At 21 Milaine was very mature for her age. Her life experiences had dictated the pace of her emotional and mental growth, a pace that had been faster than most. However, she was a young woman who had spent almost her entire life in the city of New York, so the fact that she was sitting in the back seat of an SUV, on her way to spend the day at a lake, had her bubbling over with excitement. She was trying to keep it in however, not wanting Tina and MaBe to think she was being childish…but every once in a while, a little giggle would escape her throat…

“Milaine, what are you giggling about?” Bette had turned around in her seat, so she was facing her daughter.

Milaine looked at her like she had been caught doing something wrong. “Uh…nothing MaBe…just thinking about something Cindy told me about her boyfriend. Not anything I can repeat though.” She smiled at her Mother. ‘Wow, that lie came out pretty easy.’

Bette just looked at her with her eyebrows raised and said, “Smooth Milaine…that was very smooth.” She turned back around, catching the eye of Tina. Both women smiled at each other, knowing why Milaine was giggling, as she had not been very successful at hiding her excitement earlier in the hotel room. Bette decided to let it slide, and not tease her daughter about it…besides, she didn’t want to say anything that would cause Milaine to feel the need to expound on their conversation last night, concerning Bette’s fear of swimming in dirty lake water.

Bette decided that now would be a good time to find out more about where they were going. “So Tina, whose cabin are we going to?”

“Dan and I bought the cabin about ten years ago. We wanted a place to take the kids that was away from the city. It’s nice…I call it a cabin, but really it is a small two bedroom house. It has all the amenities, so not to worry Bette, you won’t be roughing it.” She smiled over at Bette, knowing she had probably been thinking about those things. In fact, she was surprised it had taken her so long to ask. The Bette of 15 years ago would have been all over these questions as soon as Tina had suggested the trip. Just another way she had changed, and had learned how to relax over the years. “I had Dan put in a dishwasher when Alex was born, and he added a small laundry room as well. The best part though, is the big stone fireplace in the living room.” Tina smiled to herself, thinking about all the happy times they had spent at the cabin as a family…all lounging around the fireplace at night playing board games, after a day spent playing in the water. And even though she still made sure they did those kinds of things on a regular basis, it was a little different without Dan there. She wondered how her children would feel about Bette being the one laying on the floor, playing games with them…she wondered how Bette would feel about laying on the floor, playing games with three excitable children.

She was rustled out of her thoughts by a soft voice. “Hey…where’d you go T? Are you Ok?” She looked over at Bette. Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled through them. “I’m good. I was just thinking about how much I love my children…and you.” Tina laughed. “I think I am just missing them. This camping trip they go on is pretty much the only time of the year that we are apart…so I am feeling some separation anxiety.” She smiled at Bette, and then looked at Milaine in the rearview mirror. “But, I am so happy to be here with the two of you. I want to share this place with you both.”

Bette was a little nervous about asking the next question, but it had been burning in her head since last night. “So T…are we going to be the only ones at the lake?”

Tina looked over at Bette with a slightly confused look on her face…then it registered what Bette was really asking. She smiled at her partner…loving her even more for the insecurities that were hiding behind that question. “Yes Baby, it will be just the three of us. Dan and the kids are camping…ya know, like really camping, with tents and sleeping bags…sleeping on the ground…cooking their food over the fire pit…that kind of camping.” She laughed, thinking how funny it was that Bette would consider sleeping on a nice comfortable bed, inside a warm and cozy cabin as camping. “Baby, staying at the lake is not camping!”

Tina stopped smiling for a moment, as seriousness took over. “Besides, I have some things I need to take care of before I introduce you to Dan and Kathy.” She looked at Milaine again in her mirror. “That’s what is so great about having you here Milaine. Your Mother and I want to be…no, we are a couple again, and I know that might be hard for some people to accept…so the fact that you are here, experiencing this rejoining with us…well, it just makes it all the more special.”

Bette’s heart was bursting with love for Tina. ‘Wow, what a grown up thing to say! And, of course, she said it as only my beautiful Tina can.’ With that one statement, Bette knew that Tina had successfully created a strong bond with Milaine, a bond that she was sure will bring comfort to them all in the future.

Milaine was absolutely touched by what Tina had just shared…although she had a side thought, ‘Oh God, Tina’s children and ex-husband don’t know about MaBe yet…yikes!’ She reached forward and laid a hand on both Tina and MaBe’s shoulder. “Thank you for wanting to share this with me…for trusting me enough to share it with me. I have to admit that at first, I wasn’t to excited about having any major changes in our lives…but…” Milaine stopped for a moment, smiling at her Mother, seeing the endless amount of love sparkling in her eyes, “some changes are just meant to be.” She squeezed both of their shoulders and started to let go. Bette, whose eyes were brimming with tears, turned in her seat, taking a hold of Milaine’s hand from her shoulder, and brought it up to her lips. “Thank you Baby…I love you.” All three women were silent for a moment, caught up in the emotions of this new beginning.

Tina turned the car into a driveway that was half hidden from the two lane road they had been driving on. It was a dirt driveway surrounded by huge trees and lots of huckleberry bushes, with just enough bumps and roots to make the SUV bounce around like they were back-roading it. Bette hung on for dear life, groaning on the inside. ‘Oh God…what I get myself in for…’ But before she could continue with that thought, Tina looked over at her. “Relax Bette. This is the worst part…I promise.”

Sure enough, thirty feet later the driveway smoothed out and Tina stopped them in front of a beautiful little country house. Bette visibly relaxed on seeing the house, and smiled as she saw a path on the side that led down to the lake, which was only about forty feet from the ‘cabin.’ Off to the side was a big fire pit, surrounded by benches, with a picnic table close by.

Milaine was so excited, that as soon as they stopped, she opened the back door and jumped out, running down the path to the lake. Tina and Bette just looked at each other smiling. They heard a shriek as soon as Milaine disappeared around the corner. “Oh my God…MaBe there’s a dock! Come look!”

Bette grabbed Tina’s hand and pulled her in close. “Thank you for giving her this…for giving us both this.”

Tina kissed Bette on the cheek. “Your welcome. Now, come on…your daughter wants you to see the dock!” Still holding hands they walked down the path, single file with Tina in the front, leading Bette. As they turned the corner they both started laughing. There was Milaine…a 21 year old senior at Columbia University, jumping up and down at the end of dock, with her arms spread wide open…giggling like a little girl.

tbc