“Hmmmm…oh my God…this is so good. Tina, you have to taste this salmon.” Bette held out a piece of her fish, that had a macadamia nut crust, and had been baked with a light lemon cream sauce. Tina eagerly opened her mouth, while Bette gently placed the perfectly cooked salmon onto her tongue. As Tina slowly chewed, her eyes lit up. “Mmmmm…that is delicious! It’s almost as good as mine…almost.” Tina smiled.

Bette raised her eyebrows. “Almost as good as yours, huh? You really think you can compete with this magnificent meal?”

Tina giggled and nodded her head. “Oh yea. I have my secret recipe for salmon. It wins people over all the time.” Tina wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe you can come over sometime and I’ll throw a piece on the BBQ.”

Now Bette was totally intrigued. “Ok, let me get this straight. You’re telling me that you can produce a better tasting piece of fish than what I have before me, by throwing it on the BBQ? Well…I’m going to have to come over…cause this I have to see.”

The two women laughed, both enjoying the light and comfortable conversation they had settled into almost immediately three days ago. Both amazed that they could feel so close to each other so quickly, after having no contact whatsoever for so many years.

Bette was in heaven being here with Tina. The atmosphere was perfect, the lighting was low, each table with soft candle light, illuminating the space just right, and the tables were placed far enough apart so that you didn’t feel like the people next to you could hear everything you said. She reached across their table, finding Tina’s hand, gently tracing Tina’s ring finger with her own. “Tina, thanks so much for finding this place. It’s absolutely wonderful. The food is delicious, the music is inspiring…and the company is…well…the company is all that I’ll ever want…all that I’ll ever need.”

Tina sighed. “God Bette…you haven’t lost it have you?”

“Lost what?”

“The ability to always say something that knocks me off balance.” Tina smiled. “If you needed to win me over, that would have done it right there.”

Now it was Bette’s turn to smile. “If I needed to?”

“Yea…but you don’t need to, because you already did. You won me over the moment you looked at me, and dropped the money you were trying to hand to Milaine, that day in your gallery.”

“Geez Tina, I won you over that quick? It has been a long time for you hasn’t it? You’re getting pretty easy these days!”

Tina laughed. “Hey, I have no problem admitting that I’m easy when it comes to you, Ms. Porter. Now, come on…you said the music was inspiring…take me out on that dance floor and show me.”

Bette stood and held her hand out to Tina. “I’d love to T.” Tina took the hand Bette offered her and they walked out onto the dance floor, taking each other into their arms, and moving together like they had been practicing for a moment just like this. Bette had her head resting against the side of Tina’s…her mouth right next to Tina’s ear. “Do you remember the last time we slow danced together T?”

Tina lifted her head up and looked into Bette’s eyes, then closed them, thinking back…so many years…Bette watched Tina thinking, then she saw it…the instant Tina remembered. She could see the subtle change in her expression, felt her body tense, just a bit. Tina opened her eyes for a moment, then closed them and laid her head back against Bette’s. “Yea Baby, I do. It was on that big yacht. Shane had that crazy party, and we went because we didn’t want them to think we were boring…I was still pregnant.” Tina’s eyes filled with tears. “You were so sweet to me that night. I was so proud to be with you, and you were so attentive with me.”

Bette whispered into Tina’s ear. “That’s all I ever wanted to do Tina…was to take care of you…to take care of our baby.” Bette’s hold on Tina tighten, more determined than ever to take advantage of this unexpected second chance she and Tina were being given.

Tina relaxed into Bette’s tight hug, feeling the rush of emotions flowing through her. “I know, Baby.” They finished the song in silence, enjoying the closeness of each other’s body, the slow swaying taking it’s toll on each of their senses, both feeling the heat that was radiating out between them. The music started to fade as the song ended, and Bette reluctantly started to pull away from Tina, but first whispered, “God Tina…when you are in my arms, you always feel so right.” Tina reached up and traced Bette’s lips with her index finger, then leaned in and replaced her finger with her mouth, ever so gently kissing her…soft at first, then wanting more, she grazed her tongue whisper light over Bette’s lips. As Bette automatically opened her mouth, Tina slipped her tongue inside. Bette moaned into the kiss, not wanting it to end…ever.

Just like at the bar earlier, people were silently watching them with wonder, drinking in the sight of the incredible amount of love and tenderness that these two beautiful women so apparently shared. One couple looked on with both delight, as well as shock. They saw the two women walk back to their table and gave each other a look, silently making a decision. They stood up and walked over to Bette and Tina’s table. Tina was so lost, looking into Bette’s eyes, that she didn’t notice the two women approaching.

“Tina?”

Startled at hearing her name coming from a different direction other than Bette, she looked up…and smiled. “Hey you two, what a nice surprise.”

One of the women cleared her throat. “Well, actually I think the surprise is more on our part. I would have never expected to find you here.” She smiled at Tina. “It’s a very nice surprise though.”

Tina laughed. “Yes, I guess it would be. Barbara and Jane, this is my…this is…ah…”

Bette could see Tina struggling with how to introduce her, so she smiled her million dollar smile and reached out her hand. “Hi, I’m Bette Porter. I’m a friend of Tina’s visiting from New York.”

Tina sighed what sounded like a sigh of relief, but she then released a soft laugh. “Thanks Bette, but what I was just about to say is…” She turned to her neighbors from down the street. ” Barbara and Jane, this is Bette Porter, who I was married to before Dan.”

Barbara looked over at Bette, who was looking at Tina with the most amazing expression of love on her face, then she looked back at her partner Jane, then back to Tina. “Wow!” Both women exclaimed at the same time. All four women started laughing at what summed up the revelation completely. Barbara regained her composure first. “Well Bette, it was nice to meet you…and Tina, it was great to see you someplace other than your front yard. We’ll let you get back to your reunion. See you around Tina.”

“Bye.” Tina smiled watching the two women walk away, then turned her attention to Bette. “Well, that wasn’t too hard. Sorry about the hesitation…I just wasn’t quite sure of the verbiage I wanted to use at first.”

Bette was still on cloud nine after hearing Tina tell someone she knew from her life here in Seattle that she had not only been with Bette, but that they had been married. At that moment, it didn’t matter that the marriage was in the past, it just mattered that Tina acknowledged it.

Bette reached over and took Tina’s hand. “Thank you for that Tina. It means a lot to me. What do you say we go back to my hotel and have some tea brought up? I think I’m ready to have that conversation we put aside earlier.”

Tina was up and out of her seat almost before Bette had finished her sentence. “A cup of tea, and curling up on the couch in that beautiful suite…sounds like a wonderful plan. Come on Baby, let’s go…and Bette? Don’t worry. Whatever you need to share with me, know that it will be Ok…we will be Ok.”