Mark hadn't known if he and Jinyoung would be allowed to attend Mei Hui's ultrasound since they weren't family, but two weeks before she was scheduled to go in, she issued them an invitation to join her. “It's up to the expectant woman to decide who comes,” she explained. “And I think it's only fair that you guys are there. You're the ones who will be buying the 'it's a girl' or 'it's a boy' things and telling poor little Lou if he's going to get that brother he's been wanting.”

So Mark and Jinyoung had taken an early day at work to drive up to the clinic together. They'd met up with Mei Hui in the waiting room, and the three of them had been ushered into the ultrasound room together to await the examination.

“Just a warning,” Mei Hui said, adjusting her position on the bed where she was laid up, waiting for her ultrasound technician to return to the room, “but sometimes they can't determine the baby's gender during the first ultrasound and they'll need to do a secondary one later. They gave me the disclaimer earlier, and I wanted to make sure you guys knew that, too.”

“We'll cross our fingers that it works out this time,” Mark said. “But it will be enough just to know that the baby's doing well.”

A few minutes later, the ultrasound technician came in and introduced herself. “So,” she said, looking back and forth between Mark and Jinyoung, “which one is the lucky father?”

“Both,” Mei Hui answered for them. “They're going to be the adoptive parents.”

“Oh...” The technician looked shocked for a moment, then quickly recovered her chipper smile. “Well...congratulations. Is this everyone's first ultrasound?”

“My second,” Mark said.

“I've been to several, but this is my first time actually being the one the pregnant belly,” Mei Hui said.

“It's my first,” Jinyoung answered.

“I see. We've already gone over the process with Mei Hui at her last appointment, but basically this ultrasound is to check the baby's progress. We'll get to see its shape, size, and positioning, and ideally determine the baby's gender. During the exam, we'll also be collecting information on the heartbeat, growth measurements, and the amount of amniotic fluid, and make sure there's no warning signs in the overall development. If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to ask.”

She had Mei Hei lift up her shirt to her chest and gently squeezed a glob of gel on her abdomen. Then she flicked on the image display, which for now was only displaying a blank screen.

Mark held his breath as the technician ran the probe along the gel, spreading it out slowly. An image materialized on the screen, and little by little a hazy image of the baby's head appeared.

“Oh my god,” Jinyoung whispered. Mark squeezed his hand. It had been ten years since he'd done this last, and he'd almost forgotten how it had felt to see even the grainiest, faintest image of his child. Even just the slight hint of a tiny nose and little hands made him feel like his heart was spiraling into overdrive.

“The size looks good,” the technician said. “Let's get a better angle...here.” This time she got them a close up of the baby's face. If you looked at it closely, you could see the distinctive features—the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the rounded chin. Two little hands balled around the side of its head, and the small legs were bent at the knees. Jinyoung squeezed Mark's hands so tightly the knuckles went white.

In an instant, the legs shifted, exposing the region. “She's certainly not shy,” the technician said. “It's a girl. You're going to be having a girl.”

“Well,” Mei Hui said, grinning contently. “I'm sitting in the comfortable position of not having to break this news to Lou.”

Jinyoung seemed beyond caring. “A girl! Oh my god, it's a girl. I've always wanted a little girl, and now...” He couldn't finish his sentence. Mark wrapped his arms around him tightly. He was also excited. He'd loved raising a little boy, but he also wanted the opportunity to be a father to be both a girl and a boy.

“I take it someone in the family really wanted a boy?” the technician asked.

“My son,” Mark said. “But another family member is also pregnant at the moment, so he may still luck out. It'll just put a lot more pressure on her.”

“Allison will live,” Jinyoung said, refusing to be shaken. “I'm going to be a father. To a little girl. It's like a dream, I don't even know what else to say right now...”

Mark glanced out of the corner of his eyes at Mei Hui. She was looking at Jinyoung with eyes so soft it almost broke Mark's heart. The sight of Jinyoung's ecstatic happiness seemed to move her profoundly.

“We'll take a picture of the ultrasound of your baby for you,” the technician said. She looked at Mei Hui first, then at Jinyoung and Mark. “One copy or two?”

