“Oh shit” Tina nods and before she had the chance to say anything the bedroom door opened slowly and there stood Jake and Lois shaking their heads. Bette and Tina look at each other with pure fear and worry. What would her parents do if they found out the woman sharing her bed was Bette? They would kill her, wouldn’t they? Maybe they would compromise?

“Christina would you like to introduce us” Tina gulps hard and takes Bette’s hand in hers and makes small circles on the back of it

“Mom, Dad meet Bette Porter” Lois and Jake couldn’t believe their ears. Did their daughter just say Bette Porter?

“You’re Bette Porter?” Jake looks at Bette with a cautious gaze, Bette had already broken Tina’s heart once; he wouldn’t let it happened again “You’re the one who shattered my little girl’s heart” Bette closes her eyes and gulps hard

“Dad please” Bette shakes her head at Tina. She knew there’d be questions from Tina’s parents if they were ever to meet

“It’s ok honey” Tina kisses the palm of Bette’s hand, Bette smiles before turning back to Tina’s parents “Mr Kennard I understand that you must be cautious of me because of what happened in the past but I love your daughter, I’ve always loved her” Tina shallows the lump that was forming in her throat “I know I made a mistake leaving her all those years ago but I’m here now and I’m never going to leave her again” Lois looks at Tina, who has tears in eyes, then back at her ex husband. He gulps hard to remove the lump that had formed in his throat

“Bette I’m sorry I snapped at you” Bette shook her head. She understood why Tina’s father snapped at her

“It’s OK Mr Kennard I understand why you did” Jake shakes his head

“Please call me Jake and this is my ex wife Lois” Lois looks at Bette, she didn’t like the fact that Tina was back with Bette but if it made her daughter happy then she would just have to live with it. Bette could see that Lois was little more reluctant to accept her proclamation of love for Tina

“Mrs Kennard I understand you’re a little reluctant to accept my relationship with Tina but please believe I love her and that I will never do anything to hurt her again” Tina looks at her mother for acceptance and sees nothing but fear for her

“Please Mama I love her and I know Bette will never hurt me again and I will never hurt her” Lois looks at the couple, who she knew were very much still in love after seventeen years or they wouldn’t be in bed together, and saw the  fear of not being accepted

“I’m not happy about it but I can live with it” Bette, Tina and Jake breathe a huge sigh of relieve. Tina rests her shoulder on Bette’s shoulder and Bette lightly places a kiss in her. Jake smiles at the couple whilst Lois, still a little weary, looks on at the happy couple

“As a thank you why don’t you both come to the opening of my last ever exhibition tomorrow at the Franklin Jenkins Gallery tomorrow?”  Tina looks at Bette shocked as the words ‘last ever exhibition’ leave her mouth. Bette was going to give it all up, why?

“We’d be honoured wouldn’t we Lois?” Lois was a great art lover and had several Portia Beals pieces, unaware of the true identity of the artist until now

“But that a Portia Beals exhibition” Bette smiles and nods

“I am Portia Beals” Lois looks at Bette in surprise. Bette had natural talent and the ability to create a hidden meaning within her paintings that only she could decipher

“You’re very talented” Bette nods again “I own some of your pieces” This made Bette jump inside and Tina smile

“Thank you” Tina looks at her parents and smiles and her parents smile back “Tee are you going to be the good host and help your parents out” Tina realises that she and Bette are still in bed, naked and smelling of sex

“Yeah that would be a good idea” they all laugh at the redness that envelops Tina’s cheeks. The rest of the day went smoothly. The embarrassment for Tina and Bette getting caught ‘making up’ was the joke for today and the foundation stone of an improving relationship between Bette and Tina’s parents.

TBC…