Seeing Mei Hui sitting in the corner booth of the local Chinese bakery made Mark feel the weight of all the years that had passed. The last time he'd seen her had been ten years ago, and she'd naturally matured from the young college girl she'd been back then. She'd styled her once long hair into a pixie cut and stopped coloring it the soft caramel brown she'd favored before and let it go back to its natural black. She didn't look old exactly—her Asian genes still kept her looking several years younger than her mid-thirties—but seeing her after so long and picking up on all the subtle changes that had happened made him feel like an eternity had passed from then to now. It wasn't the same as with Allison and Lou, who he had watched mature day-by-day—in this case, the Mei Hui of the past who had worn peasant skirts and blouses and had worn her hair in a long braid down her back had abruptly turned into a mature businesswoman in crisp and clean clothes right in front of his eyes.

Mei Hui seemed to have a similar reaction when she noticed him coming. The last time she'd seen him, he'd had dyed red hair and wore baggy pants with hoodies almost every day. She'd never really had the chance to see him transformed into the person becoming both a father and a salaryman had turned him into. The momentary surprise showed on her face.

“Mark,” she said warmly, rising to her feet. Her belly was noticeably swollen underneath her green maternity dress. “It's been a long time. You're looking as well as ever.”

“You too. It seems what they say about pregnant women having a glow about them is true.” Mark placed a hand on Jinyoung's shoulder. “This is my husband, Jinyoung.”

“Mei Hui Chanda. Pleasure to meet you,” she said, bowing her head to him. “I've heard nothing but good things about you from Allison. Which is a bit unexpected, but I hear you have an atypical family arrangement. Which is for the best.” She glanced at Mark again. “I would have been shocked beyond belief if you and Allison had divorced for a messier reason.”

“It's not really in our character,” Mark said.

“Of course. It never really was.” She dropped back into her seat, where there was a huge stack of wrapped milk buns assembled on her tray. “Don't mind me while I devour all of these,” she said, smiling lightly. “Pregnancy cravings seem to be getting the better of me lately.”

“You picked a good kind of food to get hooked on.”

“I laugh in the face of carbs.” She unwrapped one of the packages and slid the milk bun out. “So. I gather Allison's told you the details of my story.”

Mark nodded. “We're sorry for your loss, Mei Hui.”

She nodded somberly. “Thank you. I never really thought I'd get married, you know. With the kind of work I do, I see more monsters than men. It gets wearing. You start to wonder if pure, undamaged love actually exists, and then...” She sighed to herself. “Then it happens to you. You meet the person who brings back your faith, and everything changes. Jai was one of the good ones. And now, so many of the monsters live on, and my Jai is gone. It's a cruel world. I've learned that many times. That's why I want my child to live in the kindest possible world I can give. And that isn't with me. I've made up my mind on that and I won't be changing it, so you have nothing to fear about me backing down.”

“We would understand if you did,” Jinyoung said gently. “You clearly loved your husband very much.”

“I did. I do. But the dreams we had for the child can't be given by just me. I fight the monsters nightmares are made of, and enough children are already living inside that nightmare. I won't bring another innocent child any closer to danger. And I won't stop fighting. My new dream for my child is to see it safe and happy and loved by parents who can give it the world I can't. And maybe those parents are you.”

Mark felt his heart thudding in his chest. He'd been excited by the prospect of having the opportunity to become a father again the night before, but now it struck him fully how much he wanted it. He wanted to be a safe harbor for this child. He wanted to keep it so far away from the horrors Mei Hui spoke of that the only monsters it would ever know were the kind that vanished every morning in the sunlight.

“Allison has already told me plenty about you both,” Mei Hui said. “I've liked what I've heard. Mark, the fact that you can still manage a glowing review from the woman who divorced you speaks volumes. Jinyoung, the same can be said of receiving a glowing review from the woman whose former husband you wound up marrying.”

“Allison said the issue of us being a gay couple wouldn't be a problem?” Jinyoung asked anxiously.

Mei Hui shook her head. “Certainly not. A Chindian child growing up in the current political climate is going to need parents who understand how to face and rise above discrimination. Besides, being a heteroual couple doesn't automatically make one superior parents. You two, according to the ever-trustworthy Allison, are financially secure, have experience raising a child who is an absolute darling by all standards, have a strong commitment in spite of differences in age and cultural background and upbringing, and are respectful, broad minded, not bigoted, don't have violent tempers, and have no history of abusing anyone. That already puts you in a better place than a lot of people in this city. But if you don't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions.”