“Just one,” Mei Hui said calmly. “They've been married almost three years now. I think they know how to share.”

“But Daddy, I was counting on you,” Lou said tragically, setting a small pile of DVDs down into one of their moving boxes. Mark and Jinyoung still hadn't officially decided on a house yet, but they were close to putting a deposit on a nice rental house in a suburb nearby Lou's school so they wanted to get the jump on packing. The size was just right for raising their daughter full time and for having Lou over plenty, too. It was within their budget on top of it, but they had about two or so more potential houses to visit before coming to a decision.

“There's still your Mommy,” Mark reminded him. “She'll find out soon whether she's having a boy or a girl soon. Besides, you love your little sister.”

“Yeah, but what if she's not like Regina and is bratty like some of my friends' little sisters?”

“You think your Daddy and Papa will raise a bratty little girl?” Jinyoung teased. “There's nothing to worry about. You're going to love her, too.”

Lou still looked a little uncertain, so Mark reached over to ruffle his hair. “Being a boy or girl doesn't make you a better sibling. You know your aunts and uncle? Those are my sisters and brother. And even though some are girls and one's a boy, I love them all the same. You'll feel just the same about your siblings. And even if you wind up with three sisters, won't it be so cool to have three girls look up to you as the coolest big brother?”

That seemed to convince Lou a little. “And Regina likes frogs and cars, so she's cool. Maybe the new baby will like cars, too.”

“Maybe. And even if not, girls can be cool anyways. Like your mommy and two aunties, right?”

“Right.” Lou finally gave a little nod of approval. “If she's like my aunties, then it's fine.” He tossed a few more DVDs into the box. “When am I going to see my new room?”

“We haven't decided on the house we showed you yet, but we will soon,” Jinyoung promised. “But we promise to make sure we pick a house with a room you love, OK?”

“And get a cool room for my sister,” he reminded them. “If she's gonna be cool when she grows up, we're going to have to play together lots.”

A month and a half later, they'd moved to the house they'd liked in the suburbs, thankful that the small apartment they'd been living in before hadn't given them much opportunity to amass a lot of things to drag along with them. Even though Mark was less than six years away from forty, his amount of possessions wasn't all that much different from when he'd first moved into the apartment at twenty-eight. He'd gotten new clothes and books and DVDs, sure, but he'd also recently gotten a lot better about ditching the old things he wasn't using. The combination of Lou's things and Jinyoung's things made moving a slight bit more strenuous than it had been to move after the divorce, but it wasn't by much. When he and Jinyoung finally purchased a place instead of just renting, then they'd consider splurging on nice decorations and furniture.

They'd done a quick set up of Lou's room first so all his things would be there when he came over, then got their bed into their room and handled all the bedding before passing out on top of it in exhaustion. Over the next few weeks, they spent their time arranging their bedroom, TV room, kitchen, and bathrooms, trying to figure out where each little thing should go and making emergency runs to IKEA and the hardware store to buy whatever they didn't have. It was a pretty rush job, but they were satisfied when they finished. It would take a bit longer for it to start feeling like home after living in one place so long, but they were both sure it would. They were more than ready to start building a life here.

With the other rooms at least most of the way arranged, they moved on to what would be the nursery. They hadn't had their shower yet, so there wasn't much to put in there yet other than the crib Jinyoung's parents had sent as an early gift and some cute wall stickers of an owl sitting in a tree they'd bought on clearance at Target. Still, with those in place, they could begin to see the room take shape. They planned out where they'd put the changing table, her toy bin, the chair where they would rock her to sleep when she got fussy. They debated how many plushies would be overkill and which would be their daughter's favorite—they hoped it would be the owl they'd gotten her to match the one on her wall.

There was still so much left to do, but with every day they felt more and more ready. They wanted the change that was coming into their life, and even though they were happy now, they believed with all their hearts that they would only be happier with one more person to love in their lives, one more person joining them together in the love that had defined the best and most beautiful years of their existence.

