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The flight had been awful, there were no two ways about it. Tina was well adjusted to the five and a half hour slog from Toronto to LA, and she could afford the luxury of first class, but it had still been one of the worst flights she could remember. The flight had been delayed several hours to begin with due to a summer storm at Pearson International – she should have realised then that it was going to be one of those journeys. The turbulence was deeply unpleasant, even for a seasoned flyer like Tina, and she hadn't been able to relax or do work as she had planned. Upon landing at LAX, she'd had to wait in queue after queue just to get through border control and baggage reclaim, where she then found her Antler Clifton suitcase had been thrown around in transit and now sported a large dent in one its corners.
“Fucking great,” she muttered as she lifted the handle and walked towards the exit. Taking out her cell phone, she noticed a slew of missed calls and pondered why anyone would bother to try to call her when she was 38,000ft in the air. She at least had Wi-Fi access on the flight and had emailed Angelica to tell her she'd probably be super late for dinner. Angie had replied, saying it was fine and that she couldn't wait to see her. Pausing before she crossed the threshold into the main arrivals lounge of the airport, she scrolled down to her text messages and noted with frustration the first line of one such message from her assistant back in Toronto.
Your ride has been cancelled because of the delays. Struggling to rebook at short notice. Are you able to arrange a ride when you land?
Tina sighed in annoyance and wondered to herself, as she sometimes did, what she was paying her assistant for if not to expect the unexpected and plan ahead for problems. Alas, it was the weekend, and Tina did not want to be the ball-buster who demanded ridiculous hours from her staff. Didn't they too deserve a break? It was part and parcel of the split life she was living between LA and Toronto and her assistant in particular had been a huge help in simplifying the complex. It was not part of the job description to support their boss in figuring out the minutiae of the problems that this double life created, and yet they did it anyway.
“Maybe we all need a little humbling sometimes,” thought Tina to herself as she scrolled to the Uber app on her phone. She entered the address of her LA house, and just like clockwork, the same thoughts that repeatedly plagued her reared their head. “Why don't I call it home? Will I ever call it home? Where is home?” She didn't have long to meditate on such questions as the Uber app informed her that there was at least a 30 minute wait on cars at her terminal. Summer storms and delays, be damned. There didn't seem much point loitering around in that odd limbo between baggage reclaim and arrivals. At least in the arrivals lounge she could have a glass of wine, finally get round to doing some work, and perhaps think a little more on those questions about home.
*
Arrivals at LAX was always chaotic and overwhelming, but it seemed like many flights into this specific terminal had been delayed and she was inching through the crowds at a snail's pace. Tina had the advantage of knowing this airport like the back of her hand and she spied a gap to the side that she could slip through. She headed for said gap and marched alongside the flimsy barrier that separated passengers and awaiting relatives and drivers. Hurtling forward in that single-minded way people often do in places they know well, she was almost too quick for the strong hand that reached out and grabbed her wrist. In shock, she spun around and was met with familiar brown eyes and a comforting smile.
“Where are you going so fast?”
“Bette!” Tina couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face, the kind of smile that reached the eyes.
“Hi, T.”
Tina grabbed Bette into a hug that made the brunette slightly unsteady on her feet. She didn't realise until this very moment how much she had missed – was missing – her ex-wife.
“What are you doing here?” exclaimed Tina, the relief and excitement tangible in her tone.
“I heard you needed a ride.” Bette couldn't help but bury her nose a little into blonde hair as they embraced. “Maybe I should pick you up from the airport more often if this is the reaction I get.”
Tina detangled herself but kept her arms around Bette's waist. “Well, I'm glad you did.” Tina looked down as she realised that there were droplets of water on her hand. How had that happened?
“Oh, sorry about that. I bought you a little welcome home gift.” Bette looked down to her right hand and sheepishly handed Tina a Slurpee in blue raspberry flavour. “Thought you might be thirsty.”
The smile had not yet left Tina's face and she continued to gaze affectionately into Bette's eyes.
“I'm sure you'd prefer something stronger, but they don't sell wine to take out, which to be honest seems like a huge missed opportunity in an airp--”
Without warning, Tina leant forward and planted a tender kiss against the corner of Bette's lips. “It's perfect.”
As Tina regathered herself, Bette's heart thumped in response to the kiss, and she reached her hand up to touch where moments earlier her ex-wife's lips had been. “Shall we go?” asked Bette, clearing her throat.
“Sure.” Tina reached to take the suitcase handle, but before she could, Bette's hand was already there.
“I've got it, T.”
Watching her as she walked off with the suitcase, Tina couldn't help but beam.
*
It took a long time to exit the parking lot and join the streams of traffic intersecting around the airport, but Tina suddenly found she didn't care now that she was sat in such close proximity to Bette in the front seat. The scent of her perfume filled the car, and even with the air con on blast, Tina felt a little flushed. Menopause had been part of her life for a while now, but she was sure the culprit was, in fact, the brunette sat mere inches from her. Even in comfortable lounge wear, Bette was strikingly beautiful.
A relaxed silence had settled between them as per usual, laced with the hint of something a little more intimate. Bette and Tina had long-since grown accustomed to the magnetic pull that had and would always exist between them, even in their worst moments with each other, but recently it had grown stronger. Something seemed to have shifted within both of them as individuals, fears and grudges from the recent past falling away; therapy healing them on their worst days, and age and time pushing them forward on their best. Tina had felt it in the comfort of their old shared garden when Bette's hand took her own. Bette had felt it the night they'd danced at Angie's prom. Privately they both hoped that it was inevitable now that their two roads would once again merge into one, if only one of them would have the courage to make it so.
Tina leaned her head against her hand, having finished her Slurpee, and looked over to Bette. “Bette...”
Bette glanced briefly at Tina nervously, before her eyes returned to the road, wondering just what she was about to be asked. “Yes?”
Tina waited a moment before narrowing her eyes inquisitively. “How did you know I needed a ride?”
“Oh! Angie told me your flight was delayed. I figured you'd miss your ride or it'd get cancelled.” Bette felt a little disappointed that Tina hadn't put forth a more serious question.
“That's very sweet of you both. I'd have been fine in a cab.”
“It's not a problem, really.”
Tina continued to eye Bette from the passenger seat. Bette of old would have cussed out the gridlocked traffic and sulked the whole drive back to West Hollywood in times gone by, but not the woman sat next to her right at this moment.
“How did you know my ride would be cancelled, though?”
“T, it's just details,” replied Bette, chuckling softly. A wry smile slowly appeared on Tina's face, which Bette clocked. “Okay, if you must know, we have your assistant's email anyway for emergencies and such, and I asked Angie to drop her a line and say we would figure it out when you got to LA and not to worry about rearranging the ride.”
Tina nodded, touched at the kindness and simplicity of the gesture. She had forgotten, amongst all the torment of the last few years, just how thoughtful Bette could be, especially when it came to her ex-wife. She cast another look back towards the brunette, smiling. “I'm very thankful you're here.”
Bette smiled softly in reply as Tina shifted her body slightly towards her. Gently, she outstretched her hand, slipped it over Bette's free hand, which had been resting on her own thigh, and interlocked their fingers. Bette's smile widened and she squeezed their hands together in response. Not for the first time tonight, Bette had to clear her throat before she spoke.
“Do you want me to drop you off at your house first to change or...?” she trailed off.
Tina simply gripped their hands tighter. “No, let's go straight home.”