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“Is that your third espresso?”
Shane waved off Bette’s concern as she threw the cup into a bin and pulled on her suit jacket.
“Jetlag.”
Bette nodded and smiled. She was appreciative of Shane’s willingness to fly 5,000 miles on short notice. For that alone she’d buy her all the coffee she needed.
“You can sleep in my office if you need to. We have a couple of hours.”
“I’m good. Stop worrying,” Shane grinned.
“Do these look okay, sis?”
The brunette turned to face Kit, who had been helping James arrange flower garlands made from ivy and red roses.
“They look wonderful. Very… romantic. Perhaps you should have pursued flower arranging instead of art, James.”
“Just be thankful my girlfriend thinks Valentine’s day is tedious and archaic, or I wouldn’t be here showing off my skills,” James laughed as he and Kit exchanged satisfied looks. The exhibition space within Bette’s new gallery looked a far cry from how it had appeared earlier in the day. Previously bare, bland, and smelling of fresh paint, it now brimmed with colour and floral scents.
“I hope she’ll like it,” Bette said unsurely.
Shane brought a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulders. “She will.”
“Do you have the r–”
“Yes,” Kit answered firmly but kindly. “For the millionth time.”
“And you arranged the–”
“--paperwork, yeah,” Shane cut in. “I did it on the plane ride.”
“Okay,” Bette sighed before a nervous smile appeared on her lips.
“I don’t remember you being this nervous the first time, Bette,” Kit quipped.
“I didn’t care this much the first time.”
Bette glanced at her watch impatiently, watching the second hand move at an agonising pace. When she lifted her head back up, a rust orange beam of setting sun caught her eyes through the windowpane. Her heart jolted. It was a message, a sign from the heavens.
Everything will be okay the second time.
*
Tina drummed the tip of the pen against the white note paper. She was on the sofa, surrounded by oversized cushions, and her legs tucked firmly underneath her. The lounge was bathed in warm light from the various lamps she’d switched on just after 4 p.m. Bette had been at the gallery for most of the day, so Tina had decided to review some long-overdue paperwork, but had in fact been staring at her calendar with a dreamy look on her face for the past ten minutes. Surrounding a particular date in January were several love hearts around a calligraphic letter B, and as she added to her doodles, Tina remained oblivious to the vibrations of her mobile phone that had been sounding intermittently.
“One month,” she whispered to herself. A month since Tina had asked the question she’d been desperate to ask for months.
So marry me.
Okay, so it hadn’t been much of a question, but more of an urgent plea. Until the words had been verbalised, she hadn’t considered Bette might say no. Of course she was going to say yes. Bette would have asked Tina herself if she hadn’t gotten there first. Bette would have happily got down on one knee after their first dinner at the Savoy, so sure was she that they were, quite simply, meant to be. But Tina’s previous insecurities, borne out of her fateful first marriage and divorce, had made her reticent to ever marry again, or so Bette thought. It was the most wonderful of surprises when Tina placed the small velvet box into her palm as they sat watching the swans in Regent’s Park. Of course she said yes.
Tina chuckled to herself as she reminisced on that moment. It was true she had no intention of ever remarrying, but there were lots of things she thought she’d never do again until she met Bette. Like dating, for example. And then Bette came along and took a sledgehammer to all the walls and barriers she’d carefully constructed around her heart. Until she met Bette, Tina didn’t dare to dream she’d find that everlasting, once-in-a-lifetime, blows-all-your-expectations-out-of-the-water kind of love, and certainly not in London of all places. That she had was a miracle. Now Tina understood how love was supposed to feel, the kind of love she herself had made movies about. Suddenly marriage didn’t seem like such a bad idea after all. To stand up again in front of friends and family to declare that this is the person she’d spend the rest of her life with? To stand up and do all that with Bette? It was a no-brainer.
Tina had been surprisingly enthusiastic about the wedding, despite only a month passing since the proposal. They jointly decided they wanted a low-key ceremony for their second time on the marital merry-go-round, and neither Tina nor Bette wanted to waste time with a long engagement. A late summer/early autumn date was their aim. It swelled Bette’s heart to watch Tina pore over bridal magazines night after night as she reclined against Bette’s chest on the sofa. Even if their wedding was to be a small affair, Tina was energised about their future nuptials in a way she hadn’t been the first time, and so Bette indulged her every whim, attending every wedding fayre and buying every magazine available at the newsagent. But then one afternoon a few weeks ago, whilst walking around one such fayre in west London (where they’d consumed too many cake samples and heard one too many terrible wedding bands), Tina had turned to Bette in the middle of the exhibition hall, suddenly and intensely serious.
