At that moment they all heard a squeal come from Alex, as she had not be able to contain the excitement surging through her body. However, after that one burst of emotion had escaped her, she became very quiet, and gently picked up one of the books that had been carefully packed. In a soft voice, she read the title. “Trixie Belden and the Mysterious Visitor.” She laid it on the carpet and looked back in the box, slowly bringing out the next book. “Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Glen Road.” Alex repeated this several more times before looking up at Bette, who had walked over and was kneeling next to her.

“I don’t have any of these,” she whispered. Then she looked over at the other three unopened boxes, and her eyes opened wide with understanding. She looked at Bette and breathed out her question. “Are these all filled with Trixie Belden books?”

Tina had followed Bette over to where Alex was sitting and reached down resting her hand on Bette’s shoulder. She smiled at her daughter, knowing how much this gift meant to her. Alex had grown to love the books about the blond, curly haired tomboy and her quiet friend Honey. But, Tina’s mother only had six of the books to give her, and she had poured over them all, reading them again and again. In a way, the characters of Trixie and Honey, and all the mischief they found themselves in, had brought so much comfort to Alex. Especially during a time when she was trying to understand the changing dynamics brought about by her parents divorce. It became a fun escape where she could imagine having a best friend just like Honey, and together they would solve all the worlds mysteries.

Knowing that it was Tina’s mother who had given Alex the books in the first place, Bette had wanted to make sure it was Ok to give Alex her collection. Tina, who was both thrilled and touched by Bette’s gesture, had agreed wholeheartedly. Bette now looked down at Alex, feeling a surge of love as she saw the look of wonderment sweep across the eight year olds face. “Yes, all four boxes are filled with Trixie’s books. I know you already have six, but there were a total of thirty-nine books written about her adventures with Honey. And, well…since I have the complete collection, I thought maybe you would like to have them.” Bette stopped for a minute, a little hesitant to voice what she hoped to share with the beautiful daughter of her partner. “I thought that maybe, if you wanted to, that we could read together sometimes. I miss reading about Trixie and Honey.” She smiled at Alex, trying with her eyes and her smile to convey the connection they shared through these books.

Alex blushed at the memory of her and her Mom being curled up in bed with Bette, reading on Thanksgiving morning. She quickly glanced over at her father, questioning for a moment if it was Ok to like Bette as much as she did. She thought that maybe it was, because her Dad seemed to like her too…but still, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that if she shared these kinds of moments with Bette, that somehow she was betraying her father. She didn’t totally think that was true, but there was still a little nagging feeling there. She decided to think about that more, but later. Right now, Bette and her mother were looking at her, waiting for her response. She reached up and gave Bette a quick hug, and smiled at her, then lowered her eyes, feeling the bout of shyness that seemed to take over whenever this older woman looked directly at her. “Yea…Ok, we could do that sometime.”

All of a sudden, she jumped up, remembering that she now had thirty-three new books to read. She turned to her father. “Dad, can you help me carry the books upstairs. I need to take them out and put them in order.” She clapped her hands together in excitement. “I get to start at the beginning, and see how Trixie and Honey first met!!” She carefully picked up four of the books and turned towards the stairs, heading for her bedroom. Half way up the stairs, she stopped, realizing she had forgotten something. She turned to Bette, her face beaming…”thank you Bette…a lot!” And then slowly continued up the stairs, holding the books as if they were made of glass.

Tina squeezed Bette’s shoulder, as she smiled and shook her head. “Well, you certainly haven’t lost your touch.” Bette took Tina’s hand that was resting on her shoulder and brought it to her lips, then held the back of Tina’s hand against her cheek. “Does that mean I picked out the right gifts for them?”

Tina laughed. “You know you did.” She looked over at Dan and Kathy, who had been silently watching the scene unfold in front of them. “I told you she had a knack for this.”

Dan smiled and nodded his head, but on the inside he surprised himself by thinking, ‘Who would have ever believed that I would actually be happy that Tina is in love with a woman? Not me…that’s for sure. But here I am, so grateful that Bette is in her life…in all our lives.’

He grinned at Bette. “She’s right Bette. Thank you for picking out such wonderful gifts for the children. Each one was perfect…although, I don’t think we are going to see them again any time soon!” He looked around noting that the room was empty, except for the four of them. Paul and Alex were in their rooms reading, and Dani had taken the easel up to her room with the help of Kathy, who had just rejoined them.

“Thank you Dan. With all the changes that are going to be happening, I really wanted to get them each something special, just for them.” Bette leaned forward and picked up a package the size of a shoe box, as well as an envelope. “We’re not done yet though. There are still a couple of gifts, just waiting to be opened.” She looked at Dan and they shared a conspiratorial smile. “Here Tina, merry Christmas.” She handed Tina the package.

