Tina takes hold of Bette’s left hand and they entwine their fingers in a familiar way. She couldn’t help but think that at one time her ring adorned Bette’s finger and Bette’s adorned hers as a symbol of their lifetime commitment.

“First, Last, Forever” had been inscribed on the inside of the 18K white gold bands. Tina had removed her ring when she started dating Helena and she never put it back on. Bette removed hers after they broke up the second time when Angie was six months old. They both still had the rings safely stored with other valuable jewelry but in the six months they’d been together neither one has mentioned them. With all their intimate talks the subject of the rings has never been raised. Have they been avoiding it or has it really not entered either of their minds before now?

***

It’s at the forefront of Tina’s mind now as her thoughts drift to the last night they had spent at Emma and Liz’s cabin on Big Bear Lake when they had given each other their hearts. They had toasted with champagne and exchanged the shared heart necklaces with the promise to take care of the heart they were now entrusted with.

Tina: Babe I pledge my heart and all of my love to you. I will be faithful and true to you. I promise to always be there for you, and I will never run away from you or us. You can trust me to treasure your heart as my own. I want to spend eternity sharing my love with you. You complete me and I will love you forever. To us; two hearts, one love.

Bette: My Tee. I give my heart to you and I trust you to take care of it. You can trust me with yours and I will never give you cause to run away from me or us again. You and Angie are the sweetest joys of my world and I am forever grateful to you for sharing her with me. I love you now and I will love you forever. To us: two hearts, one love.

They had meant the words spoken that night and so far they had kept their promises to each other.

It was getting close to sunset now. Tina comes out of her reflective mood and calls Angie to join them. Angie runs to parents excited to show them the treasures that she’d gathered in her little bucket.

“Momma? Look what I found on the beach.”

“What is it baby?” Bette sits up from Tina’s lap to get a better look at what Angie is showing her.

It appears to be a frosted glass bottle with a seal and a cork and it’s covered with sand. Bette brushes off the sand and can feel that the bottle has something imprinted on it. When the sand is cleared away she sees it’s etched with three overlapping hearts situated inside a broad circle. “Eternal Love” is engraved on the circle that surrounds the hearts. Bette shakes the bottle and realizes that there is something inside it.

“Where did you find this sweetie?”

“I was digging in the sand and my shovel hit it and I pulled it out. What is it Momma? What’s inside?”

“I don’t know. I have to remove the seal and the cork.”

Tina, Angie and Bette sit in a circle on the blanket with the sun setting on the horizon and the waves beating against the shore. There is barely enough daylight left to see what Bette holds in her hands, but they are anxious to break the seal and remove the cork to discover the contents of this beautifully etched bottle.

They hope that whatever they find inside gives them a clue as to where it came from and who it belongs to. Did it wash up on shore or did someone drop it in the sand. Three interconnected hearts encircled with the hope and promise of eternal love; was it deliberately left behind to be found by someone who would take better care of it or was it someone’s carelessness that caused it to be lost.