Chapter three

When Bette woke up the next morning, she found Tina staring at her.
Bette: “Morning. How long have you been watching me?”
Tina: “Not long. You just looked so at ease, like you found some sort of inner peace.”
Bette: “I did remember, I met you.”
Tina blushed as Bette leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss.
Bette: “Thank god it’s Sunday.”
Tina: “Why?”
Bette: “Because I couldn’t get any work done today, even if my life depended on it. I would simply be thinking about you and last night all day long.”
Tina smiled her sexiest smile at Bette.
Tina: “Really? And why is that?”
Bette: “Because you were truly and utterly amazing. T, you took my breath away.”
Tina: “You sure as ***** took mine away too Bette.”
They both smiled at each other and kissed one last time before getting out of bed. They shared breakfast together in Bette’s apartment but soon Tina had to leave. She got dressed and embraced Bette. She wanted to stay but knew she couldn’t just drop her appointments.
Bette: “Do you really have to go?”
Tina: “Yes, there are children counting on me to make them feel better. Now we can’t turn those children down, can’t we?”
Bette: “No we can’t. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?”
Tina: “Sure, I’ll pick you up at 7. Is that good for you?”
Bette: “Perfect. I’ll see you at 7 baby.”
They sheared one final kiss before Tina left.

Bette decided that today would be a good day to call her parents. She called her mother first.
Bette: “Hey mom, it’s me.”
Cathy: “Hey Bette, how are you?”
Bette: “I’m fine mom, but what about you? Are you still having trouble walking?”
Cathy: “I’m doing great. My right leg is finally starting to move forward again instead of moving in circles.”
Bette: “Mom that’s great! I knew you would get stronger. You really deserve some luck you know.”
Cathy: “Thanks Bette. I just wish you could be here with me. I really miss you.”
Bette: “I miss you too mom. How is grandpa?”
Cathy: “He’s okay. I never thought he still cared so much about your grandmother. She completely destroyed his and our lives, but he never left her. His heart is just way too big. I would have never stayed if I were him, but then again I’m not. I never thought she would live so long though. All the alcohol and cigarettes, she still survived, even when the doctors said she would die if she ever touched a cigarette or beer again. I guess at one point enough was really enough. Are you coming to the funeral?”
Bette: “Yes, my flight leaves Tuesday and when I arrive at the airport Wednesday it should be around 10 a.m. in Belgium. Should I take a cab or can grandpa come pick me up?”
Cathy: “We’ll come and pick you up. The funeral is Thursday morning, so you’ll have plenty of time to rest.”
Bette: “I’ll call you if anything changes. I love you mom.”
Cathy: “I love you to Bette. Bye honey.”
Bette: “Bye mom.”

After having called her mother, Bette called her father.
Bette: “Hey dad.”
Thomas: “Hey sweetie, how are you?”
Bette: “I’m doing okay dad. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be in Belgium by Wednesday for grandma’s funeral and I’ll be in Belgium till Sunday. I wanted to spend some time with you, Samantha and Matty too.”
Thomas: “That would be great Bette. You can sleep in the spare bedroom or sleep with Matty if you want to.”
Bette: “I think Matty would prefer that I slept in the same room as him, don’t you? I just love the little guy so much. I really missed you all a lot.”
Thomas: “We missed you to. It’s weird not having you around. It’s really killing Matty. He needs his big sister, you know?”
Bette: “Yeah, it’ll be great seeing you all again. Could you come pick me up at mom’s house Friday afternoon?”
Thomas: “Sure, we’ll see you then. Goodbye sweetheart, I love you.”
Bette: “I love you to dad. Goodbye.”

Bette was relieved that her phone calls went so well. Both of her parents hadn’t mentioned David and she was glad that they didn’t. She didn’t have the strength to go through everything on the phone again. She would talk to them about it up front. Bette quickly took a shower, got dressed and headed out for lunch. She spend the rest of the afternoon wandering through the streets of LA when suddenly she saw someone who was the spinning image of David. Bette couldn’t move at all, the images she had pushed away for such a long time all came back to her. Trying to push everything away made everything worse. The pain was more intense than before and she ran back to her apartment as fast as she could, where she completely broke down.

When Tina knocked on the front door of Bette’s apartment, she first thought Bette simply wasn’t there. It was only 3 o’clock and they weren’t supposed to meet till 7, but Tina had this feeling she needed to be with Bette. Her appointments were finished sooner than expected so she decided to follow her instinct and go see Bette. When she listened carefully, she heard Bette sobbing. She tried to open the door and it actually was unlocked. She found Bette crying on the bed and immediately took her in her arms. She caressed Bette’s back with one hand while she tried to calm Bette down.
Tina: “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here now.”
Bette: “Please don’t leave me T.”
Tina: “I won’t.”
Bette quickly calmed down by Tina’s presence and soothing words.
Tina: “Bette, what happened?”
Bette: “I…I…Tina I saw…I saw somebody who looked a lot like David…”
Tina: “Who is David Bette?”
Bette: “He’s my ex I told you about. When I saw that face today, it brought back all the memories, all the pain and all the fear. I thought I forgot all about him, but he’s still in my mind. Why won’t he leave?”
Tina: “What did he do to you Bette?”
Bette: “When I told him I wanted to leave him, he wanted to show me what I would be missing. He…He almost raped me Tina. Luckily my father just came in looking for me and David got arrested. He spent one day in jail but got bailed out. He kept threatening me, sending me letters and e-mails, telling how he would hurt me and my family. He even once tried to burn down my father’s house. That’s when I decided I had to leave, not only for me but also for my family…”
All this shocked Tina, but Bette was even more shocked. It was the first time she had been able to open up to someone like that. She realized right ten that she was truly falling in love with this woman…
Tina: “Bette, lets just stay here tonight. I’ll cook us some dinner so you can relax, okay?”
Bette: “Thanks Tina, you’re an angel.”

After dinner, Bette and Tina went to the bedroom. Tina helped Bette undress and tucked her into bed.
Bette: “T?”
Tina: “Yes Bette?”
Bette: “Could you stay with me tonight? I really need you right now.”
Tina: “Off course baby.”
Tina got undressed and crawled into bed next to Bette. Bette laid her head on Tina’s chest and listened to the beating of her heart. It relaxed her.
Bette: “T?”
Tina: “Yeah baby?”
Bette: “Thank you for being here with me.”
Tina: “Anytime baby. Sleep tight baby, I’m right here if you need me.”
Bette continued listening to Tina’s heartbeat and quickly dozed off, Tina following not to long after her.

To be continued…