“That must have been difficult.  What went through your mind when she declined his offer?”

“I was hurt, obviously.  Tina and I had discussed it.  She had been in agreement when we first made plans to start a family.  It was important to me to have a child that represented us.  Not just White, but biracial.  I guess I felt like she had just agreed to it and then forgot about it.  Minimized that request, maybe….” Bette paused.  She didn’t want to portray Tina in a bad light or show a particular vulnerability of her own.

“What?”

It took a few moments, while Bette sorted out her feelings, but finally she answered.   “Made me feel invisible?  Unimportant?”  Bette said awkwardly.  She had never voiced these feelings aloud to anyone.  In fact, she had never expressed it quite this way in her own mind. 

“Oh.  How did you address these issues?”

“Tina and I discussed it.”

“You talked about how she had made you feel ‘less than?’”

“No, not that.  Not really.  That was on me. Tina isn’t the kind who would do something like that intentionally.  She had worries, but we talked it out and it was Marcus’ sperm that got her pregnant.  She was totally behind it.  The race thing wasn’t an issue.  We were excited about the baby.”

“Do you think Tina understands your issues as a biracial woman?”

“I don’t have issues.”

“That’s good,” Suzanne looked skeptical.  “I’d rather keep my personal situations away from my therapy sessions, but I think I might have a special insight here.  My wife is African-American and the child that we just had is half African-American.  We used a Black donor.  And before you ask, his name isn’t Marcus.  The donor is my wife’s brother.  Like you, it was important to her and me that, especially since I was carrying our child that she feel a special connection, too.  This is all to say that I do understand where you’re coming from and it’s import in your life.”

Bette was amazed that her therapist had shared so much.  Because of it, Bette felt an instant camaraderie with her.

“Bette, our session is just about over.”  Suzanne stood and walked over to her desk, took a seat at the chair there and opened up a drawer.  She extracted a prescription pad and looked up at her client.  “We haven’t discussed any medication for you…”