“DAMN IT’S HOT, IT’S HOT AS ***** OUT HERE.” bette shuts off the mower and removes her shirt wrapping around her long, thick curly hair, putting her hat on after that. as soon as she did she couldn’t help but notice the music coming from the room on the third floor. she looked up to see a blonde haired figure rush away from the window.>


“OH *****! I THINK SHE SAW ME?” tina was crouched down on the floor like she used to when jehovah’s witnesses would come to the door. just like home it didn’t work, soon after see looked again to see this goregous woman waving back at her. tina waved back hesitantly not knowing what do soon after. so she went down stairs where a strange yet familiar smell of soul food hit her. >


tina stood in the doorway watching and admiring her mother like a young child again. soon after she felt someone tap her on the shoulder she turned around expecting someone who wasn’t there. instead it was david telling her to go up to her room and turn down the music she lefty playng.>


she went upstairs and and opened the door to Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y”. she cut it off mid sentence when she went over to the window to see bette’s face again. only what she saw was freshly cut grass and trees for miles.>


she went back down stairs to see what her mother was cooking, and to her surprise there was bette standing in the kitchen at the back screen door, damn near standing on the sun porch. as if she was in a hurry for something. ” oh, child say hello to bette, she ain’t gon bite cha!” tina went over just as bette was putting back on her hat and shirt. ” hi bette, i’m tina”. ” hello tina.” her voice was so relaxed and mellow almost comforting to tina.>


“mrs. pettaway i gotta get goin tell dave i said i’ll see him later. bye tina” bette said while giving her a wink and closing with a flash of her smile she was gone. right away tina knew there some kind of unexplainable cool about her. vanessa ruhed to the doorway and to bette ” tell melvin to call me bout saturday night” ” i will” she replied as she clsed the door to a beat up 78 firebird with the loudest pipes in the county. >


dave walks in and says to tina ” i don’t think you should hang out with bette for one she’s to old to hang out with you. and two, she has a reputation in this town” tina’s jaw dropped thinking ” OH ***** NAW!! I KNOW HE AIN’T TRYIN TO BE DADDY? AIN’T DIS A *****!!” tina pulled it together and said “well i guess it’s a good thing I left MY daddy at home in CALIFORNIA” she turned to her mother and said “momma call when dinner is ready”. vanessa replied and said ” sure thing baby, go finish unpacking.” she could barely get that out because she wanted to laugh so hard.  she knew david had no business tryin to tell her what not to do.>


the next day tina woke up to a typical geogia morning. the sun was just peaking over the clouds causing tina to squint at the day’s bright sun already. tina came downstairs to see her mother and david making out in the kitchen while she was cooking. ” ECK! Y’ALL COULD AT LEAST GET AWAY FROM THE FOOD.” ” good morning baby” said vanessa.      ” morning” followed david. “good morning , momma” tina replied. ” i said good morning, too!” yelled david. ” no you didn’t!” ” whatever” he said. ” well whatever then!” tina said brushing him off like bad come-on.  ” hey, hey, hey can we have a nice family breakfast?” asked vanessa. “ mhhh, i guess.” replied tina. >


just as soon as they were done eating tina heard the familiar sound of bette’s car outside. she went over to the window, but not to quickly she didn’t want to seem anxious. bette got out and saw tina in the window. something in her made wave at tina. tina waved back and thanked god that she remembered to brush her  teeth before breakfast.>


bette came in and right away attempted to ignore tina but her presence was to distracting. while bette couldn’t help but notice tina’s body she felt as though she was looking at her as she looked at herself as fat. feeling bad and self conscious she only caught the tail end of bette and david’s conversation. ” OH ***** I FORGOT ABOUT HIM TODAY” david shouted. ” oh baby you and tina wanna take the truck and go see the town today” david asked vanessa. ” i can’ t because i got my sessions today and we’re not ready for her today” vanessa replied in reference to her therapy sessions. >


