“I like your house Sunny, it’s cute”

With Sunny’s permission, Sophia and Bella continue down the hallway to Jamie’s room, exploring the new surroundings.

“Technically it’s not mine” Sunny says, walking into her son’s room and rifling through his closet for some proper afternoon tea attire, “it’s just a rental. But we like it”

“At least there are two bedrooms and you’re not stuck sleeping with Jamie anymore” Bella says, sitting down and bouncing a bit on Jamie’s bed.

Sunny laughs as she pulls out a hanger with a little suit hanging on it.

“It has had its advantages one or two times” Sunny admits, and then wonders why she just told them that.

“Mama, I can’t reach the shampoo!” Jamie shouts from the shower he was forced into taking.

Sunny lays his suit on the bed next to Bella. “I’ll be right back, girls”

“Ok”

“Hurry up, sweetheart” Sunny opens the shower curtain and hands Jamie the shampoo.

“I am, Mama”

Sunny leaves the bathroom and peeks around the corner.

“You’ve been quiet” she says, finding Taeyeon sitting on the sofa in the living room.

“Just a bit tired”

“Still recovering perhaps?”

“Perhaps”

Sunny sits on the opposite end of the sofa and picks at the floral print material between her legs.

“Something’s wrong”

Taeyeon looks over at her and shakes her head.

“Just tell me what it is”

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that to you?” Taeyeon snaps back.

“Sorry?”

“Something is wrong, but not with me. You’re hiding something important from me, and I know I have no right to demand you tell me, but after what my children just said to me in the car, I feel like I have to”

“What did they say?”

“That they want to have a relationship with you”

Sunny smiles sadly and tears form immediately. “They said that?”

Taeyeon sighs. “Yes, they were quite clear and insistent, actually”

“That’s not surprising” Sunny laughs, wiping away some tears.

“No. So you see, I need to know if there’s something going on with you that could affect them negatively, because I don’t want them to hurt unnecessarily”

“The way I hurt them before”

“I didn’t say that”

“But that’s what you meant”

“I just want the truth, Sunny”

Sunny folds her hands in her lap and looks down. She sits quietly, pensive and anxious.

“I’m not ready to tell you. But I promise you, there is nothing wrong with me” she slides her hand across the sofa and lays it on top of Taeyeon’s. “I promise”

“But there is something, right?” Taeyeon pulls her hand away.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about”

“I worry for them”

“I understand that. But you need to understand, that all I want is to make up for the way I wronged them… and you”

“I’m not a priority…”

“You are to me” Sunny says forcefully.

“Mama, I’m all clean!” Jamie appears from the hallway in just his underwear. He’s wet and dripping because he’s forgotten to dry off.

Sunny glances at Taeyeon and then gets up and leads Jamie out of the room. And Taeyeon sits silently again, wondering and worrying - for her children’s sake, and her own.

...

...

...

“So you went to tea on Saturday?” Jessica mocks a American accent when Taeyeon answers the phone.

“Oh, it’s you”

Jessica laughs. “You’re coming over for dinner Wednesday night”

“Can’t; we have group”

“, that’s right”

Taeyeon can hear Jessica talking to Yul in the background.

“Thursday then”

“I’ve got two big cases coming up, Jessica…”

“Shut up Taeyeon, you have to eat and so do your children, so you’re coming over for dinner on Thursday. Bring dessert”

Taeyeon groans with frustration. “Fine”

“Good, see you Thursday… and by the way, Sunny’s coming, too. Bye!”

Taeyeon’s left with hanging open and a dial tone buzzing in her ear.

...

...

...

“Can’t you stay for ten minutes, Mom?”

Taeyeon double-parks in front of Yul and Jessica’s home.

“I wish I could, darling, but I have to finish preparing for my case; you know this is an important one”

Bella pulls the latch on the car door and pushes it open with her shoulder. “You’re hiding from Sunny” she says before stepping out onto the sidewalk.

“You know that’s not true, I’m very busy for the next two weeks” Taeyeon shifts her car into park and holds the passenger seat forward so Sophia can climb out from the back.

“Normal and civil, Mom” Sophia says, slamming the passenger seat back into position once she’s out, “normal and civil”

“For the last ing time, this has nothing to do with Sunny!”

