“Which you waited months to do. I’ve never known you to wait for sex for anyone,” Kit put her hands on her hips.

“Okay. Okay. Tina makes me feel alive. I’ve never felt this way before and it scares me.”

“You love her. And it’s okay to be open to love. I know it’s scary because of everything you’ve been through, but don’t close yourself off to love. Don’t keep her on the outskirts of your heart. Let her in. I’ve seen the way she is with you. Let her in, Baby Girl.”

It was an emotional night with Tina after speaking to Kit. She ordered Chinese food and opened Tina’s favorite bottle of wine. They cuddled on the couch. Bette nestled in between Tina’s legs, laying back on her chest. Tina kissing her periodically on the forehead while letting her fingers get lost in Bette’s thick curls. They didn’t speak with words allowing their bodies to communicate. Bette looked up and told Tina she had her whole heart. Tina leaned down and placed the softest kiss on Bette’s lips. Bette whispered, I love you into Tina’s parted lips. Tina pulled back slightly and looked deeply into Bette’s eyes. Bette remembered how her heart soared when Tina said it back.

“Tina called last night,” Bette said abruptly.

“Oh really,” Kit said. “What did she say?”

“I forwarded her call.”

“You what?”

“I didn’t answer. I sent her to voicemail. She only called because of the conversation she had with Alice,” Bette said with no emotion.

Kit recognized what Bette was doing and she was not going to allow her little sister to hide behind her walls or her work.

“Baby Girl, what the hell are you doing?”

“Nothing. What? What do you mean?” Bette tried to look flabbergasted.

“Why didn’t you answer when Tina called?”

Bette looked down at her hands.

“She left me,” Bette groaned.

“Maybe she wants to explain why she left. Maybe…”

“I don’t fucking care anymore, Kit. It doesn’t matter.”

“Now, Baby Girl, this is me you’re talking to. And I know you and you don’t mean that. So, what’s really going on?”

“I begged her to stay. I got down on my knees and literally begged her to fucking stay and you know what she did? She walked out. I haven’t heard from her in months. Nothing. She promised she’d never leave me but she did. Twice. First emotionally and then physically. She moved to another country. So forgive me if I need to protect myself.”

Kit could see the pain in Bette’s eyes. She was barely holding it together, on the verge of a breakdown. She pulled Bette in for a hug. Bette held on tight and sobbed into her big sister’s arms. Kit rocked her and stroked her back making little circles like she did when Bette was a kid.

“Baby Girl, there’s only one thing that cuts across all our realities. Love, the bridge between all our differences. And you have so much love in your life. People make mistakes. The people we love can sometimes hurt us. Y’all lost a baby. You were both in so much pain. She didn’t handle it well. It was fucked up the way she handled it. But you didn’t handle it great either. I know she loves you and I know you love her. Why are you trying to tear down that bridge? Why? Tina is not your mother.”

Bette sobbed harder and she allowed her sister to take care of her. It was the safest she’d felt in months.