Till We Meet Again | A Bette-Tina Beginning Chapter 30

She definitely would not let Bette get away with thinking that she had all the answers. She would not take advice from Bette Porter on life and relationships given the little insight she had gotten earlier on exactly how Bette Porter behaved in her environment and around her loved ones. No, Tina resolved then and there to put Bette Porter in her place.

- Chapter 6

Who could have imagined back then that Tina would be here, snooping around at midnight in the Peabody Mansion to compile evidence against Helena, to undo whatever damage she had done during her brief lapse of judgment?

No one knew the life she had lived these past 4 months.

She thought back to the unfortunate day at the Infertility Center of the Robert and Peggy Peabody Ob-Gyn Clinic when her ex-employer and friend, Helena Peabody, had tried to emotionally blackmail her into making the worst decision of her life.

“So you know Bette Porter?”

“Yes, we have met a couple times—Are you telling me that her Alice, is THE Alice, as in your Alice? The one you cannot get over. Helena, she is married!”

“That does not stop me from wanting her. It makes her all the more desirable, no Tina? The forbidden fruit theory. You should try it.”

“Try what? There is nothing that I desire that is off-limits.”

“What about a baby?”

Tina narrowed her eyes. “That’s what we have been doing for the past 2 years?”

“I need your help for getting through to Alice. Pretend to have an affair with Bette. In exchange, I’ll have my best team of doctors fly in from London to work on your case—a team with a 100% success rate.”

“WHAT? Helena I’m straight—I know nothing about how to flirt with women, let alone have affairs. And Bette? I cannot tolerate her; she’s the reason I am in this marriage and maybe even in this situation!” Tina was horrified at the suggestion. “Besides that’s just plain wrong.”

“What’s wrong is the way Bette treats Alice. What’s wrong is the way she leeches off her successful wife. She doesn’t love her Tina. No woman deserves this. I cannot see Alice torn up like this, with that sad and empty look in her eyes. In all the years I have known her, the light in her eyes has only grown dimmer, her happiness diminished. Please help me save her, as a favor if you don’t want anything in exchange. Play this as a test for Bette—you don’t even need to do anything but spend more time with her. And if she takes the step to cheat, you know I am the better person for Alice”

“I don’t know Helena. It still seems wrong. If Alice isn’t happy, why is she in the relationship? She doesn’t sound like the kind to do something out of obligation. Besides, how do you know that Bette would fall for it? I thought most lesbians had a very good, what is it called, gaydar?”

“Alice just needs to be shown the light. As for Bette, I’ll let you be the judge of that given whatever interaction you have had with her thus far,” Helena asserted with some finality in her voice.

“And just in case you change your mind, I will leave the profiles of the doctors and their latest research with you. Take all the time you need.”

Tina took a look at the profiles and related research. She took her time. And finally, she acquiesced.

Was she a bad judge? Tina did not know. All she knew was that her deal with Helena was paved with good intentions. But the road to hell is often paved with good intentions too.

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A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an’ arm began to swell. (but Whitey’s on the moon)
Was all that money I made las’ year (for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain’t no money here? (Hmm! Whitey’s on the moon)
Y’know I jus’ ’bout had my fill (of Whitey on the moon)
I think I’ll sen’ these doctor bills, Airmail special (to Whitey on the moon)

James frowned at the CD playing in the CD changer on the Alfa Romeo Brera and glanced sideways to see Bette grinning like an idiot.

“Uh, if you want I can change that.”

“No, I gave this CD to Tina. It’s a collection of spoken word poems by Gil Scott Heron. I didn’t think she would listen to anything but those mushy old love songs that get on my nerves.”

James smiled. Bette was as blunt as Tina had told him.

“Of course, she would listen to anything you give her – she’s completely in love with you.”

“She told you?!” She gasped, shocked that Tina had chosen to tell someone about her feelings but at the same time, secretly pleased and relieved. It meant her love was genuine—not that Bette doubted it but the constant reminder of the most beautiful thing to ever happen to her was most welcome.

“She doesn’t need to. Even a blind man could see how she feels about you.”

“She has never spoken about you but you seem to be a close friend. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I don’t think it’s my place to tell. Just trust her, she’s only trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? From what?”

James realized he had revealed a bit too much.

“Please Bette,” he pleaded.

“Tina told me you don’t bite. Did she happen to mention that I do?”