Facing her daughters with their disappointed and disapproving expressions brings back too many unhappy memories for Taeyeon. She turns her car off and pushes the button that turns on the hazard lights and gets out, walking around the car. It breaks her heart when she sees her children holding hands, knowing from experience that it’s a coping mechanism of theirs.

“I’m sorry”

“You’re sorry a lot lately” Bella says, squinting up at her mother.

“I know. And the three of us need to have a good long chat”

“Just stop taking your own frustrations out on us” Sophia tells her mother.

“I will” Taeyeon cups a cheek of each of her daughters, “I’m trying my best”

“Yeah, we know” Sophia sighs.

“We’ve been doing alright, haven’t we?”

“We were until Sunny showed up and you started to act weird… weirder”

Taeyeon kisses the tops of her daughters’ heads. “I will try to not be weird anymore”

“Don’t think it’s possible for you” Bella smirks.

“Do you really have to work, Mom?” Sophia asks, letting go of Bella’s hand and taking her mother’s.

Taeyeon nods, “I really have to work”

“We’ll save you a plate, then”

“Thank you. I want you to have a good time, and I’ll be back to collect you in a couple of hours”

“Ok” they say in unison and turn to walk up the path to the house.

“Hold on…”

They both turn back and smile, walking into their mother’s open arms.

“I love you two more than anything”

“Love you too, Mom”

“Love you”

“Ok, go on, I’ll see you later”

Taeyeon gets back inside her car and waits for the girls to go inside the house. She sees Jessica step out onto the porch, and Taeyeon waves to her. Jessica flips her off in return, and Taeyeon drives away laughing.

...

...

...

“Babe, go entertain the kids so Sunny and I can talk, huh?”

Jessica stops chopping carrots and looks at Yul. “How the hell am I supposed to entertain them?”

“You’re a mother now, figure it out”

Jessica wipes her hands on a dish towel and leaves the kitchen mumbling incoherently.

“Good, now that she’s gone, what’s happening between you and Taeyeon?” Yul asks, leaning against a counter and stirring a bowl of salad dressing.

Sunny shrugs as she tears bread for her homemade croutons. “Nothing, really”

“Have you spoken to her since having tea with the kids?”

“No”

“She’s avoiding you”

“I hope not”

Yul puts down the bowl and begins cutting the carrots Jessica left behind.

“You should tell her, Sunny. She’s probably feeling hurt that you’re hiding something from her. I mean, isn’t the reason you broke up with her because she was withholding things from you?”

Sunny stops tearing the bread. “I’d never thought of it like that”

“Well, I could be wrong…”

“No, that makes sense”

Yul pops a piece of carrot into and chews.

“I guess I just feel like we have so many other things to discuss before I tell her. I feel like we haven’t reconnected. In a way we have, because of the kids, but she and I… we haven’t really found a common ground. She’s shut me out, with good reason, and I don’t know if she’ll ever let me in again”

“Sunny, I don’t think you can reconnect with someone you never disconnected from in the first place”

Sunny watches Yul pop another piece of carrot into , and she stares at the back of Yul as she washes the knife at the sink. She slowly picks up the bread crumbs and scatters them across a greased baking sheet, taking to heart Yul’s words.

“What is it you want from Taeyeon, Sunny?” Yul dries her hands and turns around, facing her.

Sunny pushes the bowl of bread away from the edge and leans on the kitchen island. “I… I want whatever she wants. Whether that’s friendship or something more…”

“No; wrong answer” Yul takes two steps toward Sunny. “What do you” Yul touches Sunny’s chest with her forefinger, “want from Taeyeon?”

Sunny looks thoughtfully into Yul’s black eyes. “I want her to let me love her again. And I want her to love me back”

Yul smiles. “Better. Now you just need to figure out how to take down that wall of hers, one stone at a time”

“Easier said than done… especially after she finds out; she’s made it pretty clear how she feels…”

“Then you need to make it clear how you feel”

Sunny nods. “Yeah… I do”

...

...

...

“Are you Eden’s mom?” Jamie asks Yul, as he picks up a piece of chicken and bites into it.

“Yes, I am. And Jessica is her other mom”

Jamie looks between the two women as he chews, then turns to Sunny. “Why don’t I have two moms, Mama? You’re gay like them”

Bella nearly spits out her juice and has to cover to hold it in.

“You did have two mums, once upon a time” Sunny smiles at him.

“You mean Mama Hyomin?”

Sunny nods.

