“Bette”

“Yes.”

“What if What if something happens?” Tina asked, barely audibly.

“What ifwhat happens?”

Tina swallowed hard, and Bette picked up her wife’s hand from the tabletop, lacing their fingers together and giving an encouraging squeeze.

“What if something goes wrong?” Tina breathed.

“Goes wrong with what, T? I don’t”

“What if something goes wrong with the baby,” Tina interrupted.

“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Bette said reassuringly. “Everything will be”

“You don’t know that. Nobody knows that. Things happen all the time. Unexpected things. Unpredictable things. What if the baby is premature or sick orwhat if there are complications,” Tina said.

“Sshhhhhh,” Bette said, resting her hands on Tina’s shoulders. “Listen to me.  You are a perfectly healthy woman with none of the factors for a high risk pregnancy. Marcus is practically the Olympic ideal of wellness. Dr. Wilson says that everything is right on schedule.”

“Not every problem is detectable. Sometimes things justhappen. You know that. We both know that.”

Bette leaned in and pressed her forehead to Tina’s. “I would love to promise you that everything is going to be absolutely fine. But I know that I can’t. What I can promise you is that I will be right there beside you every minute, no matter what. And if, God forbid, something. Well, we’ll figure that out together. The two of us.”

“Hearing everything tonightI don’t knowit all became morereal, somehow. Not something that’s going to happen some day. Something that’s going to happen in three months, whether we’re ready or not,” Tina said.

“We’ll be ready.” Bette softly kissed Tina’s eyes, her nose, and her lips.

“I’m still afraid.”

“I know. There’s a part of me that’s afraid, too. But you can’t let it make you crazy. You can’t let it eat you up. We have every reason to believe that things are going to be fine. Trust that. And trust me when I tell you that there isn’t anything that we can’t face if we’re doing it together.”

“Okay,” Tina sighed.

“Come back to bed with me,” Bette said. “Let me hold you until you fall asleep.”

And Tina rose and let her wife lead her back to their room.