“No, but she did say something about how your bark was worse than your bite.”

Bette giggled. “I like you, even with those sideburns”

James pulled on the brakes suddenly as he saw the red-light a bit too late. A large manila folder slipped from under the passenger seat and nudged Bette on her foot. She cursed James and looked down, picking up the folder even as James apologized for his imperfect driving.

She opened and stared at the photos of her and Tina, lips locked, arms around each other, in an obviously intimate moment.

James cursed as he tried to retrieve the folder from her hands but Bette waved him off.

“What is this?” She was giving James a death-stare.

James swallowed. Maybe Tina was wrong; Bette did seem like the type who would bite.

“Photos…” he replied meekly, suddenly losing his voice.

“I can see these are photos. Who took them and why?”

“They aren’t real…”

Bette took a closer look at the photos one by one. “That still doesn’t answer the why.” Her voice was low and dangerous.

“Helena…”

Bette looked at him with disbelief written all over her face.

“What? WHY? No way, sure she is creepy, but Helena is a great supporter of my work, I have known her for years…”

“She wants Alice…”

“Excuse me?” She didn’t know whether to laugh or shout angrily.

“That’s all I can say for now. She wants Alice. This was supposed to serve as proof of that you were being unfaithful. Proof that she was going to show Alice when she got back.”

“No way…”

Alright Porter, not the unfaithful part but the Helena being a psycho, back-stabbing bitch one. Her mind raced from one conclusion to another and then it struck her.

“Does Tina know about this? Did she…Is she helping Helena?” Her hands went from warm to cold and clammy. She felt the need to gag, her insides turning out.

“Yes…and no. She’s protecting you. She’s risking her life and is over at the Peabody Mansion trying to collect evidence on your behalf right now. Please have some faith in her,” James pleaded, not wanting to tell her the whole story but also trying to steer Bette away from reaching the wrong conclusion.

“Stop the car.”

“What?”

“Pull to the curb and get out.”

“Um…but Tina wants you safely home…”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Have you heard tales of the fiery Bette Potter, the legend that made everyone cower and succumb to her every command, obliterate everyone that does not?”

His face was ashen. “Uh…no…”

James turned his head and saw the determined look in her eyes. She was even more headstrong than Tina. He pulled to the curb and stepped out.

“Good. Neither have I but let’s not start giving reasons for that tale to be more than a myth, alright?”

James gulped. “Right.” He pulled to the curb and stepped out of his seat.

“You are drunk. You shouldn’t drive,” he said, holding the keys behind him, giving it one last futile try.

“Apparently not drunk enough, if you listened and pulled over, and certainly not suicidal enough to get behind the wheels if I was not in any condition to drive. Give me the keys or I will just hail a cab to wherever I want to go. I doubt Tina would be too pleased that you left me out here in this neighborhood at this time of the night…”

“Alright, but you promise to drive safely and slowly.”

“Sure,” she lied as she reached out to take the keys from him and slid into the driver’s seat. When James shut the door, she immediately slammed on the locks, shutting him out.

“Hey!” he protested, struggling with the passenger door.

Bette grinned. “Hope you have enough change for a cab fair! Good luck hailing a cab at this hour!”

She pulled out and pressed on the gas, drowning out his protests.

James stood there, watching the taillights fade into the distance.

“I think I’ll stick with bartending next time.”

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2.5 months ago - (CH 17-18 time-frame)

“I met up with Bette today,” Tina said, picking at her food, obviously lost in thought.

Eric raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize the two of you had become friendly after that not-so-friendly first meeting. I hope she was more…mentally stable than the time I met her at the hospital?” He joked, not noticing the dismay that clouded Tina’s beautiful features.

“She claims that our wedding limo crashed into her on the day of her wedding, which is why she is … why she can’t …” She broke off, her eyes easily filling with tears as she pushed her food away.

“She can’t be serious. How is that even possible?” Eric asked in disbelief. Whatever shit Bette was on, she needed to get clean ASAP.

“I was hoping you could tell me. Do you know anything?”

He shook his head. “The accident definitely did not take place when I arrived in the limo. And it could not have happened afterwards, since we both left in it together. Are you sure that she is not mistaken about this? Maybe it was someone else? Maybe she is trying to guilt-trip us into making some sort of monetary compensation?”