“But you said she’s in heaven, so she can’t be my mom anymore. And I want two moms. I want two like Eden has, and I want two like Mitchell has”

“Mitchell has a mum and a dad, sweetheart”

“But one plus one is two. So I want two”

Sunny’s eyes flit around the table at the two adults and two girls looking back at her who awaiting her reply. She’s at a loss for words, and Sophia can tell.

“All families are different, Jamie” Sophia explains. “You have one mom, Eden has two. Your friend Mitchell has a mom and a dad, and I have a friend with two dads, and another friend with only one dad. And Bella and I have one mom, just like you. Some kids even live with their grandparents or other family”

Jamie mulls over her words as he chews on some salad. “But I still want two”

Bella smirks. “You would have two, if your mom and our mom would just…”

A hard slap on the back stops Bella mid-sentence.

“Ow… jeez, Jessica!”

Jessica glares at Bella with a fake smile on her face. “Eat your beets, kid” she says through gritted teeth.

Bella glares right back and stabs a piece of beet onto her fork and sticks it in .

“We’ll talk about this later, sweetheart, ok?” Sunny smiles at him. “Finish your dinner”

Jamie sighs. “Ok”

...

...

...

“I’m on my way” Taeyeon says into the phone, instead of a greeting. “I’m just finishing up…”

“It’s me, Taeyeon”

Taeyeon stops typing at the sound of Sunny’s voice.

“Oh. The caller id said it was Jessica’s home phone. I thought it was one of the girls. Sorry”

“It’s fine. I’m calling to ask if I could have the girls round for a sleepover tomorrow night”

“Where, at your house?”

“Yes”

Taeyeon is quiet for a while.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, Sunny”

“Oh… alright…”

“Why do you want them to stay over?”

“Just to spend time with them and talk. After what they told you, I thought it might be a fun idea”

“I see…”

Taeyeon looks at the framed photos on her desk of Bella and Sophia.

“You can say no, Taeyeon”

“I know I can” Taeyeon sighs, “but I won’t. They want to be with you”

Sunny smiles into the phone. “Thank you”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll call you later to work out the details”

“Well I’m on my way over there now”

“I don’t think we’ll be here when you get here. I’m meeting Sooyoung at mine in a bit”

“Oh”

“…So I’ll call you later?”

“Right”

“Hold on, Jamie wants to speak to you…”

Taeyeon leans back in her chair and smiles.

“Hi, Taeyeon”

“Hello James, how was dinner?”

“Ok, but I missed you”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but I’m working very hard”

“Yeah, that’s what Mama said”

“Were the girls nice to you?”

“Yeah, most of the time”

Taeyeon laughs. “Good”

“When are you going to see me again?”

“I’m not sure, but we’ll make time to do something soon, ok?”

“Ok. Mama says I have to hang up now”

“Alright, goodbye James”

“Bye, I love you”

He hangs up before she can return the sentiment, and she makes a mental note to tell him as often as she can, that she loves him too.

...

...

...

“Hi, come on in”

Sooyoung steps over the threshold and kisses Sunny’s cheek. “Hi”

Sunny bows her head, smiles shyly and closes the door.

“How was your dinner thing?”

“It was nice, thanks”

Sooyoung sets down a small gift bag and takes off her jacket, hanging it in the usual place. She picks up the bag and hands it to Sunny.

“What’s this?”

“Well, I gave you the one gift before, but now… just open it”

Sunny opens the bag and removes some tissue paper. Below it she sees a pair of black Converse baby shoes. She can’t help welling up with tears when she takes them out of the bag.

“Now they can match” Sooyoung smiles.

Sunny sets down the bag and holds the tiny shoes on the palm of her hand. “I can’t believe Jamie’s feet were ever this small” she says.

“They are probably the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen”

“Thank you” Sunny looks at her and says, a stray tear rolling down her cheek.

“You’re welcome” Sooyoung wipes the tear away with her thumb.

Sunny puts the shoes back in the bag and covers them with the tissue paper. “I was just reading a story to Jamie; I’ll only be a minute. If you want to get started, I pulled everything out and set it on the table over there”

“Sure, ok. Can I say goodnight to Jamie first?”

Sunny looks at her oddly. “Yeah, course”

Sooyoung stays by the door when Sunny sits on Jamie’s bed.

“Heya, sport, I just wanted to say goodnight”

Jamie keeps the book he’s been looking at propped in front of his face as he lays in bed.

