Chapter 7

HELENA- (Sitting with Gerri in the living room. They had been talking for a while and Gerri started opening up. Helena had made the mistake of asking how she liked working with Bette. At this point, Helena sees where the conversation is going and realizes that Gerri is in the thick of an infatuation. Helena is feigning not thinking highly of a certain someone so as to give Gerri some perspective…but it’s not working well…) “She’s really not that special you know…very headstrong, set in her ways, a perfectionist, unrelenting, persistent…passionate, beautiful…even at her age, allure, intelligence, compassion…yes ok, she’s a special woman, but Gerri dear, you really have to diversify. I’m mean, you know, play the field as they say.”

GERRI- “You don’t just pick who you fall in…”

HELENA- (Interrupting her…) “NOooooooooooo…we’re not going there Gerri…we’re not going to use those words!” (She panics a bit and smiles and get’s a little anxious…) “Now let’s not jump the gun here. I know you’re all caught up in it, but I think a little infatuation has just come your way…that’s all. Believe me, I know. I had professors once too. Dame Alexandra Borona Pourvouna.” (Gerri’s eyebrows rise.) “She became a dame of the British Empire a few years ago for all the work she did. Very successful. When I was in her class, a million years ago, she was already a very powerful woman…older powerful women turned me on…in any event, I was taken…totally taken with her.” (Peggy is listening in as she approaches at the same time as Angelica and Steve.)

PEGGY- “You boring that poor girl with your Prooovoona story dear?”

HELENA- “Mummy, it’s Pourvouna.”

GERRI- “Sounds European.”

HELENA- “Has royal blood actually.”

GERRI- “So what happened?”

PEGGY- “She dumped her.”

GERRI- “Pourvouna?”

PEGGY- “No, Helena.”

HELENA- “Not so!”

PEGGY- “My poor dear, still lamenting the loss eh?”

HELENA- “Mother, she did not dump me.”

PEGGY- “She dropped you like a hot potato. The shrewd bitch skewered you.”

ANGELICA- “Ouch, that must have been awful.”

HELENA- “Hurt like bloody hell…but she didn’t dump me, it was sort of mutual.”

PEGGY- (She chuckles…) “Helena my child, I’ve heard of selective memories but…”

HELENA- “Mother please! She had no choice.”

PEGGY- “No choice but to dump you? Don’t be silly. She was a nasty woman and broke your heart in a most dishonourable way. I would have flambayed her if I had known at the time.”

ANGELICA- “Wow, how was it dishonourable?” (Helena gives Angelica a look…) “Well, I mean it doesn’t really matter…”

STEVE- “Yeah, but it must have been hard.”

HELENA- “Quite nasty actually.”

PEGGY- “Well what brought on recollections of the old curmudgeon anyway?”

HELENA- “I was just explaining to Gerri here…how….well, we were just talking about relationships…you know, the usual.” (Helena looks at Gerri and then at the others and smiles a little uncomfortably. Gerri blushes a little.)

PEGGY- “Mhm. Gerri dear, I’m hear for you…ask and ye shall receive my words of much wisdom.”

(Back in the bedroom…)

GRIZZI- “All right Professor, let’s have it.”

TINA- “Actually Grizzi, she really doesn’t know.”

BETTE- “Know what?”

TINA- “We’ve just been teasing her because her students seem so enthralled with her, that’s all. She’s brought research assistants here before, though not until they’ve worked for her for a while. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

BETTE- “There isn’t anything wrong with that. This is ridiculous. Grizzi look…”

GRIZZI- “Easy there Bette. I may not know you very well, but I do know you to be a brilliant woman and excellent professor, and your ethics are the last thing I’d question. But come on now…what’s the scoop?” (She smiles…)

BETTE- “Scoop? There’s no scoop! Tina…what’s going on?”

TINA- “Nothing…it’s nothing…” (She looks at Grizz then back at Bette.) “I think Gerri might have a bit of a crush on you.”

BETTE- “Gerri? A crush?” (She shakes her head and her eyebrows come together.) “On me? A crush? You’ve got to be kidding…”

GRIZZI- “Oh come now, you’re a lovely woman…striking and intelligent. She’s a young woman at the threshold of the rest of her life and you’re her mentor…she’s probably a little confused about the next phase in her life and there you are. It’s not unusual at all.” (She looks at Tina…) “Right? It’s not is it? Unusual? Tell me it’s not unusual…”

TINA- “Well, it’s kind of a big crush…not so much unusual as it is…well…”

BETTE- (Putting her hand on her head…) “Wait, she’s gay?”

