Bette nodded her understanding, and then asked, “Had a nice run?”

“Yeah. I took the route that took me past that pond where they have the mini-sailboats, you remember?” Bette nodded again, and then returned her glance to Angelica, distracted by their daughter, who was wrestling now with one of her legs.

Tina continued, “Lots of families out today. Kids running around. It was such a nice scene around practically every spot in the park. Just jogging past all that, then running around the water in the reservoir –prompted me to do some thinking.”

She paused, and shifted around to reposition herself to lie down on the mat, and rest her head on Bette’s core.

Bette spontaneously passed her arm lightly under the blonde’s chin, and began to stroke her fingers through Tina’s silky tresses, as the blonde nestled her head over the brunette’s mid-section.

They fell into a shared silence, watching their daughter as Angelica continued to play with Bette’s leg.

After a few minutes, Tina turned to face Bette.  She could feel the brunette’s muscles ripple underneath her cheek as Bette complied with Angelica’s prompts for the brunette to lift her from the floor with her legs again.

Tina began to trace the contours of the brunette’s muscles in the relaxed arm resting lightly on her neck, as Bette continued to gently stroke the blonde’s hair, massaging her nape and the back of her head also.

“Anything in particular that you were thinking off, T?” Bette asked, resuming their conversation, as Angelica finally tired of their game and crawled away from her leg, and headed towards Bette’s shoulder. With a smile, Bette stretched out her free arm to allow Angelica to use it as a pillow. She drew Angelica into a light embrace as the toddler settled against her frame, even as the brunette continued to stroke Tina’s hair and massage the blonde’s head with the other hand.

This is just bliss. Absolute bliss. To think I was ready to give Tina up all those years ago… to do what, exactly?   She’d asked herself that question over and over again, while she’d wandered around Paris, desperately missing Tina, and trying to figure out how she would live out the rest of her life without the blonde.   What in the world was I thinking?   Live without Tina?