I attended the Washington D.C. show on June 22nd. I was fourth row center and it was the PERFECT seat. It was my first Bette concert and I was giddy/nervous with excitement from the time I entered the arena. Eh, who are we kidding? I was giddy from the time I bought the ticket in November! The show was fabulous. Bette brought me to tears on more than one occasion, and I laughed at all the old Soph jokes as though I were hearing them for the first time. She was absolute perfection from start to finish.
When we got backstage for the Meet & Greet, I was shaking like a leaf. I had toiled over what to wear and what to say for weeks. I got in line at one point and then got out because I wasn’t ready yet. But as soon as Bette reached out her hand and said, “Hello Lora, how are you?”, I was immediately at ease. I said, “Oh my god, I have been a nervous wreck about tonight for weeks!” She asked why. I said, “Because I have loved you for so long!” She thanked me and we were quickly directed to pose. I just stood there and grinned like an idiot because I was so dumbfounded and didn’t really have a pose thought out. After the photo, I clasped Bette’s hands and said, “I just have to tell you that for the longest time, I felt like I didn’t fit in. You were there for me, and I want to thank you for that.” She hugged me and replied, “Thank you, you’re so sweet.” The rest was kind of a blur as they were trying to move the next person in, but I think she asked me if enjoyed the show, to which I replied, “Yes, you were fantastic, thank you so much.” And she thanked me for coming, and I just floated out of the room on a cloud of joy. I’ve looked at this photo at least fifty times since I’ve gotten it, and it just fills me with such happiness every time I see it! If she only knew how much those few brief moments meant to me, and will forever.
