Caressing her belly, remembering the look on Bettes eyes as she was seeing the baby on the monitor, Tina smiled again. So lost she was in the memories that she didnt hear the phone ringing. Not at first, at least.

“Hello?”

“Tee?…Are you ok?,.. why did it take you so long? Are you busy?”

“No…am fine…why?”

“No reason…thought maybe you were enjoying some English muffing…” Alice said, her words unable to cover her conflicted feelings.

“what the ***** is that…?” she added.

Giggling, Tina stood up waiting for Alice to continue asking as she knew she was going to.

“who are you?, Sandra Dee?” asked Alice.

Giggling, Tina nodded walking towards the cd player.

“Hey!..whats wrong with Bobby Darin?” she said turning the music off.

“Nothing…if you are wearing white shocks and like to be call Peggy Sue…” teased Alice.

“Who?” asked Tina walking back to the couch.

“Peggy Sue!.. god Tee!…dont you know anything?…Peggy Sue?….Kathleen Turner?…Coppola?…didnt you use to work in the movies!? Alice said rolling her eyes.

“yeah…” mumbled Tina, giggling.

“No, seriously…how come you listen to Bobby Darin?” Tried Alice, again.

“I dont know…I like it…Bette bought the cd after our trip to Carmel…” Tina said, her words vanishing with the memories.

“Really?” Alice said, curious, trying to imagine Bette listen that kind of music.

“…we went to a bar and they were playing his music…we…” Tina said as the images of the trip were vividly showing up.

“Carmel?…oh, …right!…I remember now…mmm… wasnt then when you?…your.. first time…?” Alice said.

“How do you know about that?” asked Tina, back from Memoryland

“You told me”

“I did?” Tina asked, trying to remember.

“Yeah…remember?… the Tequila night?…after falling into the pool?…when Dana puked?” in Alices words Tina sensed her amusement.

“Oh god!…yeah… and you tried to kiss Jodie…god!…what a night!” Tina said remembering the night. “….what else did I say?”

Laughing, feeling Tinas embarrassment, Alice added,

“Nothing…you were a perfect lady”

Sighing, resting the head on the cushion, smiling, Tina nodded, amused by the memories.

“Tee?” asked Alice after a couple of quiet minutes.

“Yeah…am here” Tina answered.

“So?…what did the doctor say?” Alice asked.

Opening the window to let the fresh breeze come inside, Tina said,

“Its a boy!…we are having a boy!”

“Really?…wow!…cool!…thats great!”

“Yeah” Tina mumbled, the memory of Bettes trembling smile coming back.

“What did Bette say?…is she ok?…Tee??why are you so quiet?…you sure you ok?”

Alices insistence, the tone in her voice brought Tina back to the present moment.

“Yeah, yeah, sure Al….she seemed happy…I think she is very happy”

Hearing a knock on the door, Alice said,

“Tee, I have to go…there is somebody at the door…”

“Ok…sure….but Al…”

“Yeah?”

“How do you know who Bobby Darin is?”

“What?…are you kidding me?…am a girl from the sixties!… that I was born a few years later was just bad timing…”

“Al!..you are not a girl from the sixties!! You are not even a girl from the seventies!” Tina said, amused.

“Ok, ok…I will tell you this…but just because you told me about Carmel..”

Listening to Alices secret Tina had to make an effort not to laugh, not to giggle as her eyes were opening wider and wider.

“You did not!” she finally said.

“Of course I did!…” Alice proudly said, enjoying the memory.

Seeing Dana behind the front door, Alice added, “…Have to go Tee..!”

“Ok, ok… Tina mumbled, still astonished by Alices revelations.

Shaking her head, amused, Tina walked towards the kitchen. Just as she was pouring a glass of cold water, she heard a knock on the door. Leaving the glass on the counter, still smiling by Alices story she walked towards the door.


***

“You did that?…wow?” Shane said, her astonishment painted all over her face.

“What? Did I impress you?…the one and only Shane?” asked Bette, amused.


Nodding, looking at her feet moving under the pool water, Shane said,

“Yeah…well…I mean…is like imaging your parents having *****…”

“Ok…nice image…thanks!” Bette said, amused.

Looking up, locking her eyes with Bettes Shane added,

“No, I mean…you and Tina…I never…I dont know…is just…I…thats great…”

Nodding, caressing the beers head, Bette whispered,

“Yeah…it was great…” Thinking about that night, the memories came back. Thinking about other times, other nights, other dates, Bette sighed.

