~~~~~

" ‘Portard?’ Oh, no, you didn’t!"

"Oh, and that’s better than ‘Tibette’?"

Alice and Bette sat on the front porch steps while Angelica played with her toys on the grass, oblivious to the adults’ good-natured ribbing.

"I said Bettina would’ve made a good name," Alice enunciated.

"Because Tina and I are Italian! Well, if you had given birth to her, you could’ve named her that." Then under her breath, "Or you could have it tattooed on your – "

"Hello! Right here!" She scooped up Angie and placed the little girl on her lap. "Angelica, would you like to learn some new signs that Aunt Jodi taught your Earthmother?" She waved at Bette dismissively. "Go grade your papers; we’re good."

Bette eyed Alice suspiciously for a moment before patting her daughter’s tousled head. "Momma B’s gonna be right inside," she said pointedly. Leaving the front door open, she went in and sat down with the stack of papers on the kitchen table, quickly becoming engrossed.

After a while, Bette realized it was too quiet. She looked up and saw that Angelica had fallen asleep in Alice’s arms; she smiled as she watched Alice gently rocking her daughter. Unwillingly, she thought of Tina. She should be here. She should be here with our child.

Bette turned away and shook her head, dispelling any wishful thinking. The one thing she was certain of was that Tina had moved on. Would she still have these thoughts if they didn’t have Angelica?

~~~~~

"It just means … she doesn’t need me anymore."

Bette started to sob quietly again. Dr. Foxworthy waited as she regained her composure, then went on in his sonorous tones.

"Obviously there was a time when you did need each other. Bette: when did you realize that you were falling out of love with Tina?"

She sighed and searched her memories. "I don’t know. When she didn’t want to marry me. When she stopped fighting me on things. When life got too … comfortable."

"You said you always treated Tina gingerly – why did you feel you had to be protective of her?"

"I was thirty-three when we met, she was twenty-six. She had only been with men; her friends didn’t understand that it was about love, not a lifestyle choice. She gave up so much to be with me and never looked back. She moved in after a few months, and we spent the next few years building up our home. Everything seemed so right and … " Her voice drifted off.