Until one day, in the middle of the week, Tina requested a late afternoon meeting that spilled into the quiet evening.  Remains of their meal were on the countertop to be stored or discarded.  The water was running, filling the sink to soak the used dishes and utensils.  The flow stopped, replaced by sounds of dinnerware slipping into and filling with soapy liquid.

They stood, in the kitchen, not more than a couple of Angelica’s unsteady strides between them.  The baby who now slept peacefully not twenty feet away. 

Saying Bette’s name the fairer woman coughed nervously then spoke from her heart.  She didn’t need to set the stage in some grand gesture or elaborate setting.  It was in the everyday she knew her life would be whole again with Bette. 

With an unremitting stare she admitted to what she felt.  What she knew.

‘I love you’ she claimed. 

‘I’m sorry’ Tina said. 

‘I miss you’ she whispered. 

‘I need you’ she implored. 

Bette listened to her ex-lover, a serious crease marked her forehead.  Her hands were wet from rinsing one of the serving dishes.  Reaching for a washcloth she dried them quickly. 

Without looking up “Let’s go to the other room,” she said. 

The darker haired woman led the way with deliberate steps to the sitting area.  The words that followed were said as carefully as her movements.  Each chosen word was said without hurry.

“Do you see it?” she asked.  Her voice was markedly soft as she questioned, “Do you see us?” 

They stood in the very room where the earlier recollection took place.  Where the curly-haired boy asked her for more than she would have liked to do and give up.  Where another significant memory took place.

“You were so pregnant.”  Bette smiled.  She couldn’t help doing so prompted by the vision of Tina’s body and the child she carried within.  Their child. 

“I remember how close you were.”  They were going to be parents.  Together though not in the way they had expected when they first dreamed of growing their union.

Placing her damp hands on the back of the chair directly in front of her, as if needing tangible support to bring her back to the scene, she continued.