“Don’t apologise T. Somehow it only makes it worse and I never felt taken for granted. That would be the wrong way to describe it. I felt the pressure of having to support a family and having to adjust to how that would affect us as a couple. That’s no excuse though, I know I should have handled it differently, but give me a chance to put that right and you’ll never regret it, I promise.”

“No promises, remember.”

They walked together in silence for a while until Tina spotted a bench that they could sit on that was away from most of the other people that were in the park. As they sat down Bette leant against the back of the bench while Tina leant forward, her elbows on the tops of her legs and her face resting in her hands. Bette waited for Tina to start talking again but when nothing happened she gently rested her hand on Tina’s back, to let her know that she was there for her.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be happy if I’m not with you, it just seems unobtainable if you’re not there.” said Tina, not looking at Bette.

“Let me hold you.” whispered Bette.

At Bette’s words Tina leant back and in towards Bette. Bette put her arm around Tina’s shoulder while Tina rested her head against her. Tina closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, relaxing into the sheer familiarity of having Bette this close to her. From the position that she was in Tina could hear Bette’s heart beating and she knew that it was beating faster than normal, she smiled to herself knowing that she could still make Bette’s heart race.

“Being here with you, like this, makes me want to let it all go, the hurt, the anger, all the disappointment.”

“So why don’t you?” asked Bette, cautiously.

“Because I’m scared.”

“Me too.”

“Why?” asked Tina, who in the process sat upright to look closely at Bette, who in return sighed at the idea that she had Tina in her arms just for her to move so quickly again.

“BecauseI’m probably not going to explain this very well so hear me out before you say anything. You know what it’s like when you’re first falling in love with someone. It’s scary and exciting all at the same time. Falling in love with you, all those years ago, was the scariest thing that I ever did and yet I got the greatest rewards that I ever experienced and now I feel like I’m doing it all over again. I’ve always loved you Tina, through the good and the bad, but for reasons that I can’t quite ascertain, it feels new, or, I guess renewed. Does that make any sense to you?”

“Do you want to know something?”

“I want to know everything.” replied Bette as she reached out to touch Tina’s arm, wanting to feel closer to her.

“For the first time since I left you I’m starting to see the woman I love instead of the woman who cheated on me.” said Tina, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Don’t cry baby.” said Bette as she reached out and took Tina in her arms for the second time. She held her close, stroking her back, while Tina let all of her tears spill out.

Bette held Tina close until she could feel her breathing become more regular and Tina began to shift her weight so that she could look up at Bette and into her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I crying, I just got a little overwhelmed.”

“It’s OK, I’m just glad to be here, to give you the support that you need.”

“Can we just stay here a while longer?” asked Tina as she snuggled back into Bette.

“We can stay here just as long as you want.” smiled Bette, happy to have the woman she loves back in her arms.