Mark and Jinyoung exchanged a nervous glance.

“This is for Jinyoung,” Mei Hui said. “What is the most random thing you love about Mark?”

“W-what?” Jinyoung stammered. Mark didn't blame him. He hadn't been expecting that either.

“Don't think too hard about it. Just answer the question.”

Jinyoung flushed a little, ducking his head. “When...when he eats popcorn, he looks like a chipmunk.”

“Excuse me?” Mark asked blankly.

“It's true. You just shove a whole bunch in your mouth so your cheeks get fat, but because of how your face is, it just looks so cute that I want to die sometimes.” Jinyoung turned even redder. “Don't look at me like that. You're the one eating with chubby cheeks. You should be embarrassed.”

“Chipmunk eating,” Mei Hui repeated. “And Mark, what's your happiest moment with Jinyoung?”

Now it was Mark's time to turn red. “I...I...maybe..,maybeIhaven'thadityet.”

“Pardon?”

“I, um, haven't had it yet. Because it just kinda gets happier every day we go along, so...yeah, the happiest moment of all just keeps getting replaced all the time, and...” Mark shifted in his seat. “I can't say for sure because it could change any time.”

“And you call me sentimental,” Jinyoung grumbled, placing his hands over his flaming cheeks.

“Because you are.”

Mei Hui smiled wryly. “Interesting, interesting. Jinyoung, what is your favorite thing to do with Lou?”

“When he was younger, it was reading him stories,” Jinyoung said instantaneously. “He loves it when we act out the character voices, and he laughs so much and has so much that it feels as if you've made the book real for him. Now that he's older, it's just so much fun to talk to him. Children have such an interesting worldview that his thoughts and way of looking at the world around him is just so interesting to me.”

“Mark, what's the best thing you think you've ever done for Lou?”

“I think,” Mark said slowly, “that it was letting our family grow and change. And some people might call me crazy for saying getting divorce and having Allison remarry and me dating and marrying another man was one of the best things that could have happened when they'd call it not only a huge mistake but 'unfair to my innocent child,' but I think his life now is happier than it would have been before now that he has Jackson, Jinyoung, Regina, the Wangs, and the Parks in it. I think he's just grown up surrounded by so much love that all that love has shaped his life and made him an open-hearted kid. Not a day of my life goes by when I'm not proud of him.”

“Yes,” Mei Hui said softly. “I think it's often the hardest decisions, the ones other people would turn down their noses at you for making, that are the ones that shape your life and give it meaning.” She set down one of her milk buns, which she had been eating steadily throughout the conversation. “I'll be honest with both of you. I'm already four months along in this pregnancy. I don't want this to be a last minute decision. I want time for the family to prepare, and for me to prepare arrangements as well. I also want to say that you two give me a sense of assurance I'm not sure I'm going to find anywhere else. I don't think people with as much diversity of experience and such a deep understanding of what it means to love each other and take care of a child outside of ideals and stereotypes are just going to keep falling into my lap. If you don't mind, I'd like to move forward with the two of you adopting the child.”

Mark's mind was screaming yes, yes, yes, but he knew he had to go into this rationally. “Since it's such an important decision, maybe Jinyoung and I should di-”

Jinyoung's hand clamped down hard around his thigh. “We already discussed it last night,” he said, his voice slightly shaky. “I want...if Mark also wants to, I want to say yes.”

Mark exhaled sharply. “I also want to say yes. Even if we think about it for longer, I don't think we'll come up with a reason to say no.”

“Good,” Mei Hui said. Her voice had also gotten a little emotional. “I wanted you to say yes. There are a lot of things to plan. I'll need to get in touch with Adoption Services, and I'm sure you two will have to prepare your home for the new arrival. We can discuss some of that right now, since we're here together. But for now, I just wanted to say thank you. I wanted to do this the best way I could, but I was so worried I wouldn't be able to find a good family in time or none of my plans would work out. But I know that with you this child will have a big and loving family, just like the one you said Lou grew up surrounded by. And with Allison having a baby, too, that family is only going to get bigger and more loving. So thank you.”

