The Adventures Of Bette Porter And Sissee Gardner After Yale (Part 4, Chapter 6)

PART FOUR: NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Chapter 6

On the way home from the Blue Beet, Bette told me that she wanted me to meet her mother. I said I would love to but there was not much time left before my Wisconsin trip.

I suggested they come to Newport on Wednesday evening, and I would treat them to a nice dinner at a fine restaurant.

It just happened that on Wednesday night I was invited to the Balboa Island home of one of our newspaper’s financial backers to watch the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. I told Bette that after our dinner we could go there together. I assured her I would contact the host in advance to make sure extra guests were okay.

We took quick showers when we got home and slid under the day bed covers fast because it was on the cool side. We snuggled close to each other, exchanged a few soft kisses and soon fell asleep.

Winter was California’s rainy season and so I was not surprised to wake up in the middle of the night to hear rain on the roof. It was coming down hard. Bette seemed to be sleeping through it but I laid awake, thinking about her coming to Newport, our confrontation about Howie, my going to Wisconsin. It was all about me. But what about her? What about her end of it? I really did not know anything about who she had been seeing for the last six months.

She stirred, as if she was reading my mind.

“Are you awake?” I asked, over the rain storm.

“Barely,” she murmured. We were both laying on our sides, facing each other. I reached a hand up to her face and stroked her cheek.

“Do you like the rain?” I asked.

“It sounds nice.”

“It’s cold outside and nice and warm under our covers.”

“Feels good to be close to you.”

“If you weren’t close to me, who would you be close to?”

“My pillow.”

“I was thinking more like flesh and blood.”

“No one.”

“Well, really, now that I’ve made a commitment, how about you?”

“It goes without saying.”