“Mimi.”

A soft knock on the door.

“Mimi… Are you okay?”

Hanna could hear the quiet sniffles coming from within the guest bathroom.  She listened intently as Amina discarded wadded up tissues and the sink faucet one last time.  After a few more agonizing seconds, the petite girl appeared – her nose red, her face slightly blotchy.  There was no light in those wide brown eyes.  They were red-rimmed.  Destroyed.  With all her heart, Hanna knew there was nothing that she could say to ease whatever aches or pains her cousin was feeling inside.  She gave her time instead.

“Ready to go?”

Amina nodded listlessly.

Hanna gave a small smile and nodded in return.  They headed back towards the living area and started gathering their belongings.

“Umma!” Hanna drawled loudly.  “We’re heading out.”  She slipped her arms inside her blazer and pulled her hair up and out of the way so it wouldn’t get caught.

“Wait.  Here.  Take this,” her mother rushed out, carrying a bag of leftovers from the kitchen.  Handing off the container of food to a disgruntled Hanna, Mrs. Eun smoothed the palms of her hands along the tops of her thighs and looked at Amina deploringly.  “Joka…” she frowned.

Amina shook her head in dismissal and attempted to smile.  “It’s fine.  It’s okay.”  She rubbed at her arms, half-hugging herself.

The blatant attempt to brush off the incident didn’t lessen her aunt’s worries.  “In my efforts to shed light on the situation, I made you upset.  Please do not be upset.  I was just trying to explain things from a mother’s point of view.”  Hanna’s mother furrowed her brows.  “Sometimes we become so focused on own story that we lose sight of the bigger picture.”

“I understand,” Amina softly replied.  She deliberately brightened her eyes and let out a weak smile.  “I’m just a little overwhelmed with everything right now.  But I will try to make amends with umma before the baby arrives.”  She could see the approval in her aunt’s eyes upon her declaration.  “I’ll work on it,” Amina promised with a heavy heart.

The car ride home was met with silence.

Hanna tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, feeling nervous with every passing kilometer.  She truly wished she hadn’t coerced Amina into having dinner with her parents tonight.  She should’ve just let her cousin go straight home after work and hole up until the baby arrived.  As the elder, she should’ve known her parents would grill the poor girl.  Amina hadn’t been back to see them in several weeks.  It was only natural that a thorough catch-up and lecture was on the menu.

Regret filled Hanna’s eyes as she continued driving through the night.  Part of her felt remorse for attributing to Amina’s state of ups and downs.  While the other half of her felt selfishly protective.  She didn’t want Amina to go home yet.  Not like this.

“Hey!” Hanna blurted loudly.

Amina jerked slightly in her seat, startled.

“Why don’t you sleep over at my place tonight?”  With an expectant expression on her face, Hanna quickly glanced to her right.  Wisps of hair brushed faintly across her cheeks.  “It could be fun… like old times.”

“Umm-“

“We could stay up all night.  Watch movies.”  Hanna smiled brightly.  “When we get to the apartment, just pack a small bag.  I have all the toiletries you need.  And you can sleep in the guest bedroom.”  She looked over at Amina again.  “You can be my first guest.”

“Maybe some other time, unnie,” Amina politely declined.  “I’m not feeling up to a sleepover tonight.”  She just wanted to go home.

Hanna closed and stared straight ahead.

The silence continued.

Without glancing over, Amina could tell that Hanna was thinking hard.  She could hear the wheels churning, a sharp rebuttal forthcoming.  Amina gripped her hands inside her lap and steeled herself for the outburst.

“I’m not taking you home.”

“Unnie!”

Hanna knitted her brows.  “I don’t want you going home upset,” she scolded.  “The last thing you need is to be alone.”

“I’m fine-“

“No, you’re not,” Hanna quickly shot back.  “You’re pregnant.  And emotional.  Your hormones are out-of-control.  And your life has gone to .”  Her voice gentled.  “I’m trying to help you here.  Offer you my sweet company.”  She grinned upon hearing Amina’s light scoff.  “Spend the night at my place.  I’ll drive you to work tomorrow.”

Amina didn’t say a word.

“What are you going to do when you get home?  Study?  Review financials?”  Hanna tsked underneath her breath.  “You can do that at my place.”  She gave Amina another quick glance-over and guessed what the holdup was.  “Look, I’m sure your husband won’t mind you spending extra quality time with family.”

The corners of Amina’s mouth turned down.  Although Youngbae never voiced it out loud, she could sense how he felt about her crazy family.  He was tolerable and generous… more so than she.  But after tonight’s phone call, there was no doubt in her mind that he would probably support her decision if she decided to spend less time with them.

“He’d probably appreciate it, knowing that he isn’t even around.”

A small sigh escaped Amina’s lips.  Hanna really didn’t know when to quit.

“I mean, if you need to ask for his permission-“

“Unnie,” Amina stressed with a slightly exasperated tone.  “Gomawo.  But tonight, I just want to go home.”

Disappointment filled Hanna’s eyes.

Amina looked away resignedly, ignoring the air of disapproval that filled the car cabin.  She allowed the silence to lengthen between them until the tension grew thick and heavy.  Left with no further options, lest she choke on her own ill-mannered ways, Amina quietly relented.

“I’ll come sleep over one day,” Amina offered, hoping it would appease Hanna for now.  “Tonight…” she sighed.  “Tonight, I just want to take a hot shower and go to sleep.  I’m just… tired.”

“Okay,” Hanna nodded with great reluctance.  “But promise me that’s all you’ll do tonight.  Shower then sleep.  No over-thinking or dwelling.”

Amina smiled weakly.  It wasn’t as if she could continue doing what she had been doing for the last several nights.  Her aunt’s swift reprimand towards Hanna made her painfully aware of her own faux pas.  She had to stop designing the baby room and put all of her plans on the shelf for now.  As confident as she was in the health of the baby, she didn’t want to press her luck.  Because if anything happened to their baby, she knew she would never forgive herself.

“Neh, I promise.”

Within a few minutes, they arrived at the upscale condominium and turned into the private parking garage.  Hanna stopped her car directly in front of the building doors and turned in her seat.  “Mianhae…”

Amina brows rose in silent question.

“I didn’t think before I made you attend dinner with us tonight,” Hanna began.

“It’s alright,” Amina shook her head.  “I know… we’re family.  They’re concerned.  That’s just how it is.”

“Nonetheless,” Hanna continued.  “I know you’re going through a few things in your personal life right now.  I should’ve warned my parents beforehand to take it easy on you.”

“Ani.  I needed to hear it,” Amina replied solemnly.  “I