***

Tina took a slightly different route home that went by Bette and Emma’s house. Several cars were parked in the driveway and on the street and there was music and laughter coming from the back yard. She glanced at the cars and recognized most of them but she didn’t see Bette’s familiar electric blue Saab convertible; instead she saw a Lexus SUV parked in Bette’s usual spot. Bette always said she would trade the sports car for a sturdier more reliable family vehicle whenever they got pregnant. It looked like Helena was right. The tears stung her eyes as she drove home to her dark empty house.

Henry always spent Sunday’s with Mikey but would take him home to his ex-wife’s in the evening. Normally Tina would beg off whenever he wanted to come over on Sunday nights because she liked to have the alone time to prepare for her busy work week but tonight was different. She needed to be comforted. After taking a shower and changing into lounging pajamas she called Henry and asked him to come over. He was a bit surprised by the call but none the less made his way to West Hollywood and arrived within the hour. She met him at the door and led him directly to the bedroom. Henry knew that when Tina got like this all she wanted from him was sex. There was no need for conversation.

***

Meanwhile back at the Porter house everyone was toasting the good news. Bette and Emma had made a game of telling the family about the pregnancy. As planned they’d prepared a simple Chinese buffet with a variety of noodle and vegetable dishes. At the end of the meal once all the dishes were put away they handed a fortune cookie to each of their guests.

Bette and Emma had truly wanted the entire family there for the announcement and that should have included Tina. When Tina had called that morning to meet Bette prior to the brunch she’d decided that she would tell Tina about the pregnancy in private because she was sensitive to the emotions this type of news could conjure up in her ex. She knew if the roles were reversed and Tina was pregnant that she’d want to hear it first hand from Tina not have it inadvertently disclosed. However as their morning conversation took a turn for the worst there wasn’t a good time to break the news so she’d delayed it. Now that everyone else knew it was just a matter of time before Tina would find out but seeing as though Tina had made her choice to be with Helena she probably wouldn’t be around that much anyway. It saddened Bette, but under the circumstances it was likely for the better. She couldn’t dwell on it. Her baby and building a lifetime with Emma was now her main priority.