Mary: Did she kiss you good night?

Tina: No, not that night. She was very careful not to make any romantic moves. She was very ladylike and did not want to encroach on my private space. I think she wanted to, but she was not going to (air quotes) “scare me off”.  We had dinner again the following night, which was an almost repeat of the night before. But this time when we walked on the beach, I hooked my arm into hers to bring her near as we walked side by side. It was windy, and I wanted her nearby. That night when she got me to the door, she did kiss me. Again, it was a gentle and sweet kiss. And then she went home. She called me to say goodnight again for the next day was a work day and we probably would not see each other until the following weekend.

Bette:  I remember those two nights. I remember we talked about a lot of things. How you got into the movie industry. About your family and your upbringing. You talked about Eric and how you had just broken up with him and why.  You talked about your college days and I talked a some about me. We laughed and I really enjoyed those evenings. You were someone I wanted in my life. Surely, we could be friends if nothing else.

Tina: I wanted that too. And it didn’t take much to figure out that I wanted more than that. I was just scared that I was in some kind of phase or temporary state. I was scared that I would hurt Bette somehow by not being able to make something real of this. I was afraid of what others would say and how it would affect my job, my family, my life. So many things were going on in my mind. But I could not just walk away either. I wanted her in my life and even if I lost my job, my friends, my family… it would all be worth this woman being in my life. The fact is I knew that I loved Bette and I also knew that she loved me and no matter what happened, she would stand by me no matter what. And Bette shown me the patience of Job. She never wavered. She waited for me to be ready to go forward and she never once pressured me to do anything I wasn’t ready for.