AUTHOR’S NOTE: I wanted to add a special request…

I have said previously how much having the opportunity to write for this site has meant to me. But, it is not just the writing, it is all the wonderful stories that I get to read that brings me back to this site, day in and day out. Add on top of that, the wonderful women I have met through fan fiction, and communicate with through e-mails, and I am sure you can guess, that this is the first place I head to when I get online. Recently it was brought to our attention the high cost of running a site like this…costs that are increasing as the site continues to grow at a very rapid pace…costs that are all paid for with one persons private funds. So, I ask that because we ALL get so much entertainment from this site…entertainment that, were we to have to pay for through buying books, or going to the movies, would cost us hundreds of dollars…and yet here it is, available to all of us. But, please remember that even though it is available to us for free…it is not actually free. So I ask that you please help defer some of the rising costs and click on the “help support” button at the top of the fan fiction page, and give whatever you can…no amount is too small. I know this is a hard time of year, so for those who are able, please remember that we are a community, and that a member of our community, who gives so much to us, is asking for our help. Thanks!!


Chapter 66

It was Tina’s turn to reach up and caress her lover’s cheek with her finger tips. “I’m thinking that there is probably one more reason you made the trip out here…right?” She smiled, already knowing the answer to her question.

Bette chuckled…that low *****, sultry sound that makes your whole body shiver in delight. She knew that Tina would guess the other reason that caused her to get on a crowded, noisy plane and travel for five hours. She just didn’t think her partner would figure it out within a half an hour of Bette’s arrival.

“Well, what did you expect? You told me you could only give me my Christmas present in person? And you KNOW how much I love getting presents from you…so…I mean really Tina, what’s a girl to do?” Bette leaned down, allowing their lips to join in a kiss that was full of promise and of love, and of course, laughter…as both were unable to contain the giggle that softly bounced into the other’s mouth.

They were oblivious to the world, as they always were when in each others arms, and didn’t heard the kitchen door open, but did hear a soft voice murmur, “Oh dear!” They reluctantly broke the kiss, both turning their heads towards the voice, still smiling. “Excuse me,” Kathy said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I was chosen by the masses to come and…” she cleared her throat, “drag you into the livingroom!” Kathy couldn’t help but smile as she watched the way the two women held each other…the way their bodies seemed to be molded together. She also couldn’t help the warmth that spread through her own body, knowing exactly what it felt like, to be in the arms of the person that every part of your body, your heart and your soul, craved to be with.

Tina laughed, knowing that the kids sent Kathy as their messenger, because they knew that Tina wouldn’t get as upset about the interruption if it came from an adult, rather from one of them. “Tell the masses to give us five minutes to finish boiling the water, and then we will be out.” Kathy raised her shoulders and then dropped them with an overexaggerated sigh, as she mouthed the words ‘five minutes’, and with a smile and a slight shake of her head, she turned around, letting the door swing shut behind her.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Tina and Bette came out of the kitchen with Tina carrying a tray with both tea and coffee for the adults. It was a good thing that Bette had nothing in her hands, because she would have dropped it upon seeing Tina and Dan’s three children. She burst out laughing and watched as all three, who had decided to try on all their Christmas presents that they had received from their parents, Kathy included…and who were now in the middle of the livingroom dressed in their new ski jackets, goggles, gloves and hats, wearing their new ski boots, whooping and hollering as they pretended they were skiing down the snowy slopes of the Pacific Northwest, with their new skis and poles.

They all joined Bette in laughing at the children’s obvious delight. Skiing was something that Dan and Tina both loved, and they had shared that love with their children, and taught them to ski as soon as they were old enough to strap on a pair of skis. It was an expensive sport however, one which required a constant change in equipment as the children grew.

As soon as the kids realized that Tina and Bette were in the room, they unsnapped their boots and jumped out of them, leaving them still locked into the bindings on their skis, as each made their way over to the present with their name on it…eager to get the go ahead to rip off the wrapping paper. “Ok, take turns guys…Alex, why don’t you go first, Honey.” Paul and Dani both let out groans. “Mom!!!” Tina laughed and looked at Bette, who nodded her head, enjoying the fact that the kids were so excited to open her presents, but also felt her nerves kick in, hoping that she had picked out just the right present for each of them. “Ok, Ok…go for it!” And with that, wrapping paper started flying around the room as all three devoured the adornments on the outside of each gift.

