Chapter 3

Bette slowly played with Angelica’s long hair, running her fingers over her temple to calm her down. Tina felt nostalgic watching Bette absentmindedly use the same technique she did to calm her down when they were a couple. Bette looked at Tina, patiently waiting for her to begin the story, figuring she would fill in any gaps if needed.

Angelica began to relax in Bette’s arms, her breathing becoming normal, and her posture loosening up with every stroke of her mother’s fingers on her skin.

“I met Mama B at her gallery, the first one, not the one she owns now,” Tina’s voice was calm, a look of happiness graced her eyes as she remembered that evening.

“Wait,” Angelica looked up at Bette, “you’ve owned more than one gallery?”

Bette looked down, smiling, and nodded her head waiting for the story to continue.

“Anyway, I was dating an entertainment lawyer. His name was Eric and he was this huge art collector.”

“You dated men?” Angelica seemed surprised at this revelation.

“Yes, for a long time I dated men.” Tina leaned back and took a sip of her wine, putting the glass back on the table. She leaned back further on the couch, dragging Angelica’s legs further into her body to maintain contact with her daughter.

“Eric took me to a Catherine Opie show, he was completely in love with that woman’s art. The opening was at the Bette Porter Gallery. I had heard of Bette, she had this amazing reputation. She was known for picking an obscure artist out of the rough and making them a known name. A lot of artists wanted Bette to showcase their work for that very reason.”

“Did you like Catherine Opie Mama T?” Angelica asked innocently.

“When I went there I hadn’t known anything about her so I was a bit shocked by some of her pieces.”

“Is that a polite way of saying no?” Angelica asked bluntly.

“It was just different,” Tina’s eyes met Bette’s, which were smiling due to Tina’s attempt at avoiding the question.

“I can’t believe you don’t like Catherine’s work.”

“Why does that shock you? I’m not into the ‘mad lesbian art’ that she showcases. You know my taste and that isn’t it.”

“She wasn’t showcasing mad lesbian art, that show was her interpretation of the human body. It had nothing to do with being a lesbian.”

“There was not one picture of a naked man there.”

“Because who would find that interesting?”

“Straight women, gay men, just to name a few. The one piece that was particularly unsettling was this one where she was naked and had drew things on her back.”

“She was naked?” Angelica sounded shocked.

“You couldn’t see her front Boo,” Bette said looking down at her daughter. “I loved that show because of her lack of boundaries with where she was willing to take the interpretation.”

“That’s ‘art talk’ for your Mama B making a lot of money on that show, although I have yet to understand why anyone would buy some of that stuff.”

Tina’s statement made Angelica laugh.

“Eric bought a print!”

“He was just as insane as some of the angry lesbians you had there. I hated looking at that thing before we broke up,” Tina laughed. “Anyway, Eric and I walked into the gallery and I was very surprised at the guest list for that particular show. Everyone who was considered someone seemed to be there. Eric had some clients there as well, so we made a point to socialize with them for a bit before making our way inside to meet the artist and Bette.”

Angelica smiled at Bette as she held Tina’s gaze, her own smile gracing her beautiful face.

“We maneuvered our way past the crowds of people either getting drunk or high and finally got to the center of the gallery where Bette stood talking to Catherine Opie. Eric gracefully interrupted their conversation by saying hello to Bette and she walked over to us to shake his hand.”

Tina’s eyes met Bette’s briefly, both women reliving that first moment between them.

“She was dressed so beautifully. When she approached us I had a hard time focusing on her to be honest, I was afraid she’d see me staring at her. Bette wore a black suit, with a dark maroon shirt that was stunning against her skin, she even wore a tie.”

“A tie?” Angelica looked at her mother and smiled. “Seriously Mama B, a tie?” She snickered and Tina quickly joined in but made sure she defended Bette for her fashion choices.

“Back then it was the style, trust me, she looked amazing. You know your mother only wears the cutting edge of style and that was it at the time. Anyway, Eric introduced us and Bette held out her hand for me to shake it.”

“I remember that like it was yesterday,” Bette seemed to be lost in thought.

“When our hands touched, there was such a softness about it that it felt just ‘right’. That’s the only way I can explain how it felt, it was just simply ‘right’. God, Angie, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, she was simply the most beautiful woman I had seen. Before that moment, I would never have contemplated being with a woman. It wasn’t considered ‘normal’ in my family. I had always heard from people that lesbians seem to always just ‘know’ they’re gay. I never felt that though, not until your mother. When Bette’s hand touched mine, nothing seemed more important, the world just stopped.”

“That’s sort of corny Mom.”

“Even if it is, that’s the truth,” Tina smiled at Angelica after she tactfully put her in her place. “So Eric bought this God awful print he wanted. I almost chocked on my champagne when he told me he was planning on blowing it up bigger for display on a wall in his apartment. The only saving grace was that it wasn’t the one of Catherine’s back.”

“You’re incorrigible,” Bette said shaking her head.

“What’s incorrigible?” Angie asked Tina.

“One of your mother’s 50 cent words to say hopeless because she feels I don’t have an ‘artist’s eye’ for good work.”

Angelica laughed and snuggled deeper into Bette’s lap.

“Thank God that Eric bought that awful thing because once the sale was complete, we were put on the list to stay for a dinner reception after the general viewing of the show. So while I waited for dinner to be served, I walked around pretending to be interested in the portraits that truly only scared me. I just had to get away from Eric. Bette was on my mind and I had spent a better part of the evening watching her work the room up until when she was monitoring the dinner set-up. I had lost her when she disappeared into her office,” Tina blushed at her admission.

“So I had walked around every display of Catherine’s work hating all of it when I came across this picture that was hung all by itself. It was of a different woman, not Catherine thank God. She was naked with this light shadowing her body. It was tastefully done, you couldn’t really see anything, but that’s what made it catch my eye. It was the hint of a woman’s body, the softness reflected with shadows. It dragged my mind right back to the feel of Bette’s hand in mine, the pure softness of it.”

“God I love that piece.” Bette said casually getting lost in the memory of that show. “I’m surprised that you thought of me. If I’m thinking of the right piece, it didn’t resemble me at all.”

“It didn’t but I think it’s fair to say it was the only thing that remotely resembled art hanging in your gallery that night!”

Angelica laughed watching the banter between her mothers continue as it typically did when they all talked together.

“Catherine is incredibly successful Tina,” Bette admonished her quickly.