CHAPTER 98

“Can you hear anything?”
Bette asked Tina. They were lying in bed together, holding hands after a long night of sleep and love making. Tina opened her eyes and looked at Bette
“If its Shane, Dana and Alice they can get lost “
Bette laughed “No – that’s not what I meant”
“What did you mean?”
“When was this apartment last quiet like this at 8:20 in the morning?”
“I wouldn’t want to be quoted on this but my guess would be the day before Angie and I arrived in New York and landed in the foyer of this building telling the concierge that we were friends of Bette Porter and would he call you “
“You are probably right “
“Do you ever miss those days?”
Bette took Tina’s hand and kissed it “What do you think?”
“I know that there are times when I look at you and you are trying to work at the weekends or holidays and it would be easier to work in Times Square – it must cross your mind”
Bette sighed “There are times – and they usually last all of about five seconds when yes the noise is a lot for me but I am used to it now “
“A new baby will make things much worse”
Bette smiled “I know – it’s going to be fantastic”
“As long as you know that it might be 18 years or more before you and I have a quiet life”
Bette kissed Tina’s hand again “When I first moved here I couldn’t handle silence. I hated it – the TV and music were always on – I couldn’t cope with the silence. I think it was because if it was quiet I couldn’t escape my own thoughts. When I started to sober up and get my life together I did turn the volume down- just a bit of music when I was working or an internet radio station – lots of pod casts. Now I like the level of sound when I come into the apartment “
“You mean when Angie is singing, the cat is yowling and I am trying to get some sort of order “
“Yeah – that sounds like a description of our life “
“You had it dropped on you and you handled it really well”
“Looking back now -those first few days and weeks were surreal but I was so happy. Having you around was a dream come true and Angie – well you know how it went with her”
“I do – I was more worried about how you and she would get on than how you and I would. I just knew that you and I would figure things out – it was a risk with her though”
“It was a crash course in kids”
“Not any kid but OUR child “
“Talking all the time, asking questions that I didn’t know the answer to “
“You have always had a lot of charm – that just clicked into gear. Talking of which – what about this painting you were conspiring to get last night”
Bette grinned and rolled across so she could kiss Tina and stroke her hair.
“One of the most important lessons to learn in life is that you should always be ready to take advantage of an opportunity that comes your way. Life never stops giving you opportunities. It’s not true that if you miss out on one chance you will never get any other. That’s negative and wrong – life is all about chances – you just have to be able to see that it’s a chance worth taking and be ready for it”
Tina smiled “I never thought the day would come when I would be listening to life lessons from Porter – previous holder of “America’s biggest cynic “
Bette kissed Tina “I was never that – I might have been fatalistic but I was not a cynic. I never thought I would meet a woman who would put up with me. “
“Your problem” Tina said looking at Bette “Is that you have a self-image that has never been close to the truth. Yes you could be hard work but trust me – there are women who are a lot more of a permanent pain in the fanny “
Bette smiled at Tina’s description
“That’s no way to talk about Peggy’s daughter “
“I didn’t say it was Helena “
“You didn’t have to.”
“You didn’t have to – anyway – can we get back to this painting?”
“It’s simple – the guy who has it thinks it’s a copy – albeit a contemporary one. Hence he’s thinks he’s pulling a fast one by selling it for $8000. The real value of this painting is totally off the scale”
“It’s really genuine?”
“Yes – James is developing a nose for these things – well he should given how long he’s been doing this job. “
“Wouldn’t it be safer for you to go and get it -you will know in an instant”
“You are right – which is why I am not going. I have to trust James – he is a lot more instinctive than he realizes himself. I think that the only thing he lacks is confidence in his knowledge – so that’s why I sent him to Chicago “
“What if you and he are wrong and it is a fake?”
“Well we can probably make our money back on it but I do have a nose for these things. Yes I have been stung a few times in the last few years but I would say that on the whole my instincts have made the gallery about $250,000 “
“Wow – that’s a lot of instinct”
“I know “Bette smiled
“And if you are right on this one – what will you do?”
“Two options – the saintly option which is to contact the authorities and tell them that I found it in a house clearance”
“Will that work?”
“No reason why it shouldn’t – I have done three house clearances in the last couple of months – family just wanted to get rid of what they regarded was a whole load of rubbish. You give them a price that they like and you take pot luck with what you get. Some of it is just good enough for the City tip – but I make enough money per year to make a tidy profit. If I go down this route I get the reward and its substantial – more than enough to make it worthwhile”
“What’s the less than sainted option?”
“Sell it to someone who doesn’t care about its history”
“Would someone do that?”
“You don’t understand some of these people – for them all that matters is that they have something that no one else can have. There is one man – he’s a widow and he has the loveliest house and his things would seriously interest the fraud squad of the local police”
“Isn’t he worried?”
