It was a little before 5am when Liz bounced into the room Tina was sleeping in with a cup of coffee and a smile plastered on her face.

“Good morning, Tina,” Liz said a little too cheerily as she turned on the light.

Tina opened one eye and peered at the redhead as she sat the coffee on the table next to the bed.

“Time to get up! The house manager will be here in about an hour. I picked you out a couple of outfits from wardrobe for your big outing today.”

Liz clapped as her eyes twinkled at the possibility of a Tina and Bette reconciliation. She sat on the bed and continued talking. Tina did not move.

“Nothing too sexy. Nothing too bleh. Just the right amount of flirtiness.”

Liz shimmied her shoulders and winked at Tina.

“We want Bette interested. I mean she’s interested already. Ob-vi-ous-ly. BUT we want her intrigued and dare I say…a little aroused.”

Liz raised and lowered her eyebrows several times with this funny little smirk.

“We want her to remember why you are her person. And that starts with the look. So get up and let’s get you ready.”

Tina kept looking at Liz out of one eye; trying to make sense of all the words she’d just pelted her with.

“I put a robe in the bathroom. Shower!” Liz commanded.

“I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”

Liz hopped off the bed and repeated ‘20 minutes’ before she disappeared. Tina blinked both eyes open. She looked around the room and remembered where she was which was not under the same roof as Bette. She rolled onto her back, rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

She knew the redhead was probably waiting outside the door with a timer. Tina shook her head, sneered and grabbed her phone. No new notifications. She sighed and read Bette’s messages again. One really stuck out.

Bette: Is it safe?

Tina smiled. She could feel Bette’s concern. It was really nice. It was always nice. Bette did the little things to make sure Tina felt special. The things someone may not have noticed if they weren’t paying attention. Bette was great at the over-the-top grandiose gestures, but her specialty was the little things. Tina stopped noticing. She didn’t know when or how she stopped noticing the way Bette cared for her and loved her and protected her and how she was just always there for her. How did she stop noticing the little things? The effort?