After the meal, they all retired to the living room for coffee except for Philip who was admiring Bette’s backyard. Bette came up to him from behind.

«That’s a nice backyard you have there. Love the big pool… We live in an apartment and I would love to have a pool like that someday for my children», he said.

«Want to go outside for a while?», Bette asked, looking forward to spend a little time alone with Philip. «I’d love that…». Bette opened the patio door and told Tina and Mrs Stone that they were going outside. Philip sat in one of the lounge chair and stared at the water. «I was five when I first learn to swim. I’ve loved the water ever since…», he began saying. He looked down at his coffee cup and then at Bette. «I’m sure it must have come as a shock learning about my mother and me», he began.

Bette smiled weakly. «It was… I’d always thought my mother was my mother. Well, you know what I mean…», Bette told him.

«How do you feel about all this now?», he wanted to know.

Bette thought about this for a moment or two. «I’m coming to terms with it… Tina was a great help through it all. She made me realised that even though my mother wasn’t my birth mother, she was the one who raised me and took care of me as a mother should… Just…just like I’ll do it with my children when the time comes», she revealed.

«My mother speaks very highly of your mother… She told me she was an exceptional woman», Philip confided.

That comment made her very happy. «She was… She was always there for me, no matter what… She’s always accepted me for who I was and that has never been more true when I told her I was a lesbian», Bette remembered fondly.

«What about your father ? Did you have a good relationship with him?»

Philip regretted asking that question when he saw the sudden sadness in Bette’s eyes. «It was a difficult one… we were never really close. It’s ironic to think that I was his own flesh and blood and yet I was closer to my mother who adopted me…», Bette reflected. «What about you?», she wondered.