“Why would he be? He’s a very respectable City elder – he doesn’t often get the police sniffing around his place. He would LOVE this painting. To be honest James and I will talk about what we are going to do”
“You should do the right thing”
“We probably will “
Tina sighed “This is so nice – just being alone with you “
“It doesn’t happen that often “
“No – no it doesn’t “
Bette kissed Tina on the mouth “ If this attempt doesn’t work – we have to stay strong and just keep trying.”
“I know. When I was thinking about getting the sperm sent over for us to use – I guess I started to think about the worst possible scenario”
“I don’t hire female carpenters “Bette said smiling “That life lesson has well and truly been learnt “
“That’s not what I mean.”
“So what do you mean?”
“The worst case scenario? – having another miscarriage”
Bette sighed and pulled Tina close so she could wrap her arms around her
“If you and I had any sense we wouldn’t even be together given how much damage we have done to one another. But we are together – we did the risk that the happiness and the love that we shared was worth the risk of pain. Now just speaking for me – I have never regretted being with you again because of how much love and happiness we bring each other – and the happiness that Angie gives to us. We took a gamble and its paying off “
“I know – I just don’t know how we would cope “
Bette kissed Tina’s brow
“We would cope because we have each other in ways that we didn’t have each other back in LA. We would cope because we love each other with a force that cannot be broken. We would cope because we couldn’t shut down because of Angie and we would cope because the one life lesson I have really learnt is that it’s the tough times that define who we are. We are the women that we are right now because of all the shit – because of what your dad did and what my dad did and because of everything else. I know that it would be devastating for us to lose another baby but we would cope and we would become stronger and when you do have a successful pregnancy that goes the full 9 months I will be with you every minute of the way “
Tina held Bette tighter
“You are just something else “
“I have been called a something in my time “
Tina chuckled and rubbed Bette’s face and kissed her tenderly “I like this Bette so much”
“So do I “
“I cannot decide whether I want to get up and make some coffee or if I just want to lie here and hold you for as long as possible”
“Coffee can wait as far as I am concerned “Bette said and pulled Tina tight “You are going nowhere Tina. It’s a rare treat to be lying in bed with you at this time on a school day”
“We didn’t stay in bed when we were both working “
“We did at weekends “Bette smiled “I have some really fond memories of barely getting out of bed some weekends”
“They were the exception in the later days but I know what you mean. I loved those weekends with you. On a really base level it was the knowledge that we could go on just satisfying each other for hours – that was one of the best discoveries about being a lesbian. And I had never been as emotionally close to any other human being as I have always been to you even when we weren’t together “
“You know I felt the same – that meeting you really taught me what love was for the first time. I thought I had been in love before but I hadn’t – they were barely good enough to be talked about in the same breath as you and I “
Tina put her hand on Bette’s face and kissed her again – a long and passionate kiss
“You – God Bette – I love you so fucking much”
“Crude but true “ Bette joked and pushed Tina onto her back “How do you feel about having more sex with me before we briefly get out of bed long enough to make breakfast and come back to bed again”
“Perfect”
Tina’s mobile rang just as they were settling down to a long period of foreplay
“Oh I do not bloody well believe it – who the hell is that?” Tina cursed
“Well I would say that the only person who knows that you and I are playing hooky and why is Shane and she has possession of our daughter “Bette remarked
“Oh bugger “Tina rolled over and picked her phone up “Hello – hi Shane – is everything okay – what – really? No – we – eh – we haven’t got out of bed yet – hang on “Tina spoke to Bette
“It’s snowing very hard “
Bette jumped up and went to the giant blinds and tugged them open – the scene was an almost total white out outside the window. There was no way anyone should be out in that weather.
“So where are you Shane? Are you both okay?” – No heating – okay – we will come and get her- no – thanks Shane – see you in an hour – is she okay? Yes I can imagine that “
Tina hung up the phone
“Shane’s just got her to school and the heating isn’t working – plus it’s going to snow like this for the next 24 hours “
“Where are they?”
“The coffee place beside the school – they are having a second breakfast and Angie thinks it’s hilarious. She’s not really dressed for snow Bette “
“Okay “Bette sat on the edge of the bed “Let’s get in the shower – sadly the shower sex that I had in mind will have to be put on hold for now. Let’s get dressed and collect some warmer clothes for her and get down there “
“You should check to see if James has managed to get to the airport this morning”
“Oh shit – you are right – you go in the shower first and I will get some coffee going for us”
Tina got up and looked at Bette who was putting her robe on.
“Bette”
The brunette looked at her “Yes?”
“I love you so much “
Bette grinned “I know and I love you just as much”