“And thank you,” Jinyoung echoed. “We'd started losing hope we'd ever get to have a child of our own. I know your thoughts are mostly on your dreams for the child, but you've made our dreams come true.”

“And mine,” she said, ducking her head to hide the evidence of a quickly falling tear. “That you already think of it as your own child with all the love that entails means more than you can possibly understand. Thank you. I truly think I found the world of kindness I was looking for.”

They spent almost the entire day in the bakery with Mei Hui, going over logistics and what the adoption process would entail. It was a lot of information all at once, but being with Mei Hui made it a little more relaxing. It seemed to be good for her, too—she was clearly still battling her grief, and needed a task to keep her occupied. She was a driving person who thrived on having a goal and achieving it. Mark could only hope that when all of it was finished, she wouldn't feel too empty when she returned to her old life without her husband and the child that had been growing inside of her with her. Although Mark supposed it wouldn't exactly be 'going back.' You could never really go back to any point in your life. She would be going forward, hopefully at peace with the choices she'd made.

When Jinyoung and Mark made it back home, they were tired out but blissfully happy. Mark wasn't at all surprised when Jinyoung yanked him back to the bedroom and practically tackled him into bed as soon they'd taken their shoes off and turned the hall lights on. He was in the mood for it too, to bury himself completely inside this person he loved and who had loved him enough to share this beautiful life with him.

When they were spent and even more tired than they'd originally been, Mark pulled Jinyoung's body against his chest. “I hate to bring this up now,” he said, inhaling the intoxicating aroma of Jinyoung's hair. “I know we have a lot on our minds, but I think this needs to take priority. There is no way we can raise a baby full time in this house. There is definitely no way we can raise a baby and have Lou over every weekend. His bedroom is literally the only bedroom other than ours in this house.”

Jinyoung groaned. “Mark, you really, really, really at pillowtalk these days. Five years ago it was 'you still look like you want more, baby' and now it's 'Jinyoung, let's get fiscal' or 'Jinyoung, let's look into real estate'.”

Mark leaned into Jinyoung and bit his ear. “You still look like you want more, baby,” he whispered. “More room. Maybe a bigger house.”

Jinyoung swatted him hard on the chest. “Okay, okay, I get your point. We can't raise a baby here. But I'd lived my life avoiding house hunting up until now, and it would have been nice to keep it that way.”

“Well, you're in luck. I'm an expert at last minute house hunting. That's how I got this apartment in the first place, after Allison and I split. It doesn't even have to be a permanent home. We can rent a starter home for the first few years, then upgrade. If we divide up our tasks—I'll take care of the initial house hunting, while you look into getting the things we need for the baby—I'm sure we can do this in time.”

Jinyoung sighed, but nodded. “By the way, do you think we can get away with a baby shower?”

Mark shrugged. “I don't see why not. Even if neither of us are pregnant, we are having a baby. And we barely have any stuff. Allison has plenty, but she still needs a lot of it for Regina, plus she's having the new baby on top of it.”

“Then I'll look into doing that,” Jinyoung said. “I don't want to seem selfish, but we're really kind of starting at square one here with limited time. I still have to order myself those parenting manuals, but my phone's still in my bag in the hallway, and I don't see myself getting out of bed in the foreseeable future.”

“There's always tomorrow.”

“Funny how that line doesn't work so well when you're impatient.” He traced his finger along Mark's collarbone. “Mei Hui said she's scheduled for an ultrasound next month. I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl.”

“If it's not a boy, we better pray that Allison's having one.”

“I will. I kind of want a girl, but really, I'd be fine with either.” He paused. “Speaking of which, should we tell Lou when he comes over tomorrow?”

“I don't see why not. Our baby's technically going to arrive before Allison's, so he'll need the time to prepare himself. Plus, if we're moving, his entire weekend home will be changing as well.”

“Ugh, could you stop talking about moving? You're going to give me an ulcer.”

“Fine. What do you want to talk about?” He snuggled closer to Jinyoung. “My cute chipmunk cheeks?”

“Shut. Up.”

“You never told me you liked that before.”

