The whole pass-back affair became excruciating quickly. Bette couldn’t look at her daughter without memories of Tina and the life they were supposed to have plaguing her mind. The stab of lies and broken promises pierced her body. The word forever had turned into an empty term, a word utilized for appeasement with no real grounding. If forever meant something, Tina would be in her arms and not with someone else. Angelica deserved two parents in-love. She held the young child in her arms like a form of life support, overwhelmed with adoration and compassion for her daughter.  Angelica was so innocent – She hadn’t yet been subjected to the cruelties of the world that slapped Bette in the face every day. In just a few minutes, she would be forced to give her daughter to Tina and the new man in Tina’s life.

Bette winced. She’d told her ex-girlfriend to explore her feelings for men, hoping that it was a phase and the blonde would come back to her. She was still waiting for the phase to end.

Bette took a deep breath before she opened the door to her house. Tina would be there. The mere sight of this woman always managed to strike Bette with the same ruthless force as the day she found out about Tina’s interest in men. It wasn’t easy, looking at the stunning woman and knowing that she no longer belonged to her, that Bette’s touch was no longer the only touch she craved. She cradled Angelica, entering her house to the sound of muffled laughter. She hadn’t been expecting any company other than Tina. Bette strengthened her grip on Angelica as she followed the trail of giggles.

What she saw hit her ruthlessly.

Tina, Henry and his son — smiling and laughing together. They looked like they ought to be on the cover of a Hallmark card as the model of a perfect family. This meeting was going to be every bit as tedious as Bette had expected.

“Hey.”

Tina greeted Bette when she noticed her enter the room. Her voice was stifled by the laughter beside her. “Henry, Mikey, this is Bette. This is Angelica’s other mother.” Henry stood up at once, his laughter receding when he finally noticed her arrival. Bette stared, feeling an intoxicating sadness seep through her at the words ‘other mother’ – That’s what she was to Tina now. Tina looked as breathtaking as always, but it wasn’t the same Tina who she’d been with for so many years of her life.