“Of a good journalist” Bette offered

“So Tina, do I need to start looking for a new roommate to share my luxurious one bedroom apartment?”

“Alice” Tina’s serious expression was cause for concern, Alice wondered if she hadn’t assumed too much about last night’s reunion for her friends “I’m leaving you for my wife” Tina smiled as she squeezed Bette’s hand under the table. Bette didn’t attempt to conceal her happiness instead grinning broadly ‘my wife’ she thought. It was a term that their friends and Kit sometimes used but Bette couldn’t remember hearing Tina call her that before. She almost always referred to Tina as her partner and grimaced as she recalled slapping the term ‘girlfriend’ on Tina when it had suited her to do so in conversations with Candace.

“Babe? What’s wrong?” Tina saw the frown cross Bette’s face

“I…I was just thinking that I don’t remember you ever calling me that”

“My wife?” Tina asked

“Yeah”

“D’you not like it?” Tina searched Bette’s features but found no answers

“No, I love it, I’m just not used to hearing you say it that’s all”

“Yeah I know we talked about when we did the ceremony and I said that it was too ‘old and married’ but I guess I’ve changed”

“Yeah you became old and married” Alice couldn’t resist and bore the brunt of equally nasty looks from both Bette and Tina for her efforts “Joking ladies, really. God, you know we’re all just jealous!”

“Think I might go and get a muffin” Tina announced, letting her hand slide from Bette’s as she stood “Do you want anything Babe?”

“No, thanks” Bette smiled up at her

“Alice?” Tina moved her attention to the petite blonde

“I’d be too scared that it was laced with arsenic”

“Hmm tempting” Tina replied as she turned and moved toward the counter.

“OK, so spill Porter” Alice lowered her voice in an attempt to be discreet

Bette thought back to last night and looked wistfully at Alice

“You’re killing me here!” The frustration evident in Alice’s tone

“Patience Al, we’ve got a long way to go before things are back to normal”