Bette and Tina shared in the care and nurturing of Angie. They worked hard to allow each other the time they needed to have a life outside their home and were quite successful at it.

They had breakfast with the girls most mornings, adding Angie to the gang, and she became quite used to being passed from auntie to auntie while her moms kept up on life outside of motherhood.
Shane was especially fond of Angelica.
She always asked to hold her, and Angie would reach out with her little arms and gurgle and goo goo at Shane who was so tender and quiet with her that a kind of cosseted quiet softness surrounded them.
They seemed to have an ethereal affinity for each other. They looked at each other – and knew something.

Occasionally Shane and Kit would vie with each other for the chance to baby-sit, but Kit was so often busy at the caf keeping the place afloat that Shane would get the baby, and almost always chose to take her home to have her all to herself.

Tina kept her part-time job at the center.
Bette decided to draw out her unemployment benefits since she had never, in her adult life, had a chunk of time to herself without an all consuming job.
She was tired.
She needed the time to regroup and get her energy back.
She needed room to rebuild the trust that had been lost in her relationship with Tina so that she could live in that relationship again without the fear that it would suddenly dissolve and disappear.
She wanted time to enjoy her new baby.
She spent a lot of time alone. She took long walks with Angelica carrying her against her chest in the Baby Bjorn .
She looked down at the baby, not out at the world which seemed to be a hushed and quiet place .
She felt – quite alone.

Alice noticed.
She noticed that when they all got together Bette never said much, didn’t seem to follow their conversations or laugh as quickly, and her sarcastic wit and the brainy quips and barbs were gone.
A light had gone out, the mega watt dazzling smile was gone.
Bette was there, but she wasn’t there, and as time went on Alice wondered about their seeming happiness together .

When they were driving downtown one afternoon Alice asked Tina if Bette was okay .
She’s fine. She’s just tired that’s all.
We take turns but we’re up most of the night with the baby and it’s exhausting. When I’m not up feeding her, Bette is up changing her. Sometimes I feel like I’m sleepwalking through the day.
I’m sure Bette is just as beat as I am.
Okay Alice said – I’m sure it’s rough –
But Is everything okay with you guys ?
Alice asked her, not giving up
Yeah we’re really good. We’re really doing this together, it’s incredibly satisfying and gives us a bond we never could have had without Angie.
Why do you think there’s something wrong?
Don’t know, she replied – she just seems, a little subdued that’s all.
But I guess she’s just tired. I keep forgetting you two are doing this incredible thing!

After that Tina started to watch Bette a little more closely.
After what had happened between them she automatically worried that any distance Bette displayed might mean something was up in their relationship.
It was true that they hadn’t had time to really refocus on it before the baby came , but the intensity of their partnership
glossed over that . They were totally present for each other sharing
their baby’s new life.
Still, she did notice something different.
She noticed how quiet Bette was.
She never talked to Tina as she was walking through the house.
She stopped laboring over what outfits to wear or how to plan her day.

And it was true, she wasn’t the live wire she had always been – sharp as a tack, missing nothing, connecting the dots, moving forward, always moving forward.

Instead she seemed almost acquiescent, always willing to go along with the plan.

Tina was sure she was just tired, and that was it.