(Previously)

“Bette, you need to rest or you’re going to fall apart…I’m here to help. Why don’t you lie down on this other bed and I can watch your father,” Tina offered, feeling Bette’s pain.

“I will but not right now,” Bette also tightened her hold on Tina’s body. “I haven’t seen you for so long and I never found phone calls very fulfilling. Can we just sit here and talk? If daddy won’t wake up in a few hours, I will rest…I promise.”

~~~~~~~

Reunion Challenge: You are the best I ever had

Unofficial JLBT challenge #1 – Part 4B

Chicago, 2006 (cont.)

Tina just nodded, knowing when not to push. Bette put her head on Tina’s shoulder and relaxes in her arms. They sat quietly for a while, taking comfort in each other’s presence and watching Melvin as he was sleeping.

Bette was first to break the silence between them when she shifted her body a little to get more comfortable and asked softly, “How’s Jenny doing? Was she okay with you coming here?”

Tina welcomed the opening and was about to speak when they both were startled by a deep but frail voice, “Now, that’s what I like to see.”

They stared at Melvin and realized that his eyes were open and he was looking straight at Tina, “Promise…you’ll take good care of my girl.”

Tina was so surprised and confused that all she could say was, “I promise…”

“Daddy…” Bette moved to sit on the edge of his bed. She was sure that he was hallucinating because of his medication. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m ready to get out of this bed and have a shower and a decent meal.”

“Daddy,” Bette chuckled softly, relieved that he was feeling a little better.

“And who is this young lady?” Melvin asked, trying to see Tina who was now standing behind Bette.

“Daddy, this is Tina Kennard…my best friend. Tina, this is my father, Melvin Porter.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Porter,” Tina moved closer. “I’m glad to see you feeling better. I wish we could meet under different circumstances.”

“So do I, Tina…you must excuse me but this new medication is making me tired. Elizabeth, why don’t you go home and rest? I am not going anywhere and you look like you haven’t been sleeping much. I remember you wearing the same clothes a week ago.”

“I will do it as soon as you fall asleep, daddy,” Bette caressed his cheek and leaned to kiss her father on the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Elizabeth…” Melvin’s voice was getting weaker and Tina left to give them some privacy. She got some drinks from the vending machine and when she got back to the room, Melvin was already asleep again.

“This medication is really making him tired…one minute he is ready to get up and the next, he can’t keep his eyes open,” Bette said with a heavy sigh, accepting the drink with smile and touching Tina’s hand with gratitude.

When they were back on the chair, Tina asked curiously, thinking about her own parents and their reaction to her coming out, “You told me before that your father knows you’re a lesbian…is he okay with it?”

“I think, secretly he always hoped that I will grow out of it, like it was some kind of a phase or a hobby but he respected my choice and even welcomed any of my girlfriends if I was to bring them home. After I moved to San Francisco, he encouraged me to bring my current ‘companion’, as he called them, for the holidays so he could be sure that his little girl was happy,” Bette replied, smiling at the tender memories of her father.

“Did you…I mean, did he met any of your girlfriends?”

“I actually never brought anyone with me because I’d never met my One and only true love and I didn’t feel like introducing someone to him I wasn’t serious about.”

“What about Alice? You were together for almost two years…”

“I was never in love with Alice…as I told you before, after I met her and we moved in together I was never completely invested in that relationship because I always hoped that one day…” Bette didn’t finish as the nurse came into the room to check on Melvin and administer more medication for his pain…and the moment had passed.

Tina knew that Bette wasn’t ready to continue and she also knew that it wasn’t the right time to bring up something personal when Bette was so worried about her father. She was too vulnerable and Tina didn’t want to make any mistakes that either of them would regret later.

She waited until the nurse finished her job and left the room, closing the door very softly behind her.

“You never told me about your mother…was she also okay with you being gay?” Tina asked when they were alone once again.

“My mother died when I was 10…she never knew.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tina said softly, sensing that this subject was still painful for Bette to talk about.

“Don’t be…I have never talked to anyone about my mother because I still miss her so much. Would you like to hear their story?” Bette asked shyly, reaching for Tina’s hand.

