“Morning, beautiful”

Sunny looks up from her work to find Sooyoung standing in her office doorway holding two Starbucks cups.

“I brought you some caffeine-free tea”

Sunny puts down her pen and smiles gratefully, taking it. “Thanks”

“Sure thing. So…” Sooyoung sits down and puts her cup on Sunny’s desk, “how was the rest of your weekend?”

“Good. Quiet. Jamie and I did a little baking, though it was entirely too hot for it”

“Baking… fun” Sooyoung nods with raised eyebrows as she blows into the drink hole on her lid.

“Yeah… it seems I find the eating bit of it more exciting these days, though”

Sooyoung laughs and takes a sip of her latte. Sunny too sips, and they look at one another over the lids of their drinks.

“Got any plans for this weekend?”

Sunny puts down the cup and picks up her pen, tapping it on the desk. “Well, I have the kids, so I was thinking about taking them to the Shakespeare Festival in Long Beach”

“Which kids?”

“Jamie and the girls”

“…Taeyeon’s girls?”

“Yeah”

Sooyoung’s eyes wander around Sunny’s office before she says, “So, what, are you two sharing your kids now?”

“…Something like that”

“But they’re not from your relationship”

“No”

“And you told me you two were only together for a couple of months”

Sunny’s posture turns defensive. “We were friends first, but we spent a lot of time together. We bonded strongly with each other’s children”

“I guess so…”

Sunny sits back in her chair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing… hey, listen, I didn’t come in here to spar with you – we both know you’d kick my anyway”

Sunny tries to fight back a smile, but fails.

“…I just want to spend time with you, ok?”

Brown eyes look at the framed photos on the desk and Sunny sighs, and then looks into Sooyoung’s confident eyes.

“Well… if you fancy a picnic dinner while melting in this California heat, you’re welcome to come along with us”

Sooyoung stands and rounds Sunny’s desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a better offer” she says, and kisses Sunny on the cheek.

Sunny opens to say something, but Sooyoung picks up her cup and heads for the door.

“I’ll see you around the office, Sunny”

Sunny swallows her words, nodding. “Ok, see you around… and thanks for the tea”

Sooyoung winks, closing Sunny’s office door, leaving her with the sound of the air conditioning to fill her mind.

...

...

...

“I think you were right”

“I usually am. What are we talking about?”

“Sooyoung”

“Ah”

“She kissed me”

“That’s great, Sunny!”

“But it wasn’t”

“Oh. Bad kisser?”

“No, quite good, actually. No, it was… it felt strange, like… if I closed my eyes it was ok, but when I opened them… it just wasn’t right”

Yul snaps together Eden’s oneside and picks her up from the changing table. She hands her to Sunny and goes to wash her hands.

“Let’s go sit on the patio” she tells Sunny as she dries, “there’s a nice breeze out there”

Yul brings two glasses of lemonade outside and sets them on the table.

“So how’s it been with Jessica back at work?”

“Don’t try to change the subject”

Sunny sighs and kisses Eden’s blonde head, cradling her.

“Answer me this: If you had never found Taeyeon again, would you have stayed single the rest of your life?”

“…I don’t know”

Yul tilts her head and shakes her glass; the ice clinking loudly.

“Probably not, no” Sunny admits, placing her index finger into Eden’s palm.

“Then since Taeyeon seems to enjoy having her head up her , I think you need to give Sooyoung a chance”

Sunny shrugs and looks down at Eden. “Yeah… maybe you’re right”

...

...

...

“Hi, Mum”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… Jesus”

“Ok, love. It’s nice to hear your voice. How are the girls?”

“They’re fine, Mum”

“And how are all your community projects?”

“Nearly went to ”

“That’s lovely, dear. Now why don’t you tell me the reason you really called and spare us both the bull of me trying to pull it out of you”

“Jesus, Mum. Maybe I called just to say hello”

“Did you call just to say hello, love?”

Taeyeon sighs into the phone. “…No”

“Talk to me then, Taeyeon”

Taeyeon leans her head back against the headrest. “It’s Sunny”

“Mm, thought so. Sophia told me she was back round. I was wondering when you’d call…”

“Oh that’s ing great. Everyone in my life talks about me behind my back”

“We might talk directly to you if you weren’t such a little all the time, dear”

“Gee, thanks Mum”

“Taeyeon… you know I love you. Talk to me”

“I don’t know what to do, Mum”

“About Sunny”

“Yes”

“It’s not complicated, love. If you want her, tell her”

“It is complicated. And I don’t know if I want her”

Sooyeon stays quiet for a good minute.