They weren't sure if Mei Hui would want to go to their baby shower, but she accepted their invitation as soon as they offered. “I would really like to meet as much as your family as possible,” she said earnestly. “I'm trusting the child will be looked after and loved by them, but I would really like to see them in person. Besides, what's a baby shower if there's no pregnant belly to fuss over?”

So a seven months pregnant Mei Hui was given a seat of honor at the little party they threw in their new house. Jinyoung's family naturally hadn't flown all the way from Korea for the event (though they were planning on coming up after the baby was born to help out), but Uncle Sangyoon had come to represent the Parks in their stead, and Mark's parents and younger brother had come bearing gifts from his other siblings and relatives in California. Allison and Jackson had also come with Lou and Regina and Jackson's parents in tow, and BamBam, Yugyeom, Kit, and several of Jinyoung's work friends had followed after. Even though the party was on the small side, several gifts had also arrived from everyone else who was absent, including something from Jaebum all the way from Korea, and a big gift that Mark's entire office had chipped in and gotten for him.

After warmly hugging both Mark and Jinyoung, Mark's parents had immediately made a beeline for Mei Hui. The following conversation was a rush of Chinese Mark barely understood, but they seemed to be thanking her for allowing their son to adopt her child and also praising her for her humanitarian work—Mark's mother had actually seen one of the documentaries she'd been in on television, and was passionately telling Mei Hui how much it had moved her and what a strong woman she was. They seemed to bond together quickly, and it wasn't long before Mei Hui was letting Mark's parents feel her stomach where the baby was regularly delivering several ruthless kicks.

“Man, you guys are so amazing,” BamBam said. “I can barely even remember to set my alarm sometimes, much less raise a kid.”

“Yeah, we noticed,” Jinyoung said dryly. “I think we've looked after Kit more times than you have, and you're actually related to him.”

BamBam shrugged indifferently. “What can I say? You do a better job than me, so why not use the resources I have? Besides, whenever my little bro isn't hanging out with your kid, he's a real pain in the . You should have just adopted him.”

“I heard that,” Kit said, looking deeply offended. “You shouldn't make other people do your job, Bammie.”

“Hey, you're not my job. I didn't give birth to you.”

“Kit, there's no helping it,” Yugyeom said. “BamBam's a slacker. He's beyond our saving.”

“Oh come on, man,” BamBam said. “You're the same age as me, and I haven't noticed you becoming a responsible adult or a father recently.”

“It's okay if Kit isn't my brother,” Lou butted in serenely. “Because I'm finally going to have a brother when Mommy has her baby.”

Mark glanced over at Allison, who was sitting next to Mei Hui and trading pregnancy anecdotes. She'd recently had her ultrasound and luckily discovered that her baby-to-be was a boy. Now that Lou was assured a brother, he'd been a lot more optimistic about having a bonus sister to round out his family.

“I didn't want to be your brother anyways,” Kit sniffed. “I just want my real brother to be a normal person.”

“Not possible,” Yugyeom said. BamBam smacked him on the arm.

The conversation just got messier from there as Jackson, who'd met and bonded quickly with both BamBam and Yugyeom back at Mark's wedding reception, joined in, so Mark was very much relieved when Mei Hui joked that if they didn't start opening presents soon, she and Allison would have to start migrating to the kitchen and clearing it out to satisfy their pregnancy cravings.

Mark's parents had bought them the much-needed changing table, and his brother had purchased a set of pretty swaddling blankets with a green and pale pink flower design. His sisters had sent a mixed bag of gifts from California, including bottles, bibs, mobiles for the baby's room, and a rattle. Sangyoon bought them crib sheets and a gorgeous Korean quilt, and BamBam got them a little playmat for the baby to lie back on and play with the little toys dangling above her. Jinyoung's coworkers got them two BabyBjorn carriers so they'd each have one to use, while the big gift from Mark's co-workers wound up being a baby carriage style stroller. The Wangs got them a really nice diaper bag which was, delightfully, stuffed full of diapers for them to use right out of the gate. Jaebum's gift was a set of “baby and me” themed photo albums.

