5 years later…..

Bette pulled into Lori’s driveway, carefully parking behind the black Mercedes that had parked quite selfishly, taking up the better part of the driveway. She looked over at Tina as she put the car in park. It had been a draining week for Tina, but Bette had done everything she could to be there for her throughout all of it.

“How are you holding up hun?” she asked as she placed her hand on her thigh.

“Okay…….a little numb I guess”

“That’s natural…..alot has happened over the past few years, and especially the last few days” Bette rubbed the top of Tina’s thigh, offering a little bit of comfort as she watched her wife struggle with her emotions.

“I know,” Tina said as she pulled the visor down and patted the corner of her eyes with a tissue she retrieved from her purse. “I realize I shouldn’t have any regrets, because much of what happened between us was their own doing, but I still can’t believe that I have lost both parents now”

“It’s never an easy thing,…..loss…….but we will get through it Tina…together”

Tina pushed the visor back up with one hand, as she placed her other on top of Bette’s which was still resting on her thigh.

“Thank you for being so supportive through all this. I know it hasn’t been so easy on you having lost your mother only a few months ago”

“It hasn’t been easy on either of us, but if there is one thing that we have found, is that ability to draw closer to one another during these times”

Tina leaned in and took her hand from the top of Bette’s. She slid it behind her neck, pulling her to her as they both shared a tender kiss. She had not noticed that Logan had already made his way from the house to the car, wanting to see if he could get his Aunt Bette to take the challenge for a game of checkers. As Bette and Tina continued to kiss, Logan knocked on the window.

“That’s SO gross,” Logan said, wrinkling his nose up as if he had just seen one of the worse sights ever. Tina and Bette had always been very careful when sharing any affection in front of Logan and Lauren, but this time they had not been too prepared for such an unexpected greeting.

“Gross?” Bette looked at Tina in a questionable manner.

“Not on my end babe,” Tina replied as she grabbed her purse and exited the vehicle, coming around to the front where Logan was still waiting for Bette to exit.

“You better not get that suit dirty or your mother will not be very happy young man”

Logan ignored his aunt’s remark as he waited for Bette to get out of the vehicle, watching her through the windshield reapply her lipstick.

“Aunt Tina, you think Aunt Bette will play checkers with me?”

“I’m not sure Logan, you should ask her,” Tina suggested as she continued on into the house, leaving Logan standing in the driveway waiting for Bette.

“Hey champ,” Bette said as she touched the top of his head and slid her hand down to his shoulder, both walking towards the house. “How are you doing? You hanging in there?”

“Sure” Logan answered, quickly followed by his burning question “Will you play checkers with my Aunt Bette? I promise not to embarrass you too much”

Bette chuckled as she walked up the steps to the front door, holding it open as Logan walked under her arm into the house. “Anytime you feel like losing, you know I’m game”

Inside, Lori was just taking a pan of lasagna from the oven that Bette had made the night before and dropped off earlier in the day. Greg was in the living room sitting on the sofa with Lauren, who had forced him to look at the Toy Store Wish Book for Christmas. At age 8, this young girl was one to keep everyone hopping.

“What can I do to help?” Tina asked her sister as she grabbed an apron from the kitchen drawer where she knew her sister kept them.

“Can you see if there are enough rolls on the table in the other room? I don’t know how many Greg had put out there….I told him to cut them but I don’t know if he had done that or not either,” Lori replied as she walked over to the wall where the switch to the ceiling fan was, turning it on. “Is it hot in here or is it me?” She asked, looking at Bette.

“It’s a little warm,” Bette replied.

Logan came running into the kitchen holding his checker game. “Are you ready to get your butt kicked Auntie Bette?” Logan asked, giving off one of his most cockiest expressions.

“Logan, watch your mouth. Now isn’t the time to be playing games. Go in the living room and watch television with Dad,” Lori snapped, before Bette could offer any answer to his question.

As Logan complied with his mom’s wishes, some of Lori’s friends had come in offering their condolences on Louis’ passing. Bette took the initiative to help by going into the dining room where Tina was replenishing the paper goods, and asking what else needed to be done to alleviate some pressure from both Lori and Tina at this time.

“Anything I can help with T?”

“I think we are all set here hun…..I put some extra cups out and it looks like she has most of the food out, except for the lasagna,” Tina said as she looked upon the spread of food that went from one end of the 10 foot table to the other. She appeared to be lost in thought before she was interrupted by the gang.

“Hey T, how are you doing?” Alice asked as she placed her hand on the back of Tina’s shoulder. Tina turned towards her, opening her arms as they both embraced.

“I’m okay. It just feels so strange right now. I feel like I just came from the funeral of someone I hadn’t really known. Does that make any sense?”

Shane had just stepped into the dining room to catch the end of that question, and provided an answer before Alice could respond. “It sure does” she replied, causing Tina and Alice to break their embrace as they both turned to the voice now speaking. She too offered a comforting hug to Tina, and then Bette. “You hadn’t been speaking for a long time. It makes you feel like a stranger to someone who shouldn’t have been”

“You’re right,” Tina quickly replied, feeling that Shane more than anyone, felt the same way as her on many different levels when it came to losses and estranged relationships. “I mean, at my mom’s funeral two years ago, he was there, so there was still some link even if we had not really talked……now it is just so weird….they are both gone…..I just wasn’t prepared for this” Tina’s eyes began to fill up as Bette placed her arm around her, pulling her into her, kissing the top of her head.

“Shhhhhhh……..I know it’s hard babe…..anytime relationships are not repaired before something like death happens, makes us all reflect on how we could have done things differently. We question why we may have said the things we did, why we didn’t do something else. You can’t do that to yourself…..the decision to sever ties had lay with him. At least your mom had reached out and you were able to have some amicable relationship…..it’s his loss, I’ve told you that before,” Bette offered as she rubbed Tina’s back.

“Hey Auntie Bette and Auntie Tina, did you see what I made in school?” Lauren asked, making her way into the dining room, pushing past Alice, Shane and Dana as she barely dragged a large poster board behind her.

“Wow…..that’s……very interesting” Tina said as she tried hard to wipe a stray tear before Lauren could see her crying.

Lauren turned it towards Bette so she could see it too. “I made this so you can put it in your gallery Auntie Bette”

Bette looked at the poster board which had a wide range of abstract images in a variety of colors. She took the board from Lauren and held it in front of her, at eye level as she studied it, turning her head from side to side, trying to take in as much as she could. It didn’t matter to Bette, the age of the artist, but the pieces themselves. She felt that each piece created, had a message inside….her eyes searched for Lauren’s message. She had not realized that she hadn’t spoken for a few minutes before Lauren piped up.

“Wellllll????? What do you think? Do you think I might become rich?”

Bette smiled. “I think that you certainly are one creative young lady to say the least. I would be very happy to display this in the gallery”