“Jesus, , ok, I want her”

“That wasn’t so hard”

“She has the power to really me over though, Mum. To over my girls”

“But she won’t”

“But she could”

“But she won’t”

“You don’t know that”

“I know she loves you”

“…So she says”

“You don’t believe her?”

“I don’t know… I do, but…”

“But nothing, dear. Take a risk and open your heart to her…”

“I did that once before, and look at me now”

“Yes, look at you now. You’re stronger because of it, and you’re a better mother because of it. So don’t close yourself off again, love. You belong with Sunny”

...

...

...

“What about this?”

“Ugh, Mother. No”

“I don’t think it’s as horrid as you make it sound”

Taeyeon hangs the garment back on the rack and continues to follow her daughters around the store.

“We know what your style was when you were a kid, Mom - Granny showed us the pictures, but we prefer less obnoxious clothing” Bella tells her.

“I wore what I liked, and I was proud of it”

Bella rolls her eyes and walks away to a different part of the store while Taeyeon stays with Sophia.

“See anything you fancy, darling?”

“I don’t know” Sophia shrugs, “I think I’d rather go to a second-hand, or vintage shop; these clothes are too… surfer girl for me”

“We can do that if you like”

“Yeah… I was thinking of asking Sunny to take me on Saturday”

“Oh? We have time to go today”

“I know, but Sunny told me about this one shop she goes to…”

“If you want to wait and go with Sunny, that’s fine”

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Mom”

Taeyeon smiles and kisses the top of her daughter’s head. “I know. And you haven’t”

“Ok. I’d rather go with Sunny”

“Alright then…”

“No, actually, I’d rather go with both of you”

“Yeah…?” Taeyeon picks up a pair of sunglasses from a table, “I think we might be able to manage that”

“…Are you being serious?”

She puts the sunglasses on and looks down at her daughter. “Mm-hmm”

Sophia eyes her mother suspiciously. “Um… ok… I’m going to go and find Bella”

“Ok, darling”

Sophia walks across the store and finds her sister rummaging through a pile of sale items. She leans on a hill of tank tops and looks at her black-eyed twin.

“So… Mom’s lost her mind”

“…What else is new?”

...

...

...

‘Hi. Are we still

meeting at the

field on Sat? Tell

the girls no more

itchy sleeping

bags!’

Taeyeon chews on her lip as she reads the text. She starts five different replies before settling on:

‘Yes see you

Saturday’

She feels bad for the short text, but if she’d tried to write was she was really thinking then it might turn into a thing. A thing she’s not ready to face. Not yet, anyway.

...

...

...

Sunny closes her phone quickly after reading the curt reply. She shakes her head and uses her pen to color a very dark line on a piece of yellow notepad that’s sitting on her desk. Exhales a frustrated breath as the ink wears down the paper and begins to tear and she thinks about what Yul said to her earlier in the week.

And while she gathers her things to leave her office, she can’t help feeling a sense of sadness about the entire situation, and she wonders why fate allowed her to find Taeyeon again if this was how it was all going to play out.

Sunny stops in her office doorway, turns and scans the small room to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything, then switches off the light and closes the door on the dark, quiet room.

...

...

...

Jamie sits in the back seat, staring between the front seats where Sooyoung has just taken his mother’s hand and is holding onto it. He looks at his mother through the rearview mirror; confusion in his eyes. He looks away, out the window, when his mother smiles somewhat apologetically at him and nods, as if to say, it’s all going to be all right.

He tightens his grip on the old soccer ball in his lap and doesn’t look at his mother the rest of the way.

...

...

...

She searches out Jamie among the players running after the ball and finds him barely keeping up with the pack of boys, and not even attempting to go for the ball. She watches him lag behind for another minute, before turning her attention to Sunny, and she takes a deep breath as she and the girls walk around the white chalk lines that border the field.

Bella and Sophia arrive at Sunny first and begin chattering away. Taeyeon can feel her heart rate picking up pace the closer she gets to Sunny, and when Sunny looks over at her, she feels a lump form in and a twisting in her stomach.

“Afternoon”

“Hi”

“You alright?”

