—she believed or wanted to believe that a child would have made her less lonely, or filled the void in her relationship with Eric, but alas, they just could not conceive a baby. Months later, their gynecologist had told both Eric and Tina that the couple suffered from idiopathic infertility. Tina and Eric had just about given up making rounds to health clinics and seeking medical advice, second or third opinions—nothing had worked. This had frustrated Eric and emotionally scarred Tina. The couple had considered in-vitro or surrogate mothers but Tina just didn’t feel comfortable with the idea. Now the couple was looking at adoption possibly.

Tina ironed the pants.

“Anyway, here’s your pants. Now go get ready. You are getting late for work while I am getting late for school.”

“Thank you Tina. You know we have a party tonight right? Our company handling the PR for the latest electronic gizmo that Apple has launched and it is a huge media event. What time will you be home so I can pick you up?”

“Eric please. You know I hate these parties and media events. Just go on your own. Besides I have papers to grade and I also might need to escort some children home given the Blackbeast scare at my school.”

Eric was hurt by the rejection but played it down. “Alright Tina. Well, call me if you change your mind.”

He got ready, grabbed breakfast and gulped down the coffee, gave her a quick kiss while she ate and dashed off to play CEO of his PR company.

Tina sat there deep in thought, not really paying attention to their daily routine. Was a child really the answer to their mutual incompatibility? She thought. Eric was lively, outgoing and a social party animal whereas she just preferred a quite evening at home. She really hoped they could make it.

She thought about Bette…Even after such time, she remembered the stranger that had helped her decide on this route in her life. Not decide, but really pushed her towards this destiny. Was there something better out there? Tina had never stopped to think–she had lived by Bette’s words and tried to make the best of their marriage. Eric and her got along—he really loved her while she did love him, but maybe not as much as she could. Not the kind of love that Tina still dreamed about, saw in bad movies and good books, maybe it was dead indeed.

Or just out there, a bit gloomy, sulky and challenged…

Tina finished her breakfast, grabbed her black coat, scarf and gloves, and headed to school via the Subway.