“Because you might get self-conscious about it and stop doing it. And I seriously needed entertainment like this back in the day when Lou watched Cars or one of his Muppets movies over and over again every weekend.”

“I promise not to stop.”

“But now you're going to know that I like it and get a big head about it, and it's not going to be as fun anymore. I shouldn't have brought it up.”

“I thought it was cute.”

“So me thinking you're insufferably cute is cute? What is this, cute-ception?”

“And what if I think cute-ception is cute?” Mark laughed. “To make it fair, one of the most random things I love about you is when I come home from work early and I overhear you singing show tunes in the shower. I really like the time you did 'All That Jazz' in particular.”

Jinyoung jolted up. “You did not overhear that!”

“Of course I did. How else would I know about it?”

“Oh my god. I want to die.”

“Why? You're a good singer.”

“Mark, if you've overheard it...you know that I, ahem, sometimes sing every role in the cast for ensemble songs. It's so embarrassing!”

“No, those are the best! That time you did 'La Vie Boheme'-”

“NO, WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS!”

Mark only laughed. “I promise not to stop eating like a chipmunk if you don't stop singing Broadway.”

Jinyoung grabbed a pillow and clocked Mark over the head with it. “Here, a pillow to make up for your utter failure at pillowtalk, you jerk! And to think I was over the moon happy tonight!”

“You still are,” Mark teased, grabbing him back down again. “Something tells me you still want more, baby.”

“I knew it!” Lou yelled, looking at Mark and Jinyoung with an outraged look on his face. “You TOLD me you couldn't have a baby, and now you're having a baby! You lied to me!”

“Hey, hey,” Mark said quickly. “We didn't lie to you. Jinyoung's not pregnant or anything. We're adopting.”

“You could have just done that when I asked you to get me a baby brother!”

“It's not that simple,” Jinyoung said. “Sometimes, people are very strict about who can adopt babies. Most people think babies should be adopted by houses with both a Mommy and a Daddy.”

“That's stupid,” Lou said. As an almost-ten-year-old, he was finding a lot of things stupid these days. “So, you're going to adopt a boy in case Mommy has another girl!”

“Actually, the baby hasn't been born yet,” Mark explained. “We're not going to know the gender until next month.”

Lou looked a bit flummoxed, but didn't argue for once. They were learning basic probability in math—maybe he realized that chances were fairly decent that at least one of the babies would be a boy.

“The other news is that to make room for the baby, your Papa and I are going to look at getting a bigger house,” Mark told him.

This perked Lou back up after the frustration of his we-can't-have-a-baby parents announcing a new baby. “Awesome! I was running out of room for my cars.” He paused, suddenly making a face again. “But that means someone else will live here? That is so weird! We've always lived here.”

Technically they hadn't for the first two years of Lou's life, but Mark highly doubted he remembered the house he and Allison had shared all those years ago. They had lived in this apartment long enough that it would feel pretty weird to relocate.

“I'm sure someone nice will move in,” Jinyoung said. “And we'll be bringing all your stuff with us, so it won't be our house they're moving into. It'll be an empty, boring house.”

Lou nodded—that made sense. “And Sammy will come, too?”

“Of course Sammy will come. Sammy will have even more room in a bigger house, OK? And there will be more room for your racecar tracks, and more room to have a sleepover with Kit. Instead of having to sleep in the TV room, we can get you a room with a guest bed for Kit!” Mark nodded. That would also be nice when relatives came to visit.

Lou nodded. “OK.” He bounced his foot thoughtfully. “So I get to be a big brother two more times. I'll do an even better job.”

“You're already amazing, Lou,” Mark said. “It'll be fine.”

“But you're not allowed to love my new brother more than me.”

Mark snorted, enjoying how he already decided it was going to be a brother. “Don't worry. Daddy's fine with having a three way tie for number one in his heart.”

This seemed to pacify Lou. “I gotta get more racecars then to show off to my new brother. Can I do something for an allowance, Papa?”

“How about when we're ready to move, if you help us pack, Daddy and I will get a brand new RC car,” Jinyoung suggested.

Lou's eyes widened. RC cars were the Holy Grail of his car collections. “YES!”

As he scampered off to find his 'emergency' phone to text Kit the good news, Jinyoung leaned in to Mark. “Looks like this ultrasound can't come soon enough, huh?”