“Thank you Bette. We appreciate that you also want what is best for this baby but we understand that you need to consider what is best for you as well.”

“I guess we should be going. Thank you for everything Bette. You have my number so please call me if you want to talk some more.”

“I will Marcus. You two take care of yourselves and I’ll be in touch tomorrow.  What time are you seeing Bruce?”

“We have a 10 am appointment.”

“OK perhaps we can arrange to have lunch with Peggy afterwards. We definitely need to talk some more.”

“OK.”

Bette, Marcus and Francesca say their good-byes with the promise to get together again the next day. Bette was experiencing so many emotions that she couldn’t get a handle on them. Could she really take on the responsibility of raising a child on her own? She was honest in that she never considered becoming a single parent. Whenever she would day dream about a family there was always a partner involved. She had no doubt she could love this baby and the thought that is was Marcus’ child made the emotional connection even stronger. She loved Marcus but could she really adopt his baby without it changing their relationship? Would she want him to be a part of the baby’s life? Would it be so different if Marcus had simply been a donor?

***

Bette left the loft soon after and headed to Peggy’s penthouse. She was rather upset that Peggy knew about Marcus’ situation and didn’t tell her.

“Bette I don’t understand why you are so upset.”

“You could have at least warned me Peggy.”

“I didn’t want to influence your decision Bette and I’m not trying to influence it now. Marcus came to me for help and I offered to give it. I just thought that perhaps it would be a good idea for him to talk to you. He’s very concerned about whom the baby is placed with and I can’t think of anyone else I would trust more than you. You’ve always talked about having children and specifically about Marcus being the donor. I know this isn’t the same as if you had a partner and he donated sperm but the fact is that maybe this is how it was meant to be. You would not be doing this alone Bette. I told you months ago that I would be a grand-parent to your children and if you were to adopt this baby I would be here to help you.”