Sunny pulls it out of his hands and closes it. “Soo said goodnight, Jamie”

Jamie crosses his arms and looks at his mother. She doesn’t need to say anything; he knows by the look she’s giving him what he’s supposed to do.

“Goodnight” he says with a frown and without looking at the brunette woman.

Sunny looks at Sooyoung, embarrassed. “I’ll be right out”

“Ok”

Sooyoung walks away, and Sunny turns to her son with a disapproving expression.

“That wasn’t very polite, Jamie”

“I don’t like when she calls me ‘sport’“

“Then I think you tell her that in a polite way, and then she won’t call you that”

Jamie just shrugs.

“Remember your manners, young man” Sunny kisses his cheek. She opens up his book and turns a few pages, “Now, where did we leave off…”

“I’m tired, Ma, I don’t want to read anymore”

Sunny furrows her brow at him. Knows this is not normal behavior, as he never wants to stop being read to. Usually he does everything he can to delay bedtime.

But she won’t feed into his mood, so she closes the book and kisses him goodnight.

“I’ll see you in the morning” she says quietly, “sweet dreams, my love”

He turns over without a reply, and Sunny waits a few moments, thinking he’ll change his mind and call her back to the bed with a pitiful face that she can’t resist.

But he doesn’t. So she turns off his light and closes the door.

...

...

...

“So you think for this page we should leave the text like this?”

Sunny holds up a small poster board to show Sooyoung.

“Yeah, I really like that. It’s fun, don’t you think?”

Sunny faces it toward her and looks at it one more time. “Yeah, I think you’re right”

Sooyoung leans back in her chair, stretching and yawning.

“Had enough?” Sunny asks with a smile.

Sooyoung checks her watch. “How have you not? You’re like a little Energizer bunny, aren’t you”

Sunny begins to stack the boards. “I’m just excited that this is even happening”

“Well you deserve it; you’ve got something special here”

Sunny bows her head shyly, “Thanks” she smiles.

“So…” Sooyoung leans into the light hanging above the table, illuminating her face, “when are you going to go out with me, Sunny Lee?”

Sunny inhales quickly and exhales through a small laugh. “You’re very persistent”

Sooyoung shrugs smugly.

“You see me at work every day, all the time, and now after work a few days a week, is that not enough for you?”

“Not even close”

Sunny looks at her, surprised.

“You’re an amazing woman, Sunny. Everything about you… I’m fascinated. All I want is the opportunity to show you how amazing I am too” Sooyoung smirks. “Me and you; we would be so good together”

Sunny lowers her eyes. She thinks about Jamie and touches her stomach.

“One date…” Sooyoung whispers, holding up her index finger.

Sunny looks up into eager but confident hazel eyes and takes a deep breath.

“I just can’t right now”

Sooyoung exhales a disappointed breath.

“I’m sorry”

Sooyoung shrugs. “You’re missing out, Sunny”

“I know. I think you’re wonderful, but I have a lot of things going on in my life that need mending before I can even think about… anything else”

Sooyoung nods. “I understand. But this doesn’t mean I won’t keep asking you out” she smirks.

“I’m flattered. Really”

“You’re gorgeous, Sunny, and intelligent, and caring… any sane woman would be a fool not to want you”

Sunny just smiles and shakes her head.

“I should go” Sooyoung says as she stands up. “See you bright and early in the morning”

“Yeah”

Sunny walks her to the door and holds it open. Sooyoung turns and leans down, kissing Sunny’s cheek, lingering for a few seconds.

“Night, Sunny”

“Night”

...

...

...

Sunny settles into her bed, lying on her side facing the nightstand. She reaches over and picks up four tiny shoes, holding them all easily in one hand. A tear rolls down the side of her face and lands on her pillow, and she knows it won’t be the last.

In her peripheral she can see the framed photo that’s been sitting on her nightstand since she and Jamie moved in. She holds the shoes to her chest as she focuses on the photo. Smiles through her tears at the serious look on Taeyeon’s face. Remembers how Taeyeon refused to smile after being pelted with snowballs.

Sunny places the shoes in front of the frame and stares at them together for a few minutes. Then she reaches up and turns off the lamp, wipes the tears from her face, and closes her eyes.

....

....

so sorry for make you wait long enough guys. yeah I guess i'd update once a week.

Thanks, as always, for the reviews. You all are the greatest!