Tina was considering a careful rejoinder when Bette continued, “I was happy here… once,” wistfully, as she turned to look out the window again.

“With you,” she added, almost in a whisper.  But Tina caught it, swallowed, and looked out the window as well, as tears sprang to her eyes.

They got to the café, and they hopped out. Tina looked over at Bette, thought about something, and then bent to talk to the driver.

He drove away, as Tina explained to Bette, while walking into the café, “I told him to go home, because I didn’t know how long we were going to be.”  She gave her a small smile.

“Besides, I know the owners can call us a cab, when we want to head out.”

Bette nodded her head, and walked into the café.  The owner spotted Tina, exclaimed, and gave her a hug.  He pointed at a table in the corner, and she nodded.  Bette walked towards it, smiling at the friendly owner, too, as she walked past him.

Tina hung back, and explained Bette’s wine preferences.  The owner nodded his head.

“What was that about?” Bette asked, as Tina walked over to sit down at the table, her back to the café.  Bette was sitting in the corner, and had a full view of the café. She noticed that the owner had ducked down a stairwell, and guessed that he most likely stored wine in a cellar down there.

“I explained the types of wines you like, or used to like,” Tina responded. “I was just thinking that you may like what he has in his special collection.”  Bette’s lips tilted a little to smile.  Nice of Tina, she thought.

When he emerged, he seemed to be carrying several bottles.  With a flourish, he presented these to Bette. Wow, Bette said, with a smile.  She guessed he was making her choose, so she glanced over at Tina. Tina said, “Go ahead, please choose one for us.”

“I think we’ll go with this one, then,” she said, smiling at the man.  It was a Chateauneuf, bottled the same year as the one Sarah had brought over, one Christmas Eve.

“Excellent choice,” he said.  He headed back to the bar to open the bottle and let it breathe for some time before pouring it for them.

As they waited, they fell silent, exchanging glances.  After a few minutes, Tina asked, “Do you want me to start?”

Bette nodded, and responded quietly, “Let’s just talk about everything — the good, the bad, the ugly… see where it leads us.”

Tina nodded, smiled a little, and took a breath, “Ok, just as we’d done, and agreed on two years ago, when we headed out that morning on a perfect summer day … wherever this leads us.”

She knew it was a gamble, agreeing to terms like this with Bette.  She could very well lose her for good, at the end of it.

But then, it had been a gamble two years ago, too, and it had changed her life, irrevocably.

She just had to trust in the feeling, that original connection, the insane chemistry they had discovered with each other, and that began that special night in the gallery, seemingly a hundred years ago.

She prayed it would.  And not just for her’s and Bette’s sakes.  But for the baby’s sake, too.