“well i could show her the town today i’m off.” bette jumped in.  tina in her mind was thinking ” o.k she gonna parade me around town as the fat chick from california!” with the discussion settled tina was sitting in bette’s car with enough clothing on to cover a horse. bette with shock asked ” are you o.k.?” ” yeah why?” tina asked knowing she was sweating like ***** under all them clothes.  ” because it’s hot as ***** out here and you have on jeans and a polo shirt, aren’t you hot?”  ” a little” tina said ” but i…” .  ” don’t you have any shorts or skirts to wear out here? ” bette interrupted. ” i do but i don’t like my legs.” tina said with a low voice dripping with insecurity. ” i’ll bet you have great legs.” bette said with a piercing smile. ” why don’t you go up and change i’ll wait for you.” a little hesitant tina went upstairs and took 30 min. to pick out the “perfect” first date outfit.>


walking out of the front door bette’s first thought was ” damn, look at them hips that’s my kinda woman.” unknowingly tina got a glimpse of bette checking her out. so when she got in the car she had to ask ” is there something wrong?” bette asnswered ” what?” ” because you keep staring at me?” ” oh am i?, i’m sorry.” bette sped off knowing that her stares would soon get her in trouble. bette popped in a cd of Al Green rocking a lil bit to ” Here I Am (Come And Take Me). tina was surprised because the two knew words to the song before they both knew it they both were singing the songs together. >


” i thought i was the only one into classics” tina said with big smile on her face. ” no my mom introduced to this music when i was a baby.” said bette eager to find out what else they had in common. ” where’s your mom?” asked tina desperate to find more from bette. ” she died  7 yrs. ago” said bette with a ittle hurt still behind her response. >


of course bette took tina to all the landmarks of the town before they stopped to have a little ice cream. ” so where are you from?” asked bette. ” i’m from cali.” ” oh, so how come you don’t live out here with your mom?” bette felt compelled to ask.  ” my mom is an ex alcoholic, she moved out here when i was nine she said california was the root of all her problems and so was my father and i .”  ” damn, i’m sorry i didn’t mean to pry.. “ ” no i’m sure youy were going to hear about it eventually, i just didn’t want you to hear the over dramatized version from my mother ” i got out to save my baby” bullshit she tells people.” >


” oh. you wanna see something?” asked bette eager to get out of the awkward moment she set herself up in. ” huh, sure why not” replied tina. bette didn’t know it but tina was checking her out just as much as she was checking out tina. bette drove for seemed like forever she finally stopped at this beautiful river with the trees kissing the water so gently. as the the sun’s purple shadows danced with the water. ” what is this place?” asked tina excited tosee something so beautiful. ” this is what we call Gloria’s river. legend has it that she fell in love in this river, and put a lifetime of curse on it for taking the one she loved.” bette said smiling and looking at the beauty in everything about tina. ” damn, that’s not very romantic.” tina said slightly flirting with bette by giving her a look of subtle and but glowing passion.>


 ” why don’t you like your body?” asked bette curious for this answer all day. ” i’m sorry to be so forward but you seem very like the type of person who is very self loathing at times” bette inerrupted. tina noticed this as one her flaws.  ” uhh, tina stumbled at such a personal question  ” i never really liked my body since my family called me names and kept saying “your mother never had hips like that at your age.” tina said feeling a little vulnerable and nervous. >


bette rose up  and walked over to tina standing near the river she gently put her hands around her soft face and lifted to her eye level and said ” you’re so beautiful”. never feeling that way towards anyone before, and never haveing anyone say that to her  tina felt compelled to kiss her. the kiss started so raw and powerful and it soon drifted into a soft free flowing kiss. bette gently caressed tina hair so gently it made tina fall deeper into bette.>


pulling away from bette for air tina realized that she was gone to long to be seeing just the town of madsville. although it took everything in her she asked bette to take her home. bette willing and little regretfully took her home.tina got out the car saying goodnight to bette and giving the biggest smile she had to show bette her appreciation for the day. as soon as she entered through the doorway there was vanessa and david with a barrage of questions. ” where have you been?, what have y’all been doing?, did she do something to you?” the questions were non-stop. as her only defense tina yelled “why in the ***** do you care you haven’t been my mother since i was little, i don’t even know who you are?”  all of a sudden tina felt the bone of her mother’s fist run across her face. she hit her so hard she fell to ground. the ringing and pounding of the front door broke the silence which fell over the room soon after…