“Bette…” My thoughts shatter at the sound of her voice.

“What?” I answer back apparently upset at what’s happened and how Tina’s taking so long to respond to my urgent call. She’s never been this way toward me and the feeling of a personal vendetta hovers over me. I hope to god that this isn’t going to be a repeated pattern with her. We so fucking need to talk.

“It’s not as bad as it seems. She’s comfortable with me. And I can’t tell you how honored I feel for her to call me mommy. I feel like I gave birth to her.” I inhale at the sound of the b word and turn away facing the patio. I could hear her stroll over to me and stop within arm’s reach. I believe she’s afraid to touch me, because I’m not keen on Angie calling her the m word. “I thought you wanted us to be a family.”

Tears form in my eyes because I didn’t imagine us being a family this way. I always thought that Tina and I would have that special bond that made a family and Jodi and I would have the same factor, but not as deep as Angie calling her mommy. I’d rather Angie call her J or Jodi, but not mommy, no! That’s where I draw the line, because the last thing I want to do is to confuse my daughter. It’s sickening that Tina and I are separated and dating different women, but I never saw this coming. I mean, maybe I’m jealous because Angie called her mommy first and not me. But could you blame me for being annoyed or sounding uncomfortable? I can see the future and an outcome like this leads to destruction.

“I do.” I reply, allowing a small tear to seep from my eye. I was confused with what I wanted from Jodi and I knew I had to do something, because I felt like my life was spinning out of control. I can’t stand it when this happens, because I always end up hurting the ones that love me the most.

“What’s wrong?” She asks me, touching the nape of my neck, running her hands over my shoulders and collarbone. Out of anger, I push her hands away because I’m not in the mood to be touched.