“You know I don’t care about any of this, right?”
Bette observed her fiancée carefully. “You don’t? You could have fooled me.”
“I care that I get to spend the rest of my life with you. The rest is just details.”
Bette would have made love to her right there and then, but she had no wish to be arrested for public indecency. She more than made up for it when they returned home later. Just as Tina allowed her mind to focus on replaying that particularly lovely memory, the vibration of her phone finally registered.
“Shit,” she said as she leapt off the sofa to find it. It was buried deep into the cushions and Tina had to throw several of them onto the carpet to excavate it.
“Hi babe,” came Bette’s smooth voice when Tina eventually picked up. “How’s your afternoon?”
“Hello you,” Tina answered breathlessly. “Um, good yes, I’ve just been doing some paperwork. Script reviews, etcetera.”
“Are you okay? You sound like you’ve been out for a run.”
“I couldn’t find my phone and had to destroy the sofa to locate it.”
Bette laughed. “Suddenly it makes sense why you weren’t picking up the phone for the last hour.”
“Fuck, did you try to call? I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Bette reassured. Tina could hear the smile in her voice as she sank back into the sofa and ran a hand through mussy hair.
“So am I picking you up before dinner tonight or meeting you at the restaurant?”
“Um…” Bette trailed off, allowing a few seconds of silence to linger. “I have bad news.”
Tina closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t say it.”
“It’s the gallery, T. I’m so sorry but there’s still too much to figure out before we open next week. Tonight is the only night I can meet with Josh Woolford and I don’t want to let him slip through my fingers. I’ll make it up to you, I promise .”
Tina sighed. She knew Bette had been a workaholic in her first marriage, and she’d been upfront about the short-term pain of putting in long hours to get her own gallery up-and-running. The benefit would be the long-term gain of having James take over all daily operations once they opened and Bette assuming a more advisory role. She assured Tina that they’d have more free time together than they’d know what to do with, but Tina hadn’t expected Valentine’s day to be a victim of Bette’s current workload.
“Okay,” she replied playfully after what felt like an age to Bette, “but you owe me big time, Porter.”
“I know, I know,” Bette added. “Listen, I have an idea. Why don’t you stop by in about an hour or so? Josh won’t be here until 8 p.m. I’ll get James to order Chinese takeout for us. It’ll be like that time you stopped by the gallery before we started dating.”
Tina broke out into a small smile, appreciating Bette’s efforts to salvage something of their second Valentine’s together by recalling a nice memory.
“Fine, but you can send me a car. I’m not using the Tube during rush hour.”
“I will. Wear something nice.”
“In your dusty gallery?” Tina teased.
“Just… do it for me, please? Lift my mood a little? Something elegant perhaps.”
Tina furrowed her brow, but agreed. “I’ll see you soon.”
*
The new gallery was a fifteen or so minute ride from the Barbican. Tina had visited numerous times since construction works had started, and the gallery was now in an almost-complete state, hence the numerous appointments Bette was taking with artists for the opening. Bette purchased the property on the basis of real estate out of central London being much easier and cheaper to buy, but the brunette had sent a more luxurious car to collect Tina than she’d expected, and she wondered briefly about the hit to their bank account. She surmised that the brunette was already trying to make up for their Valentine’s plans being derailed by work. Tina was looking forward to spending much more time with her wife-to-be once it was open.
“Almost there, Mrs Porter-Kennard.”
Tina smiled at the driver as their eyes met in the rearview mirror. “It’s still Kennard for now.”
“My apologies, madam.”
When he pulled up outside the gallery, Tina was taken aback to see none other than Helena waiting for her at the entrance, dressed to the nines.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have plans with Ulrika?” Tina asked as she emerged from the car and walked towards her friend.
“You look stunning,” Helena stated, ignoring the questions.
Tina looked down at her outfit. She was wearing burgundy velvet. It was a dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, finished off with a few simple pieces of gold jewellery. There was ample cleavage on show, as Tina knew Bette enjoyed, but suddenly she felt overdressed for the occasion.
