It was as if suddenly, it was precisely this realization had entered her mind, and took possession – was it during that kiss in the gardens of the Notre Dame, or during the romantic cruise up the river, bathed under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, or much later that evening?  Or perhaps earlier, even before Paris?  During that relaxing moment on her couch, with Tina’s arms around her, protective, and warm?  Or was it later, at the moment she had to leave their bed, not knowing when she would be able to see Tina again?

Or was it not sudden, at all?  Perhaps it was “slowly.” That is, love came, and crept up slowly, thus “sudden” was not the right word for what happened to her and Tina.  Slowly, big changes, a big decision, seemingly impossible otherwise, like throwing everything away, was not only possible, but necessary. Necessary, if she were to keep living.

She had often wondered during their time apart about how long it would last, at times recalling a conversation they had had while strolling through the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.   As they strolled hand in hand, she’d asked Tina, “How would you differentiate between two expressions that have been confessed in the greatest love stories in history, and in literature and art: forever and eternally?  Are they as synonymous as is generally believed?”

Tina had turned to her, smiling, and curious.   “Hmmmm….that’s true, those expressions do seemed to have been used either simultaneously or interchangeably.”

She paused.  “Well to me, one of them seems an expression of extra time.  While the other, to me at least, expresses a permanent state.”

Bette stopped. Tina stopped, too.  The brunette asked, hesitating, “Which one is the more important to you? The expression of extra time?  Or the expression of permanence?”

The blonde cocked her head to one side, reading a seriousness in the brunette about this issue in those liquid brown eyes.

“They’re both important to me Bette.  Love, true love, is eternal to me, and if my love and I were to be lucky, we would have the extra time to experience the depths of such a love.”

A couple of days later, Bette was confessing her love for Tina to the agent who worked most closely with her in the case concerning the concealment of a large cache of valuable paintings that Bette had stumbled on.  Bette had been asked to collaborate with the secret investigation, and she had been successful in pulling the evidence for them to bring a case forward.  Afterwards, she had negotiated complete anonymity in exchange, and the government had agreed to help set that in motion.