She untied the bow of the scroll, with barely contained excitement.  Tina was also eager to see Bette’s reaction.

There was something written in elegant calligraphy.  Bette read out,

Being Her Friend

Being her friend, I do not care, not I,

       How gods or men may wrong me, beat me down;

Her word’s sufficient star to travel by,

      I count her quiet praise sufficient crown.

Being her friend I do not covet gold,

     Save for a royal gift to give her pleasure;

To sit with her, and have her hand to hold,

     Is wealth, I think, surpassing minted treasure.

(continued)

Bette read the words slowly again, almost to herself, gently passing her fingers over the parchment that she held with trembling fingers.

“T…,” she finally said softly, as she looked up with teary eyes at Tina.

“That’s number two, Bette,” Tina said softly, as she circled her arms around the brunette. “I missed being your friend.”

“I was soo lonely being without you, too, baby," Bette said softly, as they leaned forward and rested their foreheads against one another.  They both shut their eyes, reflecting, again, on the agony of being separated.  Bette continued, “What I would have given just to sit with you, as the poem says, and have your hand to hold.”

She drew her head away, and took a step back also, and confessed, “That was the hard part about breaking up: I not only lost a lover, and faced the possibility of losing the woman I love forever.  I also lost my friend, whose friendship I had grown to treasure, above all else.”

Tina smiled, tearing up also.  She encircled her arms around Bette again, and declared, “I am going to woo you, Bette.”

Bette angled her head, and contemplated the blonde with half smile and reflective eyes.  She was speechless.

Tina continued, “Tonight’s the night I start to speak to you in the language of flowers, to tell you how I feel, up (pause) or down.  I hope to win you back properly.”

“But T…,” Bette tried to cut in. Tina lightly placed a finger on Bette’s lips, as if to shush her, smiling as she continued, “To win you back properly, as I was saying.  And to make sure we are understanding the flowers I will give you in the same way, I’ll have scrolls attached, from time to time, to explain.”