“What is it Bette? What are you thinking at?”

“Bette looked up and swallowed the lump in her throat. I don’t like the thought of ending this moment. I like having you around. It feels so………..I don’t now. It feels so familiar.”

“I know, that same thought crossed my mind too. But we still have breakfast, so we’ll still spend some time together.”

“Yes, we will,” Bette said and her megawatt smile crossed her face making Tina blush again.

What was it that this woman did to her. She felt like they thought alike, she felt at ease with her and familiar. She never felt like this before and most of all, she never felt this for a woman. Hopefully Bette was gay, if not she’d better enjoy the moment.

When they finished unpacking the groceries, they went back to the market area to get some breakfast.
While having breakfast they talked. That is, Tina did the talking and Bette listened. Tina told Bette what she knew about the neighborhood, the facts but also the gossip. Where to go and where to stay away. She warned Bette for the so called black area.

“What’s the black area?”

“I’ve been told that’s the area where more colored skin people live. I’ve been there once but I didn’t feel endangered on the contrary. I felt at home and people were friendly and enchanting. It is stupid, that it’s said that it’s a dangerous area. Why? Because of the skin color of the people living there? Why should skin color be a problem?”

Bette watched Tina closely when she said that. Bette never mentioned it but she is bi-racial. Her father is a black man and her mother was a white woman. She came out light skinned, so she could go by for white. Only during the summer time, you’d noticed that her skin color was tainted. Color never bothered Bette but the experience she had, she knew acting white was sometimes better than saying you were half black.
Bette was eager to go visit that black area.

“You see, the point is, Tina said, in that black area is where the action is. There’s where you have the jazz cafees and the block parties. As I said, I’ve been there once and it was fun!”