Tina walked through the front door, looking for Bette or some sign of her. She had gotten home late from Alice’s and she thought for sure Bette would already be there. But the Saab wasn’t in the driveway and Bette wasn’t anywhere to be found. Finally, Tina discovered the hastily scribbled note on the kitchen counter.

“T- Message for you on the machine. Gone for a drive. B”

Tina pressed the play button and poured herself a glass of juice while she waited for the message to cue up.

“Tina, it’s Jane Sinclair. We haven’t talked in a while so I wanted to check in with you to find out how you’re doing and see whether or not you and Bette have made any decisions about putting the house on the market. There’s certainly no hurry, but we are approaching what is traditionally considered to be the area’s best selling season. I’m not sure if you already have a real estate agent that you’d like to work with, but I can recommend several top notch colleagues who would do a great job for you. I hope you’re doing well and I’ll look forward to talking with you soon.”

Tina sat down heavily at the kitchen table, her lawyer’s measured tones still echoing in her head. No wonder Bette had made herself scarce, Tina thought, suddenly wishing she could do the same. Just get in her car and drive and drive and end up wherever she stopped. But Tina knew that there was no escaping all that awaited her. The questions, the conflicts, the decisions that needed to be made. All of the issues, real and imagined. How had it all become so complicated?

When she and Bette first got together, it was easy. Everything clicked. Their mutual attraction had the momentum of a freight train, and they had found each other at a place in time where their individual life goals and values were almost exactly in synch. Both held high-powered, high-pressure jobs. Both were on the climb in their careers. Both were driven to achieve and acquire. They were a power couple whose power was in balance.

But at some point over the last few years, their goals had changed. Though stimulating and gratifying, professional successes hadn’t brought them the deep personal satisfaction they both longed for. They wanted something more. And after much conversation and soul searching, they decided to start a family. The expectation at the outset was that this new goal, like every other they had ever had, would be achieved in short order. Ever the planners, they even calculated their desired due date and worked backwards toward the month of conception.