To their surprise, Bette drew both of them closer to her in a tight hug first, then pushed back to hold both lightly on one side of each shoulder, and said quietly, “Tina and I are so proud of both of you, individually, and as a couple, and I just wish we’d shown you more how proud we’ve been of you, about how well you’ve handled things, and built such a good partnership, and put down foundations of a good life.”

“Oh, Bette!” Diane cried out impulsively, and began to tear up, as Jules drew her arm around the blonde’s shoulder and held her tightly against her frame. I don’t like where this is going. What is Bette trying to tell us?

Bette swallowed and visibly steeled herself, before continuing, “As I told you last Sunday at your place, sometimes, all you can do is solve what’s in front of you, because there are lots of bigger problems in the world, inequities and inequalities, but there are no easy answers. So if you have a way to help you should do it; if you can affect one or two lives, then act.”

Diane was close to sobbing now, afraid of what Bette was intimating.

Jules opened her mouth to say something, but Bette held up her hand, and said softly, “No, let me continue. We don’t have a lot of time. So please just listen.”

Bette looked at each one in turn, and continued, “No matter what … you have to do what’s right for you, and as strange as this may sound, what each of you thinks is right for you individually. Not for each other. Not for anyone. What’s right for you. Trust me when I say that, when it comes to your relationship, when each of you knows that the choices you make individually end up bringing you both together, this will only make your bond stronger, ironically – you’ll be better prepared for whatever may come. All your other choices, all your other decisions, individually, and as a couple, after that will end up being the right choice, the best choice for you.”

“Bette, I ….” Jules started to say. But Bette shook her head quickly, and held a sobbing Diane with both hands on the blonde’s shaking shoulders, and said softly, “Diane, I am choosing to entrust you with everything, ok?  When you get to our place, go to my office…,” Bette paused, and gave her a credit-card sized dark plastic which was embedded with thin silvery strips. “Pass this over the lock of the door to my office. If it doesn’t work, here is the sequence of numbers to punch on the lock.” She gave Diane a card, which had numbers imprinted on one side of it.