“Are you sure I can handle it?,” Tina asked, feeling intimidated by the thought of swimming up to a reef like that described by Bette.

Bette opened her eyes, and glanced at Tina.  She squeezed the blonde’s hand reassuringly, “I think so.  You can wear one of the life jackets they make available out in the scuba shop.  And we can actually walk to the edge of that reef from our villa, when it’s low tide. I’ll ask for a floater, too, that we can anchor onto the edge, so that you can hang onto it while we snorkel.  So you’ll never be a few feet from something you can either stand on, or hold onto.  And…I’ll be by your side the whole time, of course!”

Tina turned her head to look at Bette, and nodded her head, “Ok, let’s do it!”

Bette smiled at her reassuringly, “Okay.  I’ll ask Linda to bring over a couple of life jackets, and a floater with a rope and anchor that we can use tomorrow at low tide."

The resort assigned a butler to each villa; theirs was Linda, and she attended to Bette and Tina as much as requested. They found her to be so engaging that they quickly found themselves reliant on her. Linda had a sixth sense about what they needed, like picking up things they had left out on the terrace before the light rains that occasionally blew across the island arrived, and they’d been away from the villa. She’d thoughtfully booked a spa treatment when Bette had mentioned in her email to Dani that Tina liked to indulge in spa treatments.  She also collected items the couple had scattered around their private pool and Jacuzzi (most of them private), arranging these in the side table by their bedroom door.

Tina rolled to her back, as the massage therapist gently urged her to turn.

“Linda’s been great, Bette,” Tina commented.  “I don’t know whether we could adjust to not having someone like her back in New York.”

Bette chuckled, “All part of the fantasy, baby.”

“Had I known, honey,” Tina responded, “I would have bugged you about coming earlier.”

“Hmm…when Angie’s bigger we can take her out here,” Bette thought aloud, a few minutes later.