“T?” Bette ventured as she looked at her visibly shocked partner “What do you think?”

“God, Bette” Tina faltered as she took a deep breath and tried to steady her reeling mind “Have you actually thought this through?”

Bette remained silent and Tina considered the events of the last few minutes and had her answer.

“Wellyes” Came Bette’s eventual response. She had thought it through, however briefly, before she rushed out the door of her office while calling out to James that she’d be out for an hour or two. She had hoped that Tina would be happy. She had hoped that they might enjoy a long lunch together. Bette swallowed hard as she saw a look that resembled shock and panic more than happiness on her wife’s face. In that moment she felt her hopes for their afternoon dissolve.

Tina raised an eyebrow at Bette’s less than convincing reply “For how long?” Tina asked “Five minutes?”

“I thought you’d be happy” Bette said in a dejected tone which complimented the wounded look on her face.

“I haven’t really had time to think it through” Tina explained quietly.

Bette sighed heavily and stood up, letting Tina’s hand slip from her own as she stretched to her full height. Crossing her arms over her body she fought a loosing battle to keep her disappointment in check.

“I don’t get it Tina” Bette said “I thought the issue was you not wanting to risk another miscarriage, maybe it’s that you just don’t really want this child at all”

“I didn’t say that!” Tina said defensively. It always irritated her when Bette took her words and distorted their meaning to the point where they barely even resembled what she was trying to convey.

“I’ve provided a solution to this problem we appear to have and you look at me like I’ve lost my mind” Bette continued angrily.

“I just think that we need to give this some more thought” Tina said as she reached out for Bette’s hand “Bette you need to consider what it will be like for you to carry a child for nine months. It’s physically demanding and exhausting and the hormones mess with you” Tina faltered as her mind continued to reel with the thought of Bette pregnant.

“If fit and healthy and”

“Almost forty” Tina interjected.

“What the ***** is that supposed to mean?” Bette questioned defensively. She couldn’t believe that Tina would use her age against her in such a way.

“That the list of risks and complications for a pregnancy increases with age” Tina replied “Have you thought about that?”

“What choice do we have?” Bette replied indignantly “If we’re going to have this child then what do you suggest?’

“You’ve never even contemplated being the one to carry our child before. So why are you doing this now?” Tina asked quietly.

“Clearly this was a waste of time” Bette said rashly as she turned and walked back to the opposite side of Tina’s desk. Tina watched dumbfounded as Bette collected her purse and turned to leave.

“Bette, wait!” Tina called as Bette reached the door. She didn’t want Bette leaving while there was this much tension between them”. Can you please just give me some time to think about this?”

“Don’t wait too long Tina, I’m not getting any younger as you so generously pointed out” Bette said as she shot her wife a disparaging look before opening the door and leaving Tina to an empty office.

Sighing heavily Tina sat momentarily stunned by her wife’s dramatic exit. She was torn between wanting to chase after Bette to smooth things over and not having the patience to deal with what she suspected was a theatrical ploy. In the end she decided that it was probably best to give Bette some time to simmer down and hope that she would be in a more rational state of mind when they got home tonight.

TBC