"She left."

"Huh?" Tina had to be sure she hadn’t imagined it. She also pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

"Jodie left." No, that really was Bette’s voice coming through the phone, and she really was saying the words Tina had been dreaming of hearing for the past six months. It was all Tina could do to sound suitably sympathetic when her insides were jumping for joy.

"Oh, Bette. I’m so sorry. I’ll be right there."

"Thank you, T."

Tina practiced being supportive on the drive over, trying to erase all signs of inappropriate joy from her demeanor. This was a crucial stage in the friend game; if she messed up now, all could be lost. Tina knew she needed to sublimate her true feelings for just a while longer, and focus on being the friend Bette needed – and only that.

Tina found Bette curled up on the couch in the living room, work papers scattered around her in an obvious attempt to distract herself. Bette looked up as Tina entered the house, not even trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

"She left, T." Bette’s voice broke as she repeated her phone message. In reality, it was all she could say; she was still in shock.

Tina sat down on the couch and pulled Bette’s head down onto her lap, cradling her, soothing her as she had so many times before in their life together. "Oh, Babe, I’m so sorry. Would you like to tell me what happened?" She mentally congratulated herself for sounding so genuinely sorrowful. In fact, she was sad for Bette, if not for the cause of her pain.

After a few moments of silence, Bette was able to bring herself to talk. Maybe it was time passing, or maybe it was feeling Tina’s strength and love that allowed Bette related what had happened just hours before.

"She’s moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan," Bette announced in a flat voice.

"Michigan?" Tina queried in confusion.

"Metal," was Bette’s one-word explanation.

"Ah," Tina responded in understanding. Jodie was always looking for found materials to include in her sculptures, and the rust belt would certainly provide her plenty to choose from.

"But that’s not really why she left, is it," Tina asserted knowingly.

"Huh?" It took Bette a moment, but then she realized Tina was probing beneath the surface excuses Jodie had conveniently provided. Bette knew that art wasn’t really the reason Jodie had left, but had been so paralyzed by the fact of her leaving that she hadn’t yet thought of the why.

"No, I guess not," Bette agreed, sounding even more depressed than before, if that were possible. After a few minutes of silence, Bette continued in a small voice. "I don’t think she could handle the committed monogamy thing anymore. She only tried for my sake, but in the end…"

Tina heard the unspoken end to that sentence…I wasn’t enough. Rage bubbled up inside her as she realized the true damage Jodie had caused Bette. She had caused her to doubt herself again. Damn her!

Bette stirred as she felt Tina’s muscles become tense. "T? What’s wrong?" She propped herself up enough to look Tina in the eyes. "T?" she repeated in a small, scared voice.

Tina realized that in her current state of mind, Bette was naturally interpreting Tina’s anger as something directed at her. Tina consciously relaxed her muscles and pulled Bette into a hug. "Oh, Babe. I’m just angry on your behalf. I’m so sorry, Bette. I’m so sorry," she repeated, rocking slightly, as she would if she were comforting Angelica.

Tina stroked Bette’s hair and cheek, soothing her, calming her. "It’ll be okay, Babe. Shhh…. It’ll be just fine," she repeated over and over, comforting the woman in her arms with the rhythm of her assurances, the gentleness of her touch.