TINA- “Well…”

GRIZZI- “Well?”

TINA- “I’m not sure…we didn’t exactly get that far in the conversation, but she…she…she thinks she has feelings for you…”

GRIZZI- “Ok, I’ve heard enough. You two need to talk. Bette let’s chat on Monday after Tina here has briefed you…apparently you’re totally clueless. Poor girl, she’s going to get her heart broken, but she’s a decent and intelligent girl, amazing grades, she’ll be fine.” (She get’s up and starts walking…) “Just do us all a favour…no touching Professor Porter!”

BETTE- “Grizzi!”

GRIZZI- “Kidding! Just Kidding. I need a drink. Better go make sure Peggy isn’t causing trouble out there.” (She exits. Bette falls to the bed on her back.)

BETTE- “Gerri? Wait…are you saying Steve has a crush too?” (Tina, sitting next to her, lies on her back as well, their legs hanging over the bed.)

TINA- “Well, he’s probably just infatuated with all that mocha beauty stuff going on…older woman too…natural turn on…”

BETTE- “Gee thanks.”

TINA- “Don’t mention it.”

BETTE- “So, what did she tell you exactly?”

TINA- “Bette she told me in confidence. I only said something now so Grizzi would know that it was just a harmless case of…well…whatever.”

BETTE- “Is it?”

TINA- “What?”

BETTE- “Harmless…”

TINA- “Well, not really…not to Gerri I mean. I think it’s pretty intense to her.”

BETTE- “I guess I’ll have to talk to her.”

TINA- “Bette, please…she confided in me.”

BETTE- “I can’t let her continue like this. I think it’s better if we meet it head on and resolve it. I like her. She’s a great kid. I don’t want to jeopardize my relationship with her or affect her life in a negative way. If we don’t resolve it, I can’t let her continue working for me. It could make matters worse. Besides…” (She delays responding…)

TINA- “What?”

BETTE- “She’s a little too young for me and I prefer blondes.” (A pillow comes out of nowhere and smacks Bette on the belly.) “Ouch…”

TINA- “Any other smart ass comments Professor Porter and you’ll be spending a long while in the guest room.” (Bette puts her hands over the pillow and sits up. She stands as Tina talks and walks over to the door, locking it.) “I think you have be gentle with her, poor thing. She’s realistic about it, I think, but she needs guidance, she needs to see the light at the end of this tunnel.” (Tina sits up as she continues talking and Bette makes her way over to sit back down on the bed next to her.) “You have to give her something to direct her energy toward, something to awaken her creativity, like with the project she talked to me about. Got to give her an outlet.”

BETTE- “T…”

TINA- “Mhm?”

BETTE- “What happened earlier?”

TINA- “Earlier? What earlier?”

BETTE- “Before Grizzi walked in.”

TINA- “Oh, you mean when you told me our love life sucks?”

BETTE- “That’s not what I meant…”

TINA- “Yes it is.”

BETTE- “Tina please…how can you say that? We’ve been doing great in that department…like always.”

TINA- “Like always? You seem to be forgetting our history.”

BETTE- “Ok Tina…what’s going on?”

TINA- “What do you mean? I’m just being accurate.”

BETTE- “About what? An aberration from twenty years ago?”

TINA- “Aberration? As I recall it lasted at least four years.”

BETTE- “And we got over it… twenty years ago! Or haven’t you?” (She had already turned her head to say this to Tina, but now put herself closer to Tina, placing her right hand on Tina’s thigh and putting her left hand on the right side of Tina’s face, bring it towards her. She places both hands near Tina’s head. She looks intensely into her eyes…searching.) “What’s going on?”

TINA- “I don’t know.” (Bette’s eyes are darting trying to make eye contact with Tina’s.)

BETTE- “You don’t know?”

TINA- “Something’s wrong.”

BETTE- “With what?”

TINA- “I don’t know.”

BETTE- “Don’t know what?”

TINA- “Bette please, let’s just go back.” (Tina turns, looks forward and down.)

BETTE- “No.”

TINA- (She looks up at Bette.) “Why didn’t you tell me things weren’t so great in the bedroom?”

