Tina filled two glasses with ice and placed them on the counter in front of Bette and watched as Bette filled them with the beverage. The crackling of the ice broke the silence in the kitchen. 

Bette handed the first glass to Tina.  “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Tina carried salad and glass to the table and placed them on the place mat. “How was your walk?” She asked as Bette joined her at the table.

“It was good.” Bette picked up her fork. “I walked to the jetty and to the lighthouse at the end of the island.”

“That’s a pretty long walk.” Tina noted Bette’s somewhat rosy complexion. “You didn’t put any sunblock on you. Your shoulders are burned.”

Bette glanced downed at her shoulders. She moved the tank top to the side. “Hey, you’re right. I better be more careful.”

Tina took a sip of her iced tea. “Your nose is a little red,” she chuckled.

Bette touched her nose. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll look at it later after lunch.” Bette took a bite of the salad. “Hmm, this is good. You can’t believe how hungry I am after that walk.”

“Oh, I can believe it. I’ve walked to the lighthouse and back a few times.” Tina reached across the table. She placed hand on top of Bette’s. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Tee, it’s okay. Don’t worry about. I understand that you have work you need to do.”

“Thanks, but that wasn’t the only reason.” Tina took a deep breath and released it. She glanced up at the brunette seated next to her. “I love you Bette. Seeing you lying on the gurney made me realized that I never stopped loving you. I pushed all those feelings aside in order for me to move on, but deep down…I love you.” Tina confessed. Tears had started to fill her eyes and she didn’t want to blink because she didn’t want the tears to spill over. Her throat tightened as she waited for Bette’s reaction.

“Tee, during my walk I had a lot of time to think about us.” She gave Tina a small smile. “I really want us to try again. Last night…upstairs, you said we could take it slow and that’s what I want to do. I want us to spend this time getting to know each other again.” She took Tina’s hand in hers and squeezed it. She leaned forward and cupped Tina’s face with her free hand to wipe away a tear drop that slowly rolled down Tina’s cheek. “Baby,” Bette’s own throat had started to tighten. “Please don’t cry. I hate to see you cry,” she whispered. Bette pushed her chair away from the table. “Come here,” she urged Tina over to her lap. When Tina obliged, she gathered her in her arms and tightened her arms around the blonde’s waist. “I love you, Tee.” She cried in Tina’s chest, speaking directly to her heart. Tears spilled from Bette’s eyes as she looked up capture Tina’s eyes with hers. “I love you so much. I don’t want us to mess this up because I don’t know if I can survive you leaving me a second time.” She paused as Tina brushed away a strand of hair. “I want this to be forever and for it to be forever, we need to be honest with each other and we need to do that by talking and we need to talk about what happened…from the miscarriage on.”

Tina placed her head on Bette’s forehead. “I agree. I want this to be forever Bette. No holding back. I want you to be completely honest with me, even if you think it’s going to hurt my feelings and I will do the same, okay.”

“Okay.” Bette replied. She was afraid of what was to come. She promised Kit that she and Tina would talk and now the time has arrived for the talk they should have had eight years ago. She hoped with all of her might that this was their second chance.

tbc