“Your powers of deduction are breathtaking you know?”

“Ask me something you always say yes to and I’ll show you exactly how good I am.”

Tina sighed.  The light exchange helped but she was still unsettled.

During a recent dinner they had talked about their relationship and how Tina was adjusting.  To this incendiary bond that formed so swiftly.  To how her family and friends reacted to them.  To how she truly felt and understood more as each day passed what choosing Bette meant.

The woman who received the call listened patiently and promised to wait.  There was no rush she said.  Tina was worth it she affirmed before pulling her into an embrace.

Again Tina whispered, “I miss you.”

Bette wished there was more she could say to reassure and comfort.  She continued their subdued conversation.

“How about I come by tomorrow.  We could go to dinner at that Vietnamese place we tried last month?”

She sighed.  It felt better to hear her voice but emphasized how much she ached to be with her.

“That sounds nice.” 

They talked quite a bit more.  Their hushed voices making the dialogue intimate though they talked about ordinary things. 

 Finally, though she attempted to mask it Tina yawned.  Bette finished her story of the artist she visited in an out of area warehouse and decided to go with an abbreviated description of his centerpiece.

They shared a comfortable silence.  Each woman feeling the warmth between them although both were alone in bed.

“Are you feeling better?”

She could sense Tina’s lethargy. 

“I’m always better after talking with you,” the blonde admitted.

“Everything will be fine soon T.”  The darker woman softly urged, “Try and rest.” 

Tina hesitated before continuing, “I should let you go.”

Bette only murmured in a soothing way in answer. 

Tina disconnected and sighed into her pillow.  Sure it helped to talk to Bette but it made the want to be next to her even more pronounced. 

—

She heard something.  Although drowsy it seemed real.  Tina was drifting in and out but couldn’t quite settle.  The tiredness in her bones would certainly be present in the morning meetings that were scheduled on her calendar days if not weeks before.

Tina raised her head and glanced to her left.

3:42 A.M.

She must have been dreaming.  Although she wasn’t really asleep.  The blonde’s uneasy feeling kept her on the precipice of wakefulness and sleep.

Soft but sure, again she heard it.  A discrete knock on her door that insisted Tina sit up to rub the edgy confusion from her eyes.  

Opening her front door after checking the peephole, the resident reached out to welcome her early hour visitor. 

“You’re here.”

Bette pressed her lips onto her lover’s before answering. 

A brief but sweet kiss that reminded Tina why she missed her girlfriend when they were apart. 

A kiss that spoke volumes of why she chose to be with this woman she loved so much even if anyone else didn’t quite understand. 

A kiss that meant she didn’t have to miss her anymore.

“I’m here.”

—–