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Bette smiled to herself as she rifled through the box of framed photos. She thought that unpacking Tina’s belongings would give a more meaningful glimpse into the life she had led in Toronto, but every photo she found was of times gone by in Los Angeles or New York City. There was a photo of Angie beaming a toothy smile as she rode her purple bike through Central Park. A young Bette stood in Griffith Park with her arm slung around Tina’s shoulders, her blonde hair cut short. She trailed her fingers over a candid shot of them at one of Tina’s wrap parties, not long before they left LA, her ex-wife a vision in black as Bette gazed at her lovingly. If Bette thought she would learn much about Tina’s time away from LA in these photos, she was mistaken.
“I can’t believe you kept all these.”
A blonde head popped up behind a box in the opposite corner of the room, holding up used bubble wrap and one half of a pair of bookends. She eyed the photos from a distance.
“I would never part with them, baby. That’s our life right there in those photos.”
“Yes, but I just expected a few more of you having adventures around Toronto, that's all.”
“I didn’t really have many adventures. It was mostly work. Working on my show.” She paused for a beat. “Working on myself.” Tina shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess, in retrospect, I was working my way back to you the whole time. I just didn’t realise until recently.”
Bette’s heart swelled in her chest upon hearing the words. “Maybe we were both doing that.”
Tina looked up and smiled at her before removing more bubble wrap. Shaking off the sudden wave of emotion that hit her, Bette instead cast her eyes around the room as she stood among the sea of cardboard boxes in her living room, all in various sizes and stages of opening.
“How did you manage to amass more stuff living alone than when we were together?”
“Um… that’s a good question and I don’t really know the answer.” Tina took a moment and then sighed deeply. “I guess maybe I was trying to fill the void with” - she motioned her arms around the room at the boxes - “more stuff.”
Bette noticed the sad look that clouded over Tina’s face as she looked down and placed the packaging into an empty box. The brunette opened her arms wide and smiled softly.
“Come here.”
Tina looked back up as she weaved through the boxes towards her ex-wife. She put her arms around Bette’s waist and buried her head into her bosom, inhaling the comforting smell of laundry detergent, the same brand they had used when living together before.
“We can take a lot of this stuff to the thrift store, Bette.”
“Not all of it, babe, some of the art you bought in Canada is very nice. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, I guess your good taste rubbed off on me in the last twenty-six years,” replied Tina as she nuzzled her nose into Bette’s chest and trailed a line of soft kisses up her collarbone, inhaling the sandalwood scent on her skin. “You smell so good.”
“I didn’t know Tide did it for you," Bette laughed.
"No, it's your perfume. I missed that smell so much." Tina nuzzled in again to place an open-mouthed kiss into the hollow of Bette’s neck.
“Mm, I think you're trying to distract me from unboxing," replied Bette before dropping a lingering kiss on Tina's forehead. "You may need to hold that thought, however, because we have a lot to do.”
Tina’s hands moved slowly around and under the hem of Bette’s sweater and grazed her hands across the soft bare skin underneath. “You feel good, too, although you are a little cold.”
“Tina…” Bette protested weakly as she chuckled into blonde hair.
Tina slipped her thumb under the waistband of Bette’s thong. “I can think of a way to warm you up though…”
“Save that thought for later and I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Fine,” whined Tina. She retrieved her arms from underneath the material and lifted her eyes to meet Bette’s, placing a chaste kiss to her lips. She brought her hands up to cup Bette’s face and kissed her again, this time more slowly and full of promise, opening her lips slightly as they met. “Mm, you taste good too.”
Tina reluctantly turned away as they disengaged, but Bette held onto her hand and suddenly pulled her back.
“On second thoughts.”
Tina’s lips recaptured Bette’s in earnest as she spoke through the kiss. “Glad to get you on board.”
*
An hour later, the pair were lying among the boxes, legs intertwined, their bodies covered loosely with discarded clothes. Bette’s head slotted into the crook of Tina’s arm, her favourite spot, as she lazily drew shapes down the blonde’s left arm with her right hand, watching as her skin turned to goosebumps.
"I can't believe we didn't make it to the bedroom. My back's not going to thank me for that, T."
"I'm sure I can help relieve any pain."
Bette hummed with contentment. “I have no doubt.” She continued dancing her fingertips across Tina’s bare skin. “I love it here.”
Tina turned her head slightly and dropped a kiss into tousled brown hair. “Yeah, this was always one of my favourite rooms too. Well, when it wasn’t full of boxes.”
“No,” replied Bette, as she pressed her face further into Tina’s skin. “I mean right here.”
“Oh,” Tina laughed softly, as she held onto Bette tighter. “Are you sure you’re comfortable?”
“I haven’t been this comfortable since…” Bette’s words trailed off as she shrugged slightly. Tina didn’t need her to finish the sentence to understand the meaning.
“Come up here.” Tina opened her arm up wider to allow Bette to move up closer. They both turned to face each other as Tina brushed Bette’s hair out of her face and tucked loose strands behind her ears. “I just want you to know that I will never, ever , leave you again.”
“I know, T.” Bette smiled shyly.
“Do you? Because I need you to know that every day we were apart, there wasn’t one that passed when I wasn’t thinking of you. That I didn’t question what I’d done and if it was the right thing or not. I’ve fucked up a lot over the years–”
“–as have I–”
Tina put a finger gently to Bette’s lips. “Just hush for a minute so I can say this. We’ve both paid a high price for the choices we’ve made over the years. So has our daughter and she deserved better.” Tina paused to gather her thoughts. “I need you to know that even now I’m here in your home, I don’t take any of this lightly. My decision to leave still weighs heavily. But coming back to you? Now? That’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”
Tears had formed in Tina’s eyes and Bette reached up to lightly swipe one away with her thumb as it slipped down her cheek.
“Thank you for saying that.”
Tina leaned forward to rest her forehead against Bette’s, their noses touching. “I’ll say it every day if I have to.”
Bette shook her head. “I’m not asking you to. We’ve wasted too much time already and I don’t want to lose a minute more fishing through the past and keeping score of who said what and who did that and the rest of it.” Bette reached up to place a soft kiss on the end of Tina’s nose. “It’s history. We can’t change it. We’ve got a beautiful, vibrant daughter, who makes us both so proud, and she’s just happy we’re back together. What matters now is…” - Bette took a breath to steady herself - “I love you and I forgive you, just as I know you’ve forgiven me for all the shitty things I said and did too. Maybe now we should call it even.”
Tina reached forward and kissed Bette, deepening the kiss as her hands burrowed into brown curls. “Okay, baby.”
“You’re wrong about one thing, though,” mumbled Bette through the kiss. “This isn’t my home. It’s ours .”
“Mm, I like the sound of that.”