Mei Hui went next. “I get you several things,” she said. “Baby clothes and shoes from when I was a little girl in China. I don't think I'll ever wear them again, so it would be a bit selfish to keep them. It would be my privilege for your daughter to have them.” She passed the box along to them. It was a huge box, with clothes covering a wide span of ages, from things a newborn would wear, to things suitable for a toddler. They were quite charming clothes, too—Mei Hui's parents seemed to have like food patterns, so there were many little dresses covered in strawberries and watermelons and cherries along with some more simplistic stripped onesies.

“Thank you,” Mark said, his heart wrenching at the simple sincerity of the gesture. “I'm sure she'll look beautiful in these.”

“And one more thing,” Mei Hui said. “I won't be leaving to go overseas immediately, so...” She passed them a little card which informed them that she would be more than happy to supply them with pumped milk for as long as she was still in America. They both nodded to her in gratitude. Allison had promised them something similar in private, but it would be better for them to have a considerable supply than too little.

“I guess we're going last, then,” Allison said. “Jackson and I got you two different gifts. Jackson, you go first.”

“Great, I was waiting for this,” Jackson said, hauling up the big gift box they'd brought with them. “Please note the straining muscles, everyone,” he added, before dropping it at Mark and Jinyoung's feet. They were delighted to open it up and discover it was a carseat.

“And now my turn,” Allison said. “It's not as big, but I hope you'll like it.” She passed them an envelope covered in cartoon baby girls. Jinyoung slit it open and pulled out what looked like an appointment card marked with a date several months away.

“What is it?” Mark asked. “A spa day? A family portrait appointment?”

She shook her head. “A court date, actually. We're going to change our custody arrangement with Lou to 50/50.”

Mark's eyes widened in shock. “W-What?”

“Jackson and I talked a lot about it,” she said. “You and I originally picked our custody arrangement because you and I weren't sure it would be okay for Lou to be moved back and forth too often as a toddler, right? But he's almost ten now, and we both live close to his school. I think it's important for him to spend as much time with the other half of his family as possible, especially his new sibling. The two of us will be sad not to have him as often, but if it means he's spending more time with the daddies he loves...then that's a sacrifice we're willing to make. And Lou says it's also what he wants.”

“This way I can play together with you and the new baby even more, Daddy!” Lou said brightly. “And I can use my brand new room a lot.”

Mark couldn't hold back his tears. “Thank you, Allie,” he said in a choked voice. “That means more to me than you know.”

Both Mark and Jinyoung were still in a happy daze from everything that had happened during the shower, so it was hard for them to fall asleep that night. Both the fact that Lou would be able to stay with them for longer intervals and that they now had enough to stock their nursery and make it a welcoming looking paradise for their incoming daughter kept them excitedly chattering for hours.

Mark was just about to drift off when Jinyoung gave him a gentle nudge on the cheek with his nose. “Hey,” he whispered. “We haven't talked about baby names yet.”

Mark cracked open an eye. “Right...” He'd completely forgotten about that. He'd been so excited about the fact that any of this was happening at all that he'd let some of the finer details slip.

“I was thinking about good names during work the other day,” Jinyoung continued. “One that would have an important meaning for both of us. I went through a lot, but none of them felt right. But then I thought about the day we first met, and...”

Mark thought for a moment, praying that Jinyoung wasn't going to suggest they should name their daughter Cinnamon. “What did you think of?” he asked.

“I thought of...Ginger. Ginger Tuan.” Jinyoung held his breath a little, studying Mark's face. “Do you like it?”

Mark repeated the name to himself. Ginger. The other aroma that had been in the air on that day, the delicious cookies they'd packed up together before they'd even been faintly aware that they would fall in love and get married and have a daughter. The smell that was tangled in with Jinyoung's cinnamon in one of Mark's most precious memories. The little angel on top of their Christmas tree year after year.

Ginger. A spice from both India and China. One that gave the things it touched a warm tang that changed it from simple to special, the way the mere promise of her had already touched them.

“Ginger,” he repeated out loud, smiling at the sound. “I think it's perfect.”