“Yes…” Tina half whispered, squeezing Bette’s hand and placing it on her lap. She felt like crying at the thought that Bette was willing to share something very personal and dear to her. She took a deep breath and asked, “How about we lie down to get more comfortable while you telling me the story? I want to be closer to you…to feel you.”

They settled comfortably on the spare bed, facing each other and Bette sighed with content before beginning to speak again.

“Well…the story begins when my father wanted to take his relationship with his current girlfriend, Gerri, to the next level and he surprised her with a romantic getaway on one of the Caribbean cruises. Mom worked for the airlines at that time and she won a cruise for two as a Christmas bonus at her work, so she took Ben…”

“Ben?”

“They worked together. Ben was hired on the same day and they went through training together and became instant friends. They were never lovers, though. I guess she wasn’t involved with anyone then but didn’t feel like going on a cruise alone.”

“Okay…go on.”

“So, as fate had it, both couples met on the second night of entertainment when they were seated at the same table for dinner. I think daddy fell in love with mom right there and then, though he denied it every time he told me that story when I was little. Mom was beautiful…wavy blonde hair, fair skin, tall and slender body, incredibly sexy and, as my father kept telling me, she was also intelligent, funny and charming and he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.”

“What happened?” Tina was so involved with the story she didn’t realize that she moved closer to Bette and now her head was resting on the brunette’s shoulder.

“Actually, it was like in one of those cheesy romantic movies,” Bette chuckled, enjoying Tina’s closeness. “Ben and Gerri found out that they both had a passion for outdoors. They couldn’t stop talking about all their experiences and adventures, so Ben asked Gerri to dance so they can discuss the excitement of alpine gliding and my future parents were left alone. Daddy told me that mom was a little shy at first and they spent some time just staring at each other. Then they began talking at the same time and finally, after a lot of laughing and apologizing, daddy asked mom to dance. By the time the ship reached Aruba they were madly in love, which didn’t upset Gerri at all. She told my father the same evening that she wanted to date other people right before she dragged Ben into his cabin.”

“Wow…it does sound like a cheesy romantic movie,” Tina laughed softly. “I love them.”

“Me too…” Bette laughed as well and continued with her story. “The ship stopped on Aruba for a day so the passengers could explore the local culture. My parents stayed in a small bungalow that night and this is when they made love for the first time. They were married six months later and every year they went on the same cruise for their anniversary…for 11 years until one time when I was ten…” Bette fought back tears that were threatening to come down any minute and Tina’s heart was breaking, knowing that there was still so much pain lingering in the depths of Bette soul.

“You don’t have to tell me everything tonight, Bette…”

“It’s okay, T…I need to…I’ve been keeping it inside for so long and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather to share it with.”

They gazed at each other and Tina couldn’t help herself as she inched even closer and kissed away the tears that finally came. Bette smiled gratefully and gently pressed Tina’s head back to her shoulder, holding her tight.

“That year they went on the cruise as usual and I stayed with my Aunt Barbara, my mom’s sister. All I remember is the phone call and Aunt Barbara crying and pulling me into a hug and telling me that my mom got sick and now she’s in heaven. Daddy came back a week later than he was supposed to and offered me the same explanation. Only after I was in high school and began asking more questions, he told me what happened.”

Bette sighed and tightened her hold on Tina who remained quiet, waiting for Bette to continue, hoping somehow to ease her pain.

“Mom wasn’t feeling well when they left for the cruise but she thought it was just flu. While they were in Aruba, mom got even sicker…some kind of a Dengue fever. It could range from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe fatal hemorrhagic fever and because she was already weak and having some health problems, her body just wouldn’t fight. The Aruba authorities couldn’t release the body, afraid that the virus could be transferred so she was cremated there.”

“Oh…” Tina didn’t know what to say or how to ease Bette’s pain…any words seem so inadequate.

“When they went on their second anniversary cruise, my mom told daddy that she always wanted to be free like a wind and if she dies first she wanted her ashes to be scattered over the ocean, right where they first met and made love. My father did just that. And he was very depressed for a long time after that.”