“Thanks. I’m meeting Bette for dinner at the gallery and she asked me to wear something nice. I guess because our Valentine’s plans have gone up in flames thanks to this damn place, she’s trying to be romantic.”
“You have no idea,” Helena added with a wink.
“I’ll ask again, Hel, why are you–”
Helena held a finger up to her lips. “Shush. Come with me.”
The blonde was perplexed at the turn of events, but Helena was all smiles, so Tina looped her arm through hers as the Brit led them into and through the gallery at a slow pace. The newly-painted lobby looked as good as it had the last time Tina visited. Nothing was amiss thus far, except that at the far side of the room stood James, in a tuxedo no less, between two tall candelabras. The flames flickered delicately as Tina and Helena approached.
“Hello, James. Late night for you too?”
“Good evening, Ms Kennard,” said James with a smile as he turned around and opened the doors to the main exhibition room of the gallery. Tina’s breath caught at the sight.
“Oh my God.”
The room was filled with fragrance. Ever the green thumb, Tina noticed the pink orchids and white peace lilies immediately. Bathing the space in a pleasant, inviting glow were mock chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings. Scattered around the room were elegant candles and assorted dried flowers, ones that the blonde recognised Bette had collected recently. There were also, inexplicably, three or four chairs arranged in a semi-circle around a floral arch.
Tina absorbed the sight before her, trying to make sense of what was happening. When hazel eyes finally locked with brown, she took a deep, shaky breath. Bette was standing beneath the arch, which Tina recognised was interwoven with orange calatheas, the ‘eternal flame’ flowers she’d introduced Bette to when they reconciled. Standing to her right was a beaming Kit, and behind her was a suited Shane.
“Bette,” she cooed, “what’s going on?”
The brunette smiled as she walked towards her. Helena stepped away to take her place next to Kit and James, and Bette claimed her fiancée’s hands with her own.
“I just couldn’t wait any longer.”
Tina raised an eyebrow lovingly. “For what?”
“To make you my wife.”
Tears pricked behind Tina’s eyes. She swallowed, trying to compose herself, as her brain raced to connect the dots of everything that had unfolded so far tonight.
“You’re so sneaky,” she chuckled, as a tear or two escaped down rouged cheeks.
“Truth be told, I’ve actually been referring to you as my wife since we got engaged. Haven’t I, James?” Bette said as James gave a nod towards Tina. “I don’t want to wait any longer. I can’t wait any longer. I know this isn’t exactly what we had in mind, but this place,” Bette looked around the gallery she called her own, “is ours. You made this possible by pushing me to realise my dreams. It might be my name above the door, but this is what we created together. So why not marry here?”
Tina couldn’t stop smiling as she let her tears fall. “I don’t know what to say, Bette.”
“Are you angry?” Bette asked sheepishly.
“Do I look angry?” Tina replied almost instantaneously, her grin unwavering. Bette’s eyes crinkled.
“Because we can wait until fall if that’s what you really want to do.”
Tina brought her hand up to Bette’s face. “I’m not angry at all.”
“You’re sure?”
“One hundred per cent.” Tina stepped forward and placed her lips firmly on Bette’s. “I’m thrilled.”
Bette beamed as she ran her hands lightly over Tina's arms and ended by rejoining their hands.
“You look beautiful.”
“I see now why you wanted me to ‘wear something nice’,” Tina giggled. “You look beautiful too.”
Bette had selected one of Tina’s favourites of her many fitted suits, this one in black, with no blouse nor bra underneath, but buttoned at the jacket.
“Are you two gonna get this show on the road, or what?” came Kit’s voice as they watched Bette and Tina drown in one another’s eyes.
“Yes,” Bette confirmed with a wry smile. She took a deep breath before nodding towards where Shane was standing ready to officiate. “Shall we?”
Bette stepped forward with Tina in tow as Kit and Helena dabbed the tears forming at their eyes.
“ Wait .”
Five heads spun around to look at Tina, who had paused. A lump formed heavily in Bette’s stomach.
Oh no. She’s changed her mind.
“Babe?” Bette uttered as she turned back to Tina and brought their joint hands up to her chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Well,” Tina sighed, “I was just thinking…”
“What? Is there something you need or…?”
Tina waited a few moments - an age to Bette - and then blew out her cheeks.
“Are we still gonna eat Chinese food later?”
The tension was broken by a guffaw from Helena, which sent both Kit and James into fits of laughter. Shane swiftly followed suit. Bette, on the other hand, gave the blonde a grave look before breaking into a smile.
