Tina couldn’t see Bette’s face, but she knew she was smiling. «I’ll like that too, I’m sure…». Bette shivered as the hot water turned cold. «Let me get you out of the tub, babe», Tina offered, grabbing a fluffy towel and wrapping it around Bette’s body. She dried her and guided her to the bedroom. Bette looked exhausted.

Bette climbed into bed and closed her eyes. «Tired baby?», Tina asked gently as she laid down next to Bette. «Yeah, I am…». She turned to Tina and smiled. «Thank you for taking such good care of me», she said.

«It’s my pleasure»

«You want a boy or a girl?», Bette asked suddenly.

«Doesn’t really matter, as long as our baby is healthy, that’s what counts»

«Yeah, you’re right… You’ll look so sexy with a belly. I can’t hardly wait…», Bette smirked.

«I’ll be so fat you won’t even want to touch me…», Tina teased.

«That’s not true… You’ll be so beautiful I won’t be able to keep my hands off you…», Bette replied, amused. She suddenly became teary-eyed. «Do you think I’ll be a good mother?»

Tina stroked her cheek with her fingertips. «You’ll make a wonderful mother… Why these doubts ?»

«I don’t know… Becoming a parent is such a big responsibility»

«It is, but we’ll be like many other parents who welcome their first child into this world… We’ll probably make mistakes along the way, but that’s part of learning», Tina remarked.

«I want to be like my own mother… She was such a special lady, always laughing and singing around the house. She always knew when something was bothering me and she would stop whatever she was doing to listen to my problems. When I fell in love for the first time with a woman, I thought I would be such a disappointment to her that I cried myself to sleep for days, not knowing how to tell her». Tina softly brushed the tears that were coming down her lover’s cheeks.

«One day, she finally sat me down and asked me what was bothering me… I told her she wouldn’t love me anymore if I did. She looked me in the eyes and made me swear to never say that again. So I told her all about Lucy… What she was like, how we met. The whole time she had a big smile on her face. I asked her why she was smiling like that and she said because she was so happy that her little girl had found love…»

Tina had heard that story once before, but she knew how special it was to Bette. «When I first brought Lucy to the house, my mother welcomed her with open arms. She had made her cookies and banana bread», Bette recalled, laughing. Then her laughter died down. «That was the same mother who picked up the pieces a year later when Lucy broke up with me and I thought I would never find love again»

«You were so lucky to have her as a mother, baby», Tina told her.

«Very lucky… I’m tired now baby, can I just sleep for a little while ?», Bette asked, closing her eyes.

«You sleep, my love and I’ll be here when you wake up…», Tina replied, kissing Bette’s lips very softly. Minutes later, Bette’s breathing told Tina that she was sound asleep. While she stroked her hair, Tina thought about the woman who claimed to be Bette’s mother and how that surprise visitor had disturbed her.

«God, I hope that’ll be the last we hear of her», Tina reflected. But of course, she was wrong…