A shiver ran up Tina’s spine at the thought of a life entirely devoid of Bette Porter. She still loved the ring, loving what stands for or what it stood for at least. The compulsion to wear it was powerful and Tina gave in, gently placing the simple band back on her finger. Her brow furrowed as she struggled with how right it felt to be wearing it again, as though she was incomplete without it. For the moment she decided to leave it on her finger but made a mental note to put it back where she found it before leaving.

“There is no future here” She uttered as a reminder. Prompting herself to get back to the unpleasant task at hand. She moved to the wardrobe and began sorting through clothes.

It was 3:10pm when Bette unlocked the front door to their home. Tina’s car wasn’t in the drive so she figured it was safe to come in. She dropped the mail on the kitchen bench and headed for the bedroom to change out of her suit. Two steps into the room she stopped dead, having seen Tina on the couch just as she had been the night everything fell apart. For seconds she could do nothing but stare. Tina looked as through she had been caught out and wanted only to escape. Bette watched intently trying to take everything in, her mind raced at the unexpected opportunity that Tina’s presence provided.

“Im sorry, I thought you’d be gone by now” Bette said her words rushed with nerves.

There was a shoebox open on the floor in front of Tina which was filled with letters, cards, some photos and other random items of sentimental value. Bette knew its contents, she had penned every letter in it. It’s a box that Tina had kept since they first started dating and it contained all the letters that Bette ever sent to her partner. The volume hasn’t grown much in recent years as e-mails gradually replaced the hand written letters. She knows that Tina had a folder in her inbox that contains all of the e-mails of a similar nature to these letters. Tina’s blatant sentimentality is but one of the countless reasons that Bette loved this woman so completely.