“What’s with all of the Jazz?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your stereo plays nothing but jazz, there’s jazz in your car, there’s jazz in the waiting room and now… there’s jazz on your TV?”

“It’s soothing.” Bette yelled from the kitchen.

“Soothing?… Maybe. But boring, yes.”

“Hey, you have your movies and I have my jazz.”

“Ok but my movies have variety. All Jazz is the same.” Tina said and heard the loud overly dramatic inhale from the kitchen.

“You better not let Kit hear you say that.”

“Kit sings the blues.”

“Kit started out playing the trumpet in a jazz band. And she will throttle you if she ever heard you call it boring.”

“I’m not afraid of her.” Tina shouted back which gave Bette a healthy smile as she situated the food.

“Food’s ready. “ Bette said as she placed a bowl on the table in her dining room. “One of these days I will give you a true lesson on Jazz.”

Tina smiled as Bette pulled out her chair for her and moved it in politely asking if she was comfortable before taking her seat across form Tina. She looked at the food and surely she’d never seen so much color and care thrown into a lunch before. Only someone so conscientious of what goes into their bodies would cook with so much zest. The bright and bursting colors were plentiful and healthy, Tina started to wonder if Bette if ever allowed any junk food in her life other the popcorn. Which she suspected was organic and plain without the Tabasco sauce.

……………………………….

Alice was about to knock on Tina’s door when she heard Tina say her name from the gate. “Hey Al.” Alice turned around and looked at Tina who was smiling at her.

“Hey yourself.” she answered and looked at Tina as she stepped closer to her. Her face was brighter and her body was luminescent in a white tunic that flowed with the wind, almost see through showing off her now growing form.  Alice let her eyes take in the growth of her breasts to her belly to her hips and she smiled, pregnancy looked good on her. Tina took a seat on one of the posts and rested back on her palms. Alice took the hint and sat on the step beside her.

“So where you coming from, looking oh so very snazzy?” Tina nudged her with her leg.

“I had a meeting downtown that could possibly get us a new client.” Alice would never tell Tina that she was nervous as hell during the meeting and that she’d been up most of the night stressing over it. That part of the business was more of Rick’s job. He was the salesman that brought it home for the clients and Alice was the one to regale them with facts and figures, that was how their duo worked. Now with everything done and settled and she just wanted to check in on Tina and gain some semblance of balance for today.

“What about you?”

“Oh I just had lunch with Bette at that café, ‘Cherry’s’ so I just walked home.”

“Tina that’s like seven blocks!”

“Al relax I can walk a few blocks.”  she scrunched her brow at the sudden jump in volume and hysteria in Alice’s voice. “I take walks with Bette all the time.”

“Is that even safe?!”

“Al calm down, what’s wrong with you?”

Alice just realized the height of her voice and felt her face tense at her words, she took a minute to bring herself back down, “Nothing I just get kind of nervous about you and the baby.”

“Well you can relax, Bette says a little walking is fine for me, in fact I can still exercise if I wanted to.”

“Really?”

“Yea, Bette says it’s good for me and the baby. She says there’s no reason I can’t stay fit during my pregnancy.”

It was then that Alice saw it, there was something in the way Tina kept referring to Bette for all of her knowledge. “Wha– How often do you talk to Dr. Porter?”

“Not often, she just said whenever I have a concern I should call her.”

“Right.”

TBC…………………………………