BETTE- “TINA…I just finished telling you they’re as great as always.”

TINA- (She looks away. Bette doesn’t budge. She looks at her briefly.) “You seem far away sometimes.”

BETTE- “When? Far away? T…things have been great. I’m mean we’ve been busy and now Angelica…the obnoxious child of mine…she’s growing up and I really don’t want her too.”

TINA- “You too huh?”

BETTE- “Yeah.”

TINA- “Bette, you gotta let her do what she wants. You’ve been trying to control her a bit too much.”

BETTE- “Control? I just don’t want her to…”

TINA- “What? Make her own decisions?”

BETTE- “No, just make good ones!”

TINA- “Man Mamma B, I think you’d drive me crazy if I were her too.”

BETTE- “Gee, thanks for the support Mamma T…Hmm…maybe I should get a teaching job out east and that way make sure we’re all together.”

TINA- “Oh gawd…Bette… stop…you gotta let this go.”

BETTE- “I’m kidding…relax. Now forget my obnoxious child for a moment…what’s this about me being far away?”

TINA- “You just seem so caught up in everything else. I feel like…like…I don’t know, like you’re not ‘here’, like we’re not connecting enough, like we’re not close enough…I feel…I want more…more of you, more of us…I need you…I feel like I need you all the time…like I need you more than you…” (She stops and looks to the side.)

BETTE- (Bette feels compelled by what she’s hearing but not sure what’s developing. She grasps Tina’s face with her left hand and turns it toward centre to face Bette. She lowers her face so their foreheads meet for a moment and then she slides her lips to Tina’s left cheek and affixes a kiss. She remains there but navigates her mouth to impart a few words to Tina’s ear.) “I need nothing and no one but you.” (Tina’s ear tingles and transmits a warm burst of feeling down her face and neck to the rest of her.) “That essential truth began the day I met you and never stopped, even during the book of Bette & Tina old testament days…even during the aberration…even after you left me…even after the only other love of my life came into our lives…that obnoxious little creature who took my heart and now holds it hostage…my first, my last, my everything lies with you. How could you possibly doubt that? What awful thought, thing, or person has brought this on? Tell me and I’ll face it…I’ll take care of it…I’ll end it.” (Bette brings her face forward and take’s Tina’s face into her hands.) “Hmm? Tell me…” (She grasps Tina’s lips with her own and dancing intensely with the supple pair of lips she moves her hands to Tina’s torso, engulfing it in touches and strokes of desire…strokes of her own need and want…wanting so desperately to take her and bring her back to safety…to sanctuary…to their place, their special place with one another…it was always here that they found each other and themselves again when some or all of their selves had been lost.)

TINA- “I need you so much.”

BETTE- “You have me.” (Bette revisits the lips…the familiar lips that welcomed her so often, so many years, through so many things. She wants to bring her so close that there’s nothing else to want or need. Bette enters Tina’s clothing, feeling her skin, feeling and invading the cloth guarding her bosom…she ventures forth and grasps the landscape, scouring, grasping, and searching… revisiting, rediscovering, and reclaiming…the clothes fall prey to the energy repelling them from both bodies as Bette lowers her better half onto the soft surface of their bed and assumes an eager position of dominance. But then she stops and slowly grasps Tina’s face. Bette looks into her eyes and strokes her smooth cheeks gently as Tina feels the rest of her all over her…every part, every morsel of her mocha beauty covering what she thought was aging terrain…awakening it, electrifying it, and rousing all its senses.) “Look at me T…I’m powerless. I can’t do anything else, I don’t want anything else, I don’t care about anything else…you have me…I am here…right here…and though this is a place I’ve been many times, you make my body, my heart, my soul feel like the first time I met you…it was like I had been asleep and suddenly all of me came alive and my life started and it’s never ended.” (Tina touches her face.) “You always make me feel this way…every time…you make me feel found again…you, only you, and always…you and I…always…You need me? I need you more. You want me? I want you more. The only thing more important, the only thing bigger, the only thing stronger…than my need, than your need, than our wants, our desires…the only thing more than the sum of these parts or any one of those parts is our love…and that, my love, is of you and I… irreparably, irreversibly, and irreclaimably together.” (Tina lifts her leg to touch and summon a moan of intense pleasure as the outburst of a provocative and sudden sensation envelops Bette from her center to the outer reaches of herself…everywhere…)