Melvin complimented Tina on the garden and was impressed to learn that she’d cultivated it herself. She told him that she’d learned a lot about horticulture from her mother and grandmother growing up in South Carolina. She’d landscaped with flowers and shrubbery but her passion was the little garden that she’d carved out to grow organic vegetables, and herbs. Tina hated the time she’d neglected the yard while separated from Bette, but her wife had hired a professional to tend it knowing Tina would never forgive her if it went to ruins.

Obviously being in her third trimester Tina couldn’t exactly play in the dirt right now but she’d missed just coming outside and smelling the fragrances of Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Basil, Cilantro and so many others that swirled around in the cool breeze. Melvin obviously knew his way around soil too. He was a city boy but spent many a summer in the country with his grand-parents when he was growing up.

***

“Maybe it was something he ate at the Planet.” Bette continued the banter with her sister.

“Baby sis if Planet food had that kind of trans-formative power to change assholes into decent human beings we’d be bottling that shit.”

Bette laughed out loud at her sister’s comment which caught Melvin and Tina’s attention. The laughter was music to Tina’s ears. It seemed like a lifetime ago since Tina heard Bette laugh with such abandon. The past couple of years had been mired in painful loss, suffering, sadness, and avoidance until they started the slow progress towards healing, forgiveness and reconciliation, but they seldom laughed. Finally, after months of uncertainty not knowing if they could make it back from the brink of destruction their love had held strong. There was still much work to be done, but they’d recommitted themselves to making the journey together on the road to recovering their joy and happiness.

Tina’s words the night before … “I’m with you tonight, tomorrow and forever if you’ll have me. I want to come home” breathed new life into Bette’s world, gathered her off the floor and mended her shattered heart. She’d broken so much more than a marriage vow with her betrayal that Tina’s friendship and a place in her daughter’s life had been a gift, but she held on to the hope that with time and hard work she could rebuild the foundation of renewed trust that would lead them back to their destiny. Since the night months before when Tina walked out on her after finding out about the affair, not a day went by that Bette hadn’t prayed to God to bring her home. Not only had God answered her prayers but He did it with such abundance that Bette’s life was enriched beyond anything she could have ever dreamed possible. Tina held Bette’s gaze for a long moment and smiled when Bette blew a kiss and winked at her.