She changed into her swimsuit to start her laps. She swam harder than she had in a long time, back and forth until her mind and heart had settled. She came up at the last turn exhausted and pulled off her swim cap then got out to wrap herself in a towel that was hanging on the rail. She didn’t remember bringing that towel out with her, was Tina home early? Entering the house, she saw Tina sitting at the dining room table, still in her suit with a large glass of wine. She had lit some candles and the house felt better, Bette was so glad her wife was home.

They looked at each other for a long moment then Bette put her head down in her hands and burst into tears. Her towel fell to the floor.

Tina immediately stood up and walked quickly towards her wife, taking her hands gently away from her face and cupping her cheeks. She wiped the tears away with her thumbs.

“Hey now…Baby…Bette, Honey…I am sitting in here because this is the first time I have had quiet all day. It’s been a hell of a day… Eric was on set, that prick Aaron invited him. Can you believe that? Baby… I needed some space where I could breathe and not think, I needed some peace and quiet for a minute, that’s all…” Tina said, bending her knees a little to look in Bette’s eyes, holding Bette’s face in her hands.

Bette nodded, her hands coming up to hold Tina by the arms. “That’s not entirely true though, is it Tee? You used to tell me that you found peace with me…near me I mean…” she said shakily, sniffing and breathing out to control her emotions. She took a deep breath. Then blew it out, shaky.

Tina paused. Bette was half right, she was being childish – pushing her wife away by withdrawing, punishing her subtly for forgetting about the Chicago trip. Her hands moved to circle Bette’s neck, gentle…soft, her thumbs tracing her wife’s jawline. Her fingers rubbed under Bette’s ears where the skin was soft.