A soft rap on the door rattled Bette from her sleep. She opened her eyes to the warm glow of the evening sun which beamed through the large windows. Struggling to get her bearings, her tired body resisted the need to get up and answer the door. Bette became aware of Tina’s body pressed closely against hers.  This made her feel even more resistant to move. She softly called out “Hello.”

A friendly voice from the other side of the door said, “Hello, hi. Just wanted to let you know, dinner is in an hour.”

“Thank you,” Bette replied. “We will be there.”

 She glanced at her watch and saw that it was five o’clock. Tina stirred and moved herself yet closer to Bette.  Bette became absorbed in this. She lay quietly listening to Tina softly breathing. She remembered intently, times like this she and Tina shared in bed, not only the passionate times, but the comfortable intimacy that they experienced just being together. She didn’t want to disturb Tina nor break the magic of this moment.

Bette turned to face Tina, she reached over to brush back the hair that had fallen over her eyes. Tina then opened her eyes and stared at Bette. She saw immediately the loving look on her face. Tina whispered, “Hi.”

Bette whispered “Hi” in return. She felt frozen, but managed to say, “Someone just came to remind us that dinner is in an hour.”

With hesitation, Tina then spoke up and said, “We should be getting ready soon.” She smiled reluctantly. They lay there a few more minutes, neither wanting to be the first one to move.

“You have enough sleep?” Bette asked her, as she held back the wanting to kiss Tina’s soft pink lips.

“I think I could sleep for days,” she revealed, then stretched as she turned onto her back.

Bette sat up, as she ran her fingers through her already tousled hair. “I think I’ll shower,” she said pulling herself to her feet. With a sly smirk, she looked at Tina and said “Care to join me?” She snickered and walked on into the bathroom.

It wasn’t quite six o’clock when Bette and Tina walked into the Micelli’s dining room. The table seemed to stretch out for miles and they were surprised to find half the Micelli family joining them for dinner.