“ERIC!” Tina was angry beyond words. “Bette is not like that. If she claims something to be true, she is probably right. And no, she isn’t looking for any sort of compensation.”

“I’m sorry. Please calm down and at least finish your dinner. I’ll make some calls for you, but I really doubt that our wedding had anything to do with her accident Tina. We would have known otherwise. Maybe Helena could shed some light on this.”

Tina froze, all thoughts of resuming dinner driven out of her mind.

“What…what does Helena have to do with any of this?

“Don’t you remember? Your former boss and friend is the one that generously let us use one of her limousines after Dad had forgotten to book one for us. And just as well—it had interiors fit for royalty that even I could not afford at that time!”

Tina had stopped listening. She sat there in a daze, her mind running through any number of possibilities. Helena was desperate and selfish, but a hit-and-run seemed below her standards. The beautiful and sophisticated British heiress wouldn’t play at murder, right?

Her mind came back to Bette, her new best friend and someone she had grown to care for immensely, to love with a passion and vigor unknown to her, a love that seemed to grow in proportion daily. The thought of anyone trying to hurt Bette infuriated her.

“I hope you are right. But then, it’s a case of hit-and-run and the perpetrator is still out there. And she … or he needs to pay for the crime.” Tina gritted with determination, her mind made up.

She didn’t agree to Helena’s demands because of her desire to exact revenge or for any superficial personal gain, but out of a need to get to the truth of the matter. If there was any chance at all that Helena had anything to do with that accident, Tina would make her pay.

But even Tina would not foresee the grave consequences of her decision.

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Present-Day

There was no excuse for her philandering behavior—even if Helena was right that Bette did not deserve Alice, even if Helena had displayed her ‘love’ for Alice from the sidelines that far surpassed the way Bette treated Alice, even if Bette had hurt her deeply by mocking her infertility at the hospital (Ch. 5) and has difficulty reining in the insensitive words that came out of her mouth at inopportune times—Tina had no right to come in-between their marriage, to actually have an affair with Bette that was no pretense. Then again, maybe it was inevitable and she sought some comfort in that.

It was almost like the playing-god Helena had set her up for a fall in this elaborate game, the ultimate fall that her soul registered as eternal and binding, a fall that may just guarantee a Helena-victory. She could not let that happen but at the same time, she did want Bette for herself. Was she a terrible person for the crime of falling in love outside her marriage? Probably not. But acting on those feelings was an entirely different matter, a more gray matter.

Befriending Bette was never a pretense; even the playful flirtation and light banter came easily. Loving Bette also came naturally. Falling in love with Bette Porter was an inevitability that she realized a bit too late. And now, she was breaking their home anyway, placing herself as the wall between Bette and Alice not for Helena’s interests, but for her own. She couldn’t allow herself to feel guilty, not just yet. Besides, she tried to convince herself that Alice neglected Bette with her work as much as Bette neglected Alice—it took two to make or break a relationship with or without Helena’s crazy antics.

So many times she had tried to tell Bette about Helena. But she could not dig up old wounds without irrefutable evidence. And she certainly did not want Bette to do anything stupid, which was guaranteed if she knew that Helena was responsible for her ‘slight inconvenience.’ More than that, Tina had an irrational fear that she might lose Bette, that Bette might misunderstand her actions. But tonight, her fears were somewhat alleviated when Bette bestowed the greatest trust in her—she would make sure to never take that for granted once they got through this ordeal and Helena was safely in some psychiatric ward wearing a gay-jacket.

She rifled through the books and DVDs in the entertainment room, even checking the walls for some secret door or compartment, trying to find incriminating evidence against Helena, anything at all. She spotted a DVD case titled ‘Tina & Bette—BBB.” She knew what that was—their little experiment at Bed, Bath and Beyond (Ch 18), which Helena had probably obtained as evidence they were on the ‘right’ track. Tina grabbed the DVD case—there was no way that she could let Alice see this. The photos of them kissing at the station might be doctored courtesy James—a photographer friend from her days at NYU—but the BBB video was certainly not ‘fake’ even if the act was supposed to be a simulation.

She had made the case, pleaded for more time and succeeded even as Helena grew weary, more obsessive, and started hinting towards murder. She had to find evidence linking Helena to that accident and the more she grew to learn about Helena, she realized that Helena was indeed capable of the devious and criminal act. At one point, Helena had even extorted her, threatening to put a stop to her medical treatments. And one night, drunk and leery, Helena had cemented Tina’s deepest suspicions.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 month ago

“Don’t take offense to this Tina. But I sometimes wish things had gone the way I had planned them on your wedding day.”

