The two afflicted women felt the connection forming between them. Lay between them was a woman they’d both walked out on; a woman they’d both loved and left. They sat either side, their hands each cupping one limp wrist. It was not the physical correlation that linked Tina and Jodi; The affinity was what they represented. They were each a part of the sleeping woman.

Tina was Bette’s past; they had spent years together building a home, sharing together, thriving together. Jodi was Bette’s present; they’d found each other and conquered their own personalities to better themselves; Bette’s control issues and Jodi’s monogamy problem.

In the silence that settled between them, the question hung like occupied nooses; Who was to be the future? And while their minds raced in circling speculation, there was another unspoken enigma; Would Bette even have a future?

The daunting prospect suffocated Tina. She thought of all the times she could’ve said something. She remembered feeling the cracks in her essence when Bette left for New York. The awkward kiss they’d shared that had been replayed in her head for endless hours.

Heart thumping a steady crescendo against her breast, she lowered her head so her face was concealed. She felt guilty abusing the advantages of Jodi’s disability but she also couldn’t hold out much longer.

“Bette?” she whispered, “Baby, I’m sorry; so, so sorry. You need to know. I-“ Her breathing hitched; Bette’s previously inactive finger had briefly twitched. She looked at the quiescent face and continued, knowing she could be heard. “I know you can hear me, Bette. I feel you.” She paused, her thoughts tangled now that they had a recipient.

“I feel you here” she continued, touching the still hand. “I feel you here” she said, bringing the fingertips to her lips. “And I feel you here, Bette.” She touched the hand against her chest.

Jodi watched Tina from across the bed, kissing the hand and moving it to feel her heart. She saw how the blonde squinted against her tears and she took in the movement of the lips as they released a three word sentence.

For the first time in her life, Jodi heard. With no real idea what Tina’s voice sounded like, her mind conjured a sweet song for her to hearken. Altruism had never really played a part in her personality. She openly admitted her life-long egocentricity. But in that moment, she finally understood what drove that philanthropy. She saw the love furnish the room, and she knew she would never, could never compare. She knew she was the obstacle blocking the right path.

That’s why, on that day, in that white hospital room, she stood from her place beside the greatest love she’d ever known and left. As she paused at the door, she turned to address the room’s occupants. With Tina’s untrained eyes and Bette’s closed ones, she signed her feelings with complete honesty; knowing they couldn’t be seen.

“Goodbye, Bette Porter. I’m not sorry for the time we spent; you’ve shown me more than a lifetime of love. Now I release you, for I know you’d never have released yourself. I pray you find yourself back in the life you deserved. I trust you both to see sense and rediscover what you should never have forgotten.”

She smiled at Tina through the obstructing emotion and spoke out as clearly as her hindered voice would allow.

“I did love her, Tina. But she never stopped loving you. Treat her well. Please.”

And without waiting for any reaction, she walked away; her tears matching with every step.