She turned to view the source of her disturbance which came from the neighbouring balcony. A smile spread across her face.
"You better get yourself round to this flat right now!" Bette called.
She made her way back inside the flat to open the front door. There she was greeted by the grinning face of Nikki Wade. The two women embraced and swayed excitedly.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Bette exclaimed.
"I told you I got myself a flat. I just never realised it would be next door to bloody you!"
Bette could only laugh "Have the neighbours not been gossiping about me?"
"Surprisingly not. They just said the woman that lived here had gone away for a while" Nikki replied with a shrug.
Bette looked genuinely surprised.
"So are you gonna invite me in to share that celebratory bottle of wine?" Nikki asked.
"God, yeah, sorry I must have left my manners in Larkhall!"
Nikkie rolled her eyes and followed Bette into the flat, accepting the offered glass of red wine before the two women headed out onto the balcony.
"So how does it feel to be a free woman?" Nikki asked.
"Incredible. I know it sounds cheesy but I'm appreciating all the little things so much more. I can't imagine what it must be like for you after three years"
"I won't lie, considering a few months ago I was looking at a life sentence with next to no hope of parole, the feeling of being free is just amazing" Nikki said with a smile.
"And how are things with Helen?"
"Fantastic. Better than I could have ever imagined. She kept me uptodate onyour situation. And when can I expect to see the lovely Miss Kennard gracing your home?"
Bette chuckled "I'm expecting her this evening"
"Well send her my regards. I won't intrude on your first night of freedom"
"You're damn right you won't, I'm not sharing her with anyone tonight!"
Nikki raised an eyebrow "I'll make sure to put my music on loud"
"You do that" Bette laughed.
The two women chatted like old friends. Even though it had only been a short period of time that they had been locked up together, the shared prison experience created a bond like no other and it was incomparable to friendships formed on the outside. Particularly as both women had been victims of a miscarriage of justice. And the secret that they shared, the secret of their love for their jailors, created a level playing field between the two.
Tina checked her watch and sighed in relief. Finally, it was ten minutes until the end of her shift. The day had seemed longer than any previous day that she had worked at Larkhall. She knew that Bette had been released first thing this morning, and Helen assured her that she'd seen the former inmate to the gate safely. Tina wished more than anything that she could have been there, but she knew that she got the real pleasure of being the one to spend Bette's first night on the outside with her. It seemed to Tina that everyone had it in for her that day. Every women that could have played up, had played up. Alice Piezecki had become over-excited at the news of Bette's release and had taken it upon herself to cause havoc on the wing. It had taken all of Tina's persuasive skills to get Alice to agree to a significant time out in her cell in order to avoid being sent to solitary again. The usually agreeable Shane McCutcheon had come down from her elation that morning, was moping as a result of her two closest friends being released in such a short space of time. It had taken several attempts to get her to return to cell for afternoon lock up. The two Julies had chosen today as the day that they elected to sing everything instead of speak, and Tina could swear that she had a migraine coming on. Add to that a minor spat between Shell Dockley and Helena Peabody, and Tina was ready to throttle somebody.
She looked at her watch again. Two minutes to go. Her radio crackled into action and she groaned. Whoever was bothering her this close to clocking off time was going to face her wrath.
"Yes?" she snapped into the radio.
"Tina can you pop up to see my in my office before you leave this evening?" Helen's voice came over loud and clear.
Tina breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't another troublesome inmate "Of course, I'm on my way now"
Taking the stairs two at a time, Tina jogged up to her boss's office, not wanting to stay away from Bette a minute longer than she had to. She knocked on the door and waited for Helen to call her in before entering the office.
"Tina, have a seat" the Scot smiled.
"So what did you want to see me about?" Tina asked, eager to get to the point.
"Well I assume that you'll be visiting a former inmate when you get out of here?"
Tina raised an eyebrow "I may be"
"I just wanted to make sure that you have every intention of coming back in to work tomorrow"
"Of course. My desire for the job hasn't changed because of Bette" Tina replied honestly.
"That's good. Because I would hate to lose one of my best officers"
Tina smiled "Don't worry, I'll be here to make sure the prison doesn't get overrun with the Sylvia Hollamby's of this world"
Both women laughed.
"Just a word of warning Tina. Be careful when it comes to who knows about your relationship with Bette. Let everything die down a little before you make anything public" Helen warned.
Tina nodded "Don't worry, I'm not taking any more risks. Hiding it from the outside world will be nothing compared to keeping it secret in here, which I'm sure you understand"
"Of course. And I understand I'm expecting to see you at Nikki's birthday celebrations in a fortnight"
Tina laughed "I believe so. Is there anything else Helen or can I get off?"
"I won't keep you any longer, I know you're eager to get to Bette. I'll see you tomorrow Tina. Enjoy your evening" Helen winked.
"Night Helen" Tina jumped out of her seat and left the office in a second, causing Helen to laugh and roll her eyes.
"Come on" Tina yelled, urging the traffic ahead of her to move quicker.
She glanced one more time at the address Bette had scribbled on a piece of paper for her. Tina knew the area well, and she was only a minute or two away if only the damned traffic would get a move on. Cursing under her breath, she hung a left and hoped that her knowledge of the area would serve her well. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the traffic moving after her shortcut. Two minutes later she pulled up outside the address Bette had given her. She looked at the important block and was suitably impressed. Bette certainly wasn't hard up. Tina definitely wouldn't have a problem spending time here. Anywhere had to better than the tiny terraced house that she just about scraped the money to pay the mortgage on with her prison officer wages. And she also guessed that the people who lived in this block did so in order to gain a degree of privacy. Hopefully they would be able to be together without people asking too many questions.
Butterflies were forming in her stomach as she got out of her car. She was finally here. A single flight of stairs and then she would be face to face with her lover. On an equal stage. No more lock up, no more stolen moments in the library or a private visiting room. Just the two of them, with no more barriers.
She reached the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before making her way to Bette's front door. While she was used to knocking on the brunettes cell door in order to spend a few moments with her, this was a whole different ball game. She brushed herself down, wishing that she'd changed into something more attractive than jeans and a vest top. It was too late now though. Swallowing hard, she knocked on the door.
In a matter of seconds the door swung open and Tina felt her breath catch in her throat. The brunette stood before her, clad in a black short silk gown, which clung to her, leaving little to the imagination. Her toned mocha legs seemed to go on forever, and Tina couldn't help but stare.
"So are you just going to stand here at the door staring all night or do you want to come in?" Bette asked with a seductive smile "If you're lucky I might let you touch"