Previously…

“Thanks for coming, you guys,” Bette said honestly, looking around the room. “It’s good to be home.”

She winked at me and flashed a beautiful smile, and I gently sat down next to her in bed. Bette rested her head on my shoulder, grabbing my hand and linking her fingers in mine. Jenny took a seat at the foot of the bed while Shane and Carmen watched on at my side. Our whole family was gathered together again, in the comfort of our home, fawning over Bette and welcoming her back home. It was a beautiful moment, and I was happy to share it with the women I loved.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next few weeks flew by. Bette was getting stronger with each passing day, and she vowed to return to work by the end of the month. I had reconnected with an old friend who was working for the social justice headquarters and was offered a position there, much to the dismay of my co-workers at the temp agency in San Marino. My first day back at work was busy and hectic, but thoughts of going home to Bette kept me grounded.

Around noon on my first day at work, my cell phone rang and I searched for it frantically underneath the piles of papers on my desk. My first day on the job and the files had already piled up. I finally found the tiny silver phone and flipped it open.

“Hi, baby,” I heard on the other end.

“Hi,” I said as I sighed heavily. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Bette replied. “Bored, but good. When are you coming home to play with me?”

“Oh, babe, I wish I could be there right now,” I told her honestly. There was nothing more in the world I wanted than to crawl in bed with Bette and cuddle up with her. Well, taking a luxurious bubble bath with her might be better…. or a long, hot shower… my mind was quickly drifting to places it shouldn’t be, at least not while I was at work, so I cleared my throat and struggled to regain my composure.

“Everything okay?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“Yeah,” I responded absently. “Everything’s fine, I’m just really busy today. Busier than I thought I’d be on my first day.”

“What are you so busy with?”

“I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but right now’s not a good time. Let me finish up this work so I can come home early, k?”

“Okay, I’ll let you go. But I have a big surprise for you tonight, so I hope you can get home soon.”

“Oooh, a surprise, huh? Like a sweet, home-cooked-meal surprise, or a ***** naked surprise?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see. Now get back to work.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon, babe. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

As I hung up the phone, I noticed I had an audience at my door. Sharon, one of the administrative assistants, and Chad, a fellow grant-writer, looked on with curious smiles. I blushed with embarrassment, hoping they hadn’t heard the entire conversation but knowing from the looks on their faces that they had.

“And what lucky guy got to be on the other end of that conversation?” Sharon asked with a smile.

“Sounds like he’s in for a wild night,” Chad commented, raising an eyebrow.

I was torn between telling them the truth and covering it up in a lie. I knew that neither of them would make a big deal nor even think anything of it if I told them about Bette, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be that open and vulnerable with my co-workers yet. Sighing heavily and admitting defeat, I decided to take the plunge and tell them the truth.

“Actually,” I said, “that was my partner, Bette.”

I waited a moment for it to sink in, but Sharon didn’t quite catch on as quickly.

“Your partner?” she asked with a confused look on her face.

“Yeah,” I replied, smiling. “My partner. Do you want to see a picture?”

I fetched my favorite picture of Bette and me from my desktop, the only personalized item in my office so far. It was taken a few years ago in the backyard of our home, right next to the pool. Bette was lying back in a chaise lounger and I was sitting comfortably between her legs, my back against her chest. She had her arms wrapped around me and my head was resting comfortably on her *****. Shane had taken it, and I remember how perfect that day was. I brought the picture over for Sharon and Chad to see, and they both smiled.

“I get it, your partner,” Sharon said, finally connecting the dots. “Well, she’s just lovely, dear.”

“Lovely?” Chad asked incredulously. “She’s gorgeous, Tina. Really, she’s absolutely beautiful.”

“She is, isn’t she?” I said with a smile, gazing lovingly at the picture.

“How long have you two been a couple?” Sharon asked.

“Well,” I began, thinking of ways to describe our relationship. “We were together for almost eight years and then had a bit of a rough patch for awhile and split up for about six months. But we have just recently reconnected and are happier than ever.”

“That’s amazing,” Chad commented, a far-off gaze on his face. “It seems like no one can stay together that long anymore.”

“She’s a pretty amazing woman,” I said. “I’m lucky to have her.”

“And she’s just as lucky to have you,” Sharon told me with a wink. “Anyway, what we really came by to talk about, other than your beautiful wife, is that meeting this afternoon with Helena Peabody.”

“Peabody,” I repeated, knowing I’d heard that name before. “Any relation to Peggy Peabody, the art collector?”

“Peggy is Helena’s mother,” Chad told me as he sat down in one of my easy chairs. Sharon occupied the other and I took my seat behind my desk. “You’re into art, huh?”

“Bette is,” I explained. “She’s the director of the California Art Center and met with Peggy about an art collection a year ago. She went out to New York and everything. She seemed really impressed with Peggy.”

“Her daughter is equally as impressive,” Chad continued. “The Peabody’s are a very wealthy and generous family in this area and Helena awards a large grant every year to certain charitable establishments here in LA. We’ve been in her good graces this year and we’re hoping to get our hands on some of that money, which is where you come in. I’ve been spearheading this project on my own for the past few weeks, and I’m hoping you can help me out.”

“Anything I can do to help us get money,” I offered.

“Great,” Chad said. “The meeting is this afternoon at two o’clock, why don’t I get you caught up on the project until then? Let’s do lunch over at Woodbridge.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“I’ll get everything set up for when you get back,” Sharon said as we left the office.

Chad and I took off in his car, snaking our way through midday traffic towards the quaint restaurant on the west side of the city. We sat down at a quiet table and he began to discuss his plan of attack. I saw the passion and intensity in his eyes and felt so fortunate to be working with this man. ‘He really loves what he does,’ I thought, watching his animated face as he described the pitch he was going to make to Helena. ‘This is what I’ve been missing all these years.’ I had always been happy at Alphaville, but the job lacked the passion that I saw residing in Chad’s expressions. I knew now that this was my chance to give back and make a difference in the world. I snapped back to reality, where lunch was concluding. Chad had outlined the entire pitch, giving me some creative control and allowing me to toss in my expertise along the way.

After our hour lunch had finished, we had outlined an impressive and organized sales pitch. We made our way back to the office just in time to greet our guest of honor.

“She’ll be in momentarily,” Sharon told us as she left the conference room.

I looked over at Chad, who winked at me with an encouraging smile. I took a deep breath, adjusting my skirt and smoothing my hair down to make a good first impression. ‘If everything goes well,’ I thought, ‘we could soon have $100,000 for the people that need it.’ Empowered by this thought, I stood tall and confident as the door opened and a gorgeous woman walked into our conference room.

(TBC…)