Paul was the first to get his opened, as it was the smallest. He looked at the box, and then looked up at Bette, his eyes wide, his jaw dropping. “No way!!! Oh my God…Dad, look it this!” Paul held up the portable Electronic Book/DVD player. It was about the size of a paperback book and had the ability to play DVD’s. However, the reason Bette bought it for Paul, was because it’s main prupose was to be used as a book. You could buy discs for it, each about the size of a silver dollar, that held the equivalent of about thirty books. So if you wanted to read science fiction books, you could pick out thirty that you wanted to read, and have them burned onto a disc for you, or you could buy a disc that already had a preselection. Bette knew how much Paul liked books about both historical events, as well as mysteries, so she had included two discs specializing in those two topics, as well as five DVD’s, all if which Milaine had helped her pick out. Paul couldn’t believe that Bette had not only bought him this gift, but that she had included the discs and DVD’s. He had been looking at this exact same model while he was surfing the web the week before, dreaming about owning one, not so much because of the DVD capability, that technology had been around for a while, but because of all the books you could have access to with just a touch of your figure. He had thought that something like this could only be in his future, now here he was, holding it in his hands. Without hesitation, he jumped up and gave Bette a big hug. “Thanks Bette! This is awesome! Did you know that you can…” And with that he began to explain how it all worked, all the books he would be able to read, all the places he could take this with him just by carrying it in his back pocket…and Bette and Tina, who were sitting side by side on the couch, holding hands, just nodded and smiled while they listened to the obviously excited young man.

Alex and Dani had both stopped what they were doing when they heard Paul yell out ‘No way!’, but now resumed their own unwrapping. Alex got the wrapping paper off, but then found a cardboard box, with no printing. It had been taped up with a strong moving tape, so she looked to her Dad to help pull it off.

In the mean time, Dani had been slowly, methodically removing the paper from her present, which was in a box that stood almost a foot taller than Dani. She had an idea of what this was…and she could feel her excitement growing, as she prayed that she was right. She too came to a plain box with tape on it, and was about to ask her Dad for help, when she heard Bette say softly behind her…”here, let me help you with that.” Bette reached up to pull off the tape, while looking down at Dani…smiling. When they got the tape off, Dani slowly, with the utmost care, pulled back the top of the box. There laying in bubblewrap was the most beautiful easel she had ever seen. She gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand, before reaching out and running her hands along the smooth Mahogany wood. Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned and looked at Bette, not knowing what to say. Bette reached out and ran her hand along the side of Dani’s face. “Come on, let’s take it out of the box.”

Dani’s voice caught in her throat as she whispered, “Ok.” This was what she had hoped would be in the tall box that had been staring at her for days, but she never imagined that an easel could be as capturing as the one she was now holding. She always thought that the purpose of an easel was to support the artwork that the artist was creating. This easel, was a piece of art in itself. It was obviously old, and had been used for actual painting, not just for decoration. It could have been though, because all you wanted to do was to stare at it while running your hands along each leg…which had been painstakingly carved to look like a paintbrush. The overall appearance was mesmerizing, but the detail involved in creating the bristles of each brush was absolutely breathtaking. The artist had used a different color stain for the bristles of each brush, so when you looked at the apex of the easel, it looked as if the three brushes were joined as one, reminding the artist that by combining different colors they could create a vision that was uniquely their own.

As they gently brought it out of the box, and then pulled the three legs until they heard the soft click, locking them into place, neither one said a word. Then they each felt a hand on their shoulder as Tina came up behind them. “Oh Bette, it’s incredible,” Tina breathed out in a soft voice, full of reverence. “Where did you find it?” Bette reached out and laid her arm around Tina’s shoulders, as all three women just stared at the easel. “It belonged to a woman by the name of Paula Sanborn. She was by far my favorite American painter of the twentieth century, and I was lucky enough to get to know her during the last years of her life. She had a loft in Manhattan and came into the gallery one day. I was so honored to meet her, and she seemed to love the gallery…and well, we just hit it off. I would visit her once a week for lunch, every week that I was in town, up until she died.” Bette stopped and smiled at the memory of her dear friend, who had also been an incredibly talented painter. “She left me this when she died, along with a note asking me to pass it on to someone I knew, who would love it and treasure it as she had.” Bette reached out and squeezed Dani’s shoulder. “When I saw your paintings, I knew without a doubt where it belonged.”

Dani was speechless. She didn’t know what to say, knowing that no matter what came out of her mouth, it could never describe how she felt about receiving this gift. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Bette’s waist, burying her head in the taller woman’s chest. “Thank you,” she whispered. Bette lowered her head so her cheek was resting on the top of Dan’s head. “Your welcome,” she whispered back.

At that moment they all heard a squeal come from Alex…

Tbc