“Helena will 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.

* * * * * * * * * *

Helena Peabody strode gracefully into the conference room, an image of confidence, poise, glamour, and perfection. She extended a hand to me and smiled, introducing herself with a twinge of a British accent.

“Tina Kennard,” I managed to spit out. “And this is Chad Harper.”

With the pleasantries exchanged, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, would be drawn to Helena because of her pure beauty alone. When she started talking, she was even more captivating. I noticed her glancing at me occasionally as Chad and I made our pitch, and I struggled to stay on task. The next hour crawled by, but we made an effective and compelling plea to the Peabody Foundation to award one of their grants to our cause and I was proud of the work Chad and I had done.

“So, Tina,” I heard Helena say as we concluded the meeting, “if I have any further questions, should I contact you?”

“Uh, sure, that’d, that’d be fine,” I stuttered. “My phone number and e-mail are listed right here on this hand-out.”

“Well, thank you for this opportunity,” she said.

“Oh, no, thank you,” Chad emphasized. “We appreciate you hearing us out, and we look forward to hearing back from you.”

“Likewise,” Helena replied, winking at me slightly.

As soon as she left, I breathed for the first time in an hour. I struggled to compose myself as I sat at my desk, reviewing everything that had just transpired. My eyes wandered slowly to the picture of me and Bette, and I felt a twinge of guilt in my gut. Sighing, I reminded myself of the beautiful woman I had waiting for me at home, and I vowed to push all inappropriate thoughts of Helena Peabody out of my mind. ‘Sure, she’s beautiful,’ I thought to myself as I gathered my things to leave for the evening. ‘But she’s no Bette.’

“Great job today, Tina,” Chad said as I passed his office on my way out.

“Thanks,” I replied. “You too. I think things are looking good for us.”

“Now all we have to do is write the grant proposal,” Chad reminded me. “First thing tomorrow, it’s you and me and a computer.”

“I’m there,” I promised. “Goodnight, Chad.”

“See you tomorrow, Tina,” Chad said, nodding.

I walked out to my car and smiled, remembering Bette’s comments from our earlier phone conversation. A surprise was awaiting me at our home, and I sped the entire way there.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Babe?” I called out when I walked through the front door. “I’m home.”

“Back here!” Bette yelled back from the bedroom.

I grinned to myself, knowing that I’d like this surprise already. I dropped my purse and briefcase by the door and stepped towards our bedroom. The room was darkened, but Bette was busy lighting candles around the bed to cast a soft and flickering light. I stopped in the doorway, watching her move quietly around the room, not even noticing my presence.

“Oh, you’re here,” she said when she turned around and noticed me watching her.

“What is all this?” I asked, a sly smile crossing my face.

“It’s for you,” she answered softly. “Now come here and lay down with me.”

I did as I was told, kicking my shoes off before sliding onto the bed. Bette joined me seconds later and greeted me with a sweet hello kiss. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at me while I lay on my back, my fingers tangled up in her hair.

“There’s something I want to give you,” Bette began. She showed me her tightly-fisted hand, implying that my surprise was wrapped up in her palm. I raised an eyebrow, not quite sure where she was going with this. “It belongs to you, and I want you to have it back. It symbolizes all that I am, and all that I have to give to you, and I would be honored if you would wear it again.”

My eyes widened, and I knew exactly what was in Bette’s hand. I felt a lump rise up in my throat, tears of joy springing to my eyes. As she slowly opened her hand, my heart skipped a beat.

There in the palm of her hand were our two commitment rings, lying side by side. The piece of Bette’s heart that I’d worn on my finger for seven years, the symbol of her soul, her entire being wrapped up in a gold band. I smiled at her, wiping the tears from my cheeks and noticing her own tears in her eyes.

“I never thought I’d see you wear this ring again,” Bette told me honestly. “That night, that terrible, awful night, when you left this behind, I felt like my entire world was over. This was the only thing I could hold onto that reminded me of you, and I carried it around in my pocket for six months.”

“You did?” I whispered, teary-eyed.

“I didn’t want to give up,” she continued. “Carrying it around made me feel like there was still hope, hope that I could still somehow get you back. And now, I have. I have gotten you back, and I’m never letting go of you again, T. I want you to wear this ring not as a memory of what happened to us before, but as a piece of me that never left you and will always be with you, to think of where we’ve been and where we’re going together.”

I sat there speechless for the first time in recent memory. Bette had literally left me speechless, and the only thing I could do was cry. She leaned towards me and wiped my tears away, kissing my eyelids softly and stroking my cheek with the back of her hand. When I had finally composed myself, I smiled at her and nodded, offering her my hand.

“I’ll only wear it if you put it on me where it belongs,” I told her quietly.

Bette smiled back and took my ring from her hand. Slowly sliding it down my finger and resting it just below my knuckle, she then brought my finger up to her lips and kissed it softly.

“It still fits,” she commented, admiring the look of her ring on my finger.

“It always did, and it always will,” I said.

I grabbed her ring from the palm of her hand and mimicked her actions, sliding her band onto the finger where it belonged. We sat there in silence, staring into each other eyes and feeling a contentment that I never thought I’d feel again.

“Come here,” she whispered, pulling me into her.

I obliged and cuddled into her chest, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. Lying there in our bed, wearing our rings again, nothing else in the entire world mattered except us. I sighed peacefully and closed my eyes, listening only to Bette’s heart beating in time with mine.

(TBC…)