Tina wasn’t sure what to do. She remembered very well what Bette’s presents to her were like, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to open it in front of her ex-husband. She looked at Bette, questioning.

Bette could sense Tina’s hesitation. She leaned over and kissed Tina’s cheek, right next to her ear, and whispered…”it’s Ok, Baby…go ahead.” That’s all the encouragement Tina needed. She ripped off the paper in a manner that was similar to how her children had reacted when opening their gifts. Underneath was an actual shoebox. She lifted the lid up, only to find two envelopes. The first was fairly bulky, the second…thin.

With a curious look on her face, she glanced at Bette and smiled. She opened the first envelope and pulled out four airline tickets. “What the…” Looking at the names and dates she started to laugh. “Bette! This is too much!” The tickets were dated for December 27th, with a return date of January 2nd, and were in the names of all three children, and Tina. Destination, New York City.

“Tina, please…let me do this. I want you all to come and visit me in New York. You haven’t even been to my home yet, and the city is a wonderful place to be during the Christmas week. Milaine is so excited to show the kids around, and there’s no better place to be on New Year’s Eve than New York.” Bette reached out and stroked Tina’s cheek. “Please…”

Tina was thrilled at the prospect of visiting New York at this time of year, and how could she resist the chance to spend New Years with her beautiful Bette. “Oh Bette…this is going to be a wonderful treat for the children. But I insist that I pay for the hotel.”

“Hotel?” Bette looked at Tina like she was crazy. “Why would you stay in a hotel? There is plenty of room at the house.” It dawned on Bette at that moment that she and Tina had never really talked about the house that she had shared with Nica and Milaine. Tina had no idea how much room they had, or didn’t have. She also realized at that moment that there was a very important conversation that as a couple, they still needed to have. ‘Well, no time like the present!’ “Baby…really, the house is plenty big. There is no reason to stay in a hotel.”

Tina wasn’t sure. Unlike Bette’s hesitation over staying here, she had no problem with the idea of staying in the home that Bette shared with Nica, but she didn’t think Bette understood how busy it can be with three children around all the time. Of course, Bette would find out soon enough, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to subject her to that right now. “I don’t know…”

“Tina, honestly…the house has eight bedrooms and six bathrooms. I think the children will be able to find somewhere to sleep!”

Tina was shocked! “Eight bedrooms…in Manhattan! Jesus Bette!”

Before Bette could respond, Dan and Kathy shared a look, and decided that now would be a good time to go see Dani’s new easel. “Hey, we’re just going to run upstairs for a couple minutes.” With that, they scooted off the couch and made a hasty retreat upstairs.

Tina was still looking at Bette, waiting for an answer…not understanding why two women would have that big of house, and in one of the most expensive cities on earth. “What made you and Nica decide to buy such a large house?”

Bette reached out and took Tina’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. “Do you remember how I told you that I would pay for the house out here, and that between my galleries and the money Nica left me, that money was no longer a motivating factor in my decisions?”

Tina nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

“Well, the house that I now own, was the house that Nica and Leslie grew up in. Their father was extremely successful in the stock market, back in the 1980s, and then turn that into some serious money by buying up properties in and around New York. When their parents died, Leslie and Nica were the sole heirs to what was by then, quite a large fortune. Leslie had no interest in living in the house, so Nica bought her out and she and I moved in.” Bette stopped and looked directly in Tina’s eyes. “I didn’t know it at the time, but when Nica was still alive, she and Leslie wrote their Wills together…with Nica leaving her half of the inheritance to me.” Bette looked down at their two hands joined together. “I didn’t know anything about it until after Nica died. I was shocked, and terribly worried about how Leslie would feel. It was after all, her parents money. Leslie insisted that Milaine and I were Nica’s family, and if I were a man, there would have been no question about my getting half the estate. She wanted us to have the money.” Bette looked back up at a very surprised Tina. “So when I say that we don’t have to worry about money…I mean, we really don’t have to worry about money.”

Tina didn’t quite know what to say. She knew that Bette had obtain a certain amount of financial freedom with the success of her galleries, and she knew that Nica had left her enough to be ‘comfortable,’ but she had no clue as to the actual figures involved. “Wow…so when you say we really don’t have to worry about money, what exactly does that mean.”

Bette smiled. “Well, let’s just say that not only do you and I not have to work if we don’t want to, but neither do our children…or their children, for that matter.”

Tina blew out a breath, and ran her fingers through her hair. “*****…”

Bette just nodded her head. “Yea…”

The two women sat in silence for a moment, letting this news sink in for Tina. “So…will you come and stay at the house? No hotels?”

Tina laughed. “Absolutely!”

Bette reached out and pulled Tina into her arms, letting their lips join for the softest, sweetest kiss…

Then Bette moved her mouth over and nibbled on Tina’s ear. “Good…now, open the second envelope, Baby.”

Tbc