“What do you mean?”

Helena blinked and caught herself in the nick of time.

“I don’t feel too well. Maybe we should call this a night.”

“Helena, what did you plan on my wedding day?” Tina held her breathe and willed herself not to physically hurt the brunette if she admitted her crime.

“To kidnap you and prevent you from marrying Eric. AT least we would not be wrecking our heads trying to find out how to ‘fix’ you,” she joked. Good save Helena, she congratulated her drunk self.

Tina discerned the nervous apprehension in Helena’s voice—the way she had dodged the question with an inappropriate joke. She cringed at her words, setting her barely-touched drink on the table, rising up to call it a night.

Now she only needed proof and the Peabody residence seemed like her last hope short of a direct confrontation.

“Don’t forget to take the tickets to the Opera from the counter. Bette might really like that,” Helena called after her.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At the Nightclub, Earlier Tonight

Tina tried not to stiffen as Helena drew her close during a slow, romantic number, her hands close in proximity to the small of her back.

“I only have one question Helena. Why me? You could have chosen any blonde bimbo who would have been more than happy to work for your millions. Why choose me to play with her life?” She tried not to focus on how closely Helena was holding her, how much she yearned to be in the arms of someone else just like this.

“Don’t be silly dear. Bette is too principled to have an affair with just anyone; it had to be someone special. Someone who already had a big place in her heart.”

“What do you mean? And how would you know that?” How on earth did Helena know so much about Bette? She closed her eyes and saw her, saw them dancing together in the rain to their own music.

The Brit. rudely interrupted her beautiful thoughts about Bette.

“Interesting. Bette hasn’t shown you the collection of paintings she has on you? Paintings, I dare say, that she made a long time ago.”

“I’ve seen some scrapbook drawings … Paintings? A long time ago?” She opened her eyes then and saw Bette. Alright Tina, now you are really seeing things. She blushed when she did a ‘double-take’ and Bette was no longer visible.

“Yes my dear …”

“You mean to say she has actual paintings of me? How do you know that? Have you acquired any?”

Bette has made paintings of me? She grew more curious and tried not to smile at the thought. She would have to ask Bette later and show her appreciation.

“Ha! Dear god – I would, if she was willing to part with those. I accidentally discovered them in her studio one day and she was less than pleased. And I knew that her feelings for you ran pretty deep.”

“Oh…I haven’t been there. Were they any good?”

Of course they had to be good—Bette made them.

“Don’t let it get to your head darling. You are right about one thing though. Bette is extremely talented. She’ll probably be a case of posthumous success worth in the millions.”

Tina stopped abruptly and pulled back from Helena trying to calm her nerves, who only looked at her questionably.

“Sorry, I am just really fatigued and a bit dizzy,” Tina tried to cover. “That’s what I don’t understand. I know she’s talented, so why is she still struggling? I have seen and heard of artists with less talent and ability than her who have made it big. I don’t think we can attribute her failure to her stupid knee injury.”

“Let’s take a break,” Helena took hold of Tina’s elbow and guided her towards the bar again. She ordered herself another martini while Tina just requested a glass of ice-water, to cool down and calm her nervous energy.

“I’ll tell you part of why Bette is struggling. Yours truly hired some art critics on the payroll to trash her work. And…” she paused, frowning at her drink, “I would make sure to buy any painting that she produced so…” Her speech was slurry, vision unclear. She motioned the bartender over again.

“I don’t feel so good…”

Tina looked on at Helena, completely flabbergasted once again. She fought the urge to dump the glass of icy water on Helena’s head, drag her into the alley and kick more than her ass.

“You…you ruined her career?” She could not wrap her mind around it. How can a person stoop to that level to get what she wanted?

“Tina…” she tried to grab onto her for support, missed and fell to the floor, passing out.

Tina resisted the impulse to just leave her there. She looked at the glass of Martini and looked back at the bartender for an explanation.

James just winked back at her.

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Next chapter –

Does Tina find what she is looking for? What will she do with it?

Does Helena wake up enraged at Tina? What does she do?

What’s up with Alice and Dana? Where does Bette go? Do Tina and Bette get to clear the air?