Their first date, Tinas bare back, its shape, the beach lights shadows painting sensually promises in every muscle, in ever curve. Nodding, lost in the memories, Bette whispered.

“…she was barefoot…the black dress was barely covering her back….it was windy and her hair was all messed up. She was trying to tame it, but it was impossible, it kept escaping, getting loose… We were walking along the water, it was getting windier… She was talking about an old movie…I dont know….I remember I was walking with my eyes closed, loving the sound of her voice, the words sensually moving along with the waves sound…I opened my eyes… she was moving her hands… she was trembling so I gave her my Pashmina, she stopped her pace and taking it she shyly smiled….I dont think Ive ever seen a more beautiful smile in my life…I felt my lungs closing…It was so moving…, so strange…you know how, when things happen, one usually realize about them later on…? Bette asked, her words asking, her mind drifting away.

“….I realized just then that I was falling in love with her…that she was the one…”

Shaking her head, as if wanting to move on with the story, as if trying to hide the precious memories, Bette added,

“…She took my Pashmina, covered her shoulders with it…”


Quietly playing with the water, Shane nodded encouraging Bette to continue.

“…she covered her shoulders, but the wind kept playing with her hair and the Pashmina was falling down her shoulders so we sat down…we sat down behind the rocks. The sand was cold but the night was still warm… I dont know why…but we were quiet for a while…I…Id feel her bodys warmth, the shape of her long arms, I was imaging how it could be to touch her, to feel her soft pale skin against mine…she…I didnt want to turn and look at her…I…she… she was playing with the sand, hiding her toes in it…you know Tina…she has beautiful feet…well…I…I kept looking at her feet, she was playing with the sand, her long fingers vanishing…I was totally lost in her presence…and then…slowly…very carefully, she turned around looking at me..”

Looking up from the bottle, looking at Shane, Bette continued,

“….she looked at me for a couple of minutes before shyly saying… “arent you going to kiss me again?…I…I didnt know what to say…what to do…I felt my hands trembling, my mouth dry…for the first time in my life I was speechless, paralyzed…can you imagine?”

Nodding, loving the story, picturing them, unable to put into words what she was feeling, Shane smiled.

“She…she looked at me for a long time, she looked serious, her eyes burning, her lips still but then… she smiled…you know how her face glows when she smiles…”

Seeing Shanes nods, Bette continued,

“she….mischievously smiling she leaned forward and, shyly at first…she kissed me”

Gulping, blushing a little, Shane turned her face. She didnt want Bette to see how moved she was, how special she felt listening to their private memories.

“It…it was perfect…she was perfect. She was so beautiful…so soft, so tender…so hot”

The memories, the haunted memories run through Bettes body drying her lips, tightening her heart. Closing her eyes, she gulped. Suddenly, out of nowhere, reality was hitting her hard. Feeling tired, suddenly scared, she mumbled.

“I….she…” Unable to put into words her desperation, her need for an answer, for a promise, Bette gulped again.


Noticing Bettes change, seeing the look in her eyes, Shane nodded. Moving a little closer, after a deep sigh, she whispered,

“She is still there Bette…you just need to find the place, the time, to meet her… to find her again”

Letting Shanes word calm her nerves, her wounded heart, Bette looked at her feet.

“How can you know?”

“Because Ive seen you two together…”

“She is with Helena, Shane” Bette said, pain covering each and every word.

“But she doesnt look at Helena the way she looks at you”

“She never looks at me….not anymore”

Chuckling, Shane nodded.

“Yeah, she does…of course she does…she just try not to”

Thinking about Shanes words, Bette nodded, trying to get comfort, to find hope in what her friend was saying, in what hr friend was not telling.

Standing up, Shane asked,

“You mind if I take a swim?”

Looking up to Shane, Bette shook her head.

“No, of course not”

Watching Shane unbuttoning the jeans, Bette smiled,

“You want a bathing suit?” she asked, amused.

“Nah…this will do” Shane said getting rid of the jeans.

Smiling, watching Shane jump in the pool, Bette walked inside. She came back a couple of minutes later holding a couple of cold beers. Sitting down, with her feet in the pool, she watched Shane swimming, taking comfort in her company, in her words.



Authors note: t-boz…the songs are before my time too…but I love the music from the 60s.. always puts me in a great mood, and funny enough…as Alice in my story, some of those songs played an important role in my life..(beluga said, pretending to sound nonchalant?)