Trials, Tribulation and Triumph

Life, Death, Reality Chapter 9

The sun was setting.  Bette sat at her desk in her home office staring at the boxes she had brought home a few weeks ago.  She had kept the office and they had converted the spare room into one for Tina.  Separate workspaces were working out much better she thought as she stood and walked over to the bookshelf that she had converted into a makeshift bar.  She pulled out both her scotch and a glass.  The depth of the smell and the hint of the flavors rose to her nose as she poured herself a drink.  She swirled the auburn liquid as she took a few steps around her desk, leaning up against it while she took a slow sip.  She stared once again at the boxes that had been stacked in two piles, one made up most of her office from work and the other the research for the lost painting.  She still struggled with the notion that there actually may exist a lost painting from the Nazi era. Peggy's story about the Russian really intrigued her to such a degree that she started sifting through European News trying to find something about the man.  She learned a great deal about the wealthy entrepreneurs that were not well liked by the Russian public.  It was said they were about as popular as a man idly burning millions outside an orphanage.  These oligarchs were and still are well connected and thought to be the cause of much of the turmoil that plagued the Russians after the fall of the Soviet Union.  Bette took another sip as she continued to sort through her thoughts about the oligarch who may have purchased the Kerschner.  It was clear from the research and the little information from Peggy, that the Russian she spoke of probably had been purged by the Kremlin.  If that is what happened to him, what happened to all his assists?  She read that part of what made these individuals so unpopular was that they stashed billions of dollars in private Swiss bank accounts rather than invest in the Russian economy.  If that was the case, the painting is probably in some storage compartment somewhere in Europe.  Bette chuckled to herself as the thought of this amazing find boxed away gathering dust with other items purchased during buying sprees.

Bette swirled the liquid feeling the stress of her day easing away.  Her thoughts shifted to a recent conversation with her therapist Dr. Helen Klein.  She had continued with therapy even after she and Tina had decided to move back in together.  Bette felt a little support wasn't a bad thing given the monumental task of reconciling after their divorce.  Both she and Tina felt they had done it right.  They followed all the advice, took it slow, spent time together "dating" again, talked about their relationship openly, honestly and learned new skills.  But most of all, neither lost hope in their ability to rebuild their relationship.  They loved each other and wanted it to work this time for good.  They both looked at this rare opportunity as a new chapter in their life together. 

When COVID hit, Bette had stopped seeing Dr. Klein.  It took time for therapists to figure out how to support their clients during the global pandemic.  Dr. Klein' office reached out to her when they developed a new approach to adjust their services to fall in line with social isolation and safety guidelines.  Dr. Klein had said on their first Telehealth conversation that the surge of clients was impacting the profession across the board.  The fears and frustrations of the loss of normalcy in people's daily lives was motivating them to reach out to counselors. This had forced the counselors to adjust their services to meet the needs of their clients.  The Pandemic caused a drastic change in how the world functioned and it impacted people in a variety of ways.  So, when Bette reached out and wanted to talk about her relationship with Tina, Dr.  Klein had voiced it was a nice to talk about something other than COVID. 

Bette had put a lot of thought into what Tina had said about her concerns about Kelly.  She too wanted a boring life that had excitement brought on only by their desire to be with each other.  In their discussion, Dr. Klein had brought up the idea of "extreme theme".  She had said that our culture had turned the extreme into the norm and people were being wired for drama and thus the soul starved of meaningful purpose.  Bette had thought this odd because she never thought of herself as having a life that sought out heart pounding excitement.  But she had to admit, it often found her.  Bette tried to explain Tina's position to the best of her ability.  Tina was a very strong self-assured woman.  Now more than ever, Tina had control over what she brought into her individual life.  Yes, they were a power couple for sure, but they agreed to a set of fundamental values that included respect, companionship and trust.  They're the pillars on which they have built both themselves and the relationship.  Dr. Klein had reframed Tina's position to one of protecting their relationship.  Tina's concern about the drama Kelly could cause was actually Tina trying to support Bette, help her navigate a highly emotionally charged situation.  Bette took another sip, then stared at the merging colors of the liquid in her glass as she continued to think.