“You’re so bad, T.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” Tina laughed before standing on her tiptoes to place light kisses all over Bette’s reddening cheeks.
“Yes, we can have Chinese food once we’re done.”
When they’d all settled back down, Tina pulled Bette towards the flower arch enthusiastically. “Let’s get married.”
Kit and their friends took their seats and Shane began with the formalities of their small but perfect civil ceremony. Both women enthusiastically agreed to the legal vows, which made their guests laugh quietly. Shane then proceeded to hand over to Bette and Tina to make their personal vows.
“I thought I’d go first, T, seeing as I’ve had a few weeks to prepare,” Bette joked as she pulled a piece of parchment paper from the inside pocket of her jacket. “I went through four or five versions of these vows and it was driving me insane. The truth is… I realised I was struggling because it’s impossible for me to adequately articulate the depth of how I feel about you. My words aren’t enough, so I thought I’d bring in a pro.”
Tina took Bette’s free hand into her own and squeezed it supportively.
“ I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.”
When Bette had finished, teardrops filled her eyes, matched only by the tears flowing freely from Tina’s.
“Oh Bette,” Tina whispered.
“That was one of poems I read to you the night–”
“--we were engaged,” the blonde finished quietly. “I remember.”
Bette simpered.
“Tina?” Shane asked quietly, indicating it was her turn.
“Well, you kinda sprung all this on me and I’m also a little lost for words, babe,” Tina laughed as she wiped away the wetness on her cheeks.
“T, it’s okay,” Bette reassured. “Whatever you say will mean the world to me.”
The blonde inhaled deeply and brought Bette’s hands to her chest.
“I was lost, but you found me on those courthouse steps. I stole your cab, but you stole my heart. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I thank the universe every day for putting you in my path. Loving you is the easiest thing in the world, and to love and be loved by you is my pride and my joy.” Tina’s lips quivered with emotion as she paused to gather herself. “And thank you for arranging all of this because I was honestly starting to feel the pressure.”
There was soft laughter all around, a moment of levity amidst the seriousness.
“I thought you were enjoying the planning?” Bette smirked.
“Define ‘enjoy’? It’s just details,” Tina remarked, echoing the same sentiment she’d made two weeks ago in the middle of a crowded wedding show.
“I love you,” Bette said, her brown eyes glistening. “So much.”
“I love you too.”
The two women gazed longingly at one another, lost in a place where only they existed. Shane let them enjoy the moment before interrupting with a small cough. “I know you guys wanna get to the good bit, so can I continue?”
“Oh,” Bette laughed. “Sure, go ahead.”
Shane smiled before resuming. “A ring is an unbroken circle. It has no beginning and no end. It symbolises unending and everlasting love and is an outward sign of the lifelong promise you have made to each other.”
Kit came forward and offered the rings to Bette first, who took the smaller ring and placed it onto Tina’s finger.
“Tina, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love. May this ring remind you always of the words we have spoken today.” Tina grinned as Bette leant in close to whisper to her. “And if you don’t like the ring, we can exchange–”
Tina interrupted Bette with her lips. When she reluctantly withdrew, Tina simply said, “I love it.”
Kit turned now to Tina, who took the larger white-gold ring into her own hand and moved it onto Bette’s finger.
“Bette, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love. May this ring remind you always of the words we have spoken today.”
Bette beamed, her delight and relief evident to all.
Shane moved onto the final part of the ceremony, the signing of the civil partnership register. Helena and James signed as witnesses, and once the paperwork was wrapped up, they retook their seats as Bette and Tina returned to stand together beneath the flower arch.
“Bette and Tina, you have signed the civil partnership register that is required by law and you have made solemn promises to one another in the presence of your family and friends, your witnesses, and myself. It now gives me great pleasure to declare that you are legal civil partners. Congratulations! You may now kiss each–”
But before Shane could finish her sentence, Bette had already rushed forward to pull Tina into her arms and capture her lips in a long, tender kiss.
“--other,” Shane finished, laughing along with Kit, Helena, and James.
When they eventually pulled back, Bette rested her forehead gently against her wife’s. She could still taste the faint cherry of Tina’s lipstick.
“Happy Valentine’s day, Mrs Porter-Kennard.”
Tina sighed contentedly. “Happy Valentine’s day, baby.”