“Yeah” Taeyeon slides her hands into her jeans pockets. “Sorry we’re late; I couldn’t find my keys”

“It’s ok. He did ask for you at the half, though”

“Is he ok? He doesn’t look at all interested in what he’s doing”

Sunny looks away when she answers, “Yeah, he’s fine”

“I’m really excited about the festival, Sunny” Sophia says.

Sunny puts an arm around Sophia’s shoulders. “So am I”

Taeyeon clears and smiles a bit. “About the festival…”

“You were right about those bathrooms, Sunny; I would’ve been less traumatized if I’d done my business right out here in the open”

Sunny lips twitch into an awkward smile as Sooyoung walks up and stands next to her. She looks at Taeyeon, whose smile has turned into a frown.

Taeyeon turns away and pretends to be interested in the game, and no one says anything for a good two minutes.

“Hey Sophia” Sooyoung finally says.

“Hi Sooyoung, I didn’t know you were going to be here”

“Yeah, Sunny invited me to that festival she’s taking you all to, so I figured I’d tag along to the game”

“Oh…” Sophia looks up at Sunny and then over at her mother, “well, this is my sister, Bella”

“Hey, Bella, it’s nice to officially meet you. Sunny and Sophia told me you’re into surfing. I’m a surfer too… used to be, anyway”

“It’s only a hobby” Bella shrugs.

Taeyeon takes a deep breath and turns around. “Sooyoung, it’s nice to see you again” she extends her hand, glancing at Sunny, and Sooyoung shakes it.

The whistle signaling the end of the game goes, and everyone’s attention is turned to the field. They all clap and cheer for Jamie, even though none of them know what the outcome of the game is.

But Jamie stays behind as his teammate’s run to the sidelines. He walks slowly, kicking at the grass with his cleats, so Taeyeon meets him half way.

“Chin up, James”

Jamie looks up at her and then sits down on the grass. Taeyeon sits next to him and pats his knee.

“What’s wrong?”

Jamie picks at the grass, keeping his head down.

“Are you tired of football?”

He shakes his head.

“Has someone upset you?”

He shrugs.

“Would you like to talk to me about it?”

He looks up at her, his face sweaty and dirty. She smiles at him and takes off his glasses, cleaning them with the hem of her shirt.

“I wanna stay with you today” he tells her as he rubs his left eye.

Taeyeon slides his glasses back on and pushes his sweaty hair off his forehead.

“I want to stay with you too, but it’s not going to be that way”

Jamie looks over to the sideline, then back at Taeyeon. “I don’t like Sooyoung”

Taeyeon nods. “I know. But she’s your mum’s friend, so it’s important that you’re polite to her”

Jamie shrugs and picks at the grass some more.

“Are you Mama’s friend too?”

Taeyeon looks into his big brown eyes and her thumb, rubbing at a dirt stain on his cheek as she says, “I’d like to be, but I’m not doing a very good job, am I”

He shakes his head and rubs his nose. “Maybe you need to practice being a friend like I practice soccer, and then you can get good”

Taeyeon reaches around his shoulders and hugs him to her side. “That’s a very logical idea, James, and I’m going to try very hard to practice, just like you”

He smiles a closed-lipped smile at her and they stand up and walk hand-in-hand back to the four people waiting for them.

“Good game, sport” Sooyoung pats Jamie on the back and he looks up at Taeyeon. She thinks she sees a hint of an eye roll from him, and she puts her hand on the same area that Sooyoung just patted, nipping his expression in the bud.

“Come and give me a kiss, girls, I need to get going” Taeyeon waves her daughters over and she leans down and pecks them on the mouth. “Have a good time, and mind Sunny”

“We will, Mom”

“Ok”

Taeyeon squats down and hugs Jamie. “Be good” she whispers in his ear.

Sunny crosses her arms and watches. Sooyoung puts a hand on the small of Sunny’s back.

When Taeyeon stands, she looks at Sunny and smiles tightly; Sooyoung’s hand placement not going unnoticed.

“Call if you need anything” she tells Sunny, and then turns around and walks away.

...

...

...

“This is a nice spot” Sunny stops and drops the blanket. “Let’s set up here”

Sophia and Bella open the blanket and set it on the ground and all three kids sit down on top of it.

“Mama, can I get my face painted?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Why don’t we eat first and then I’ll take you”

“I can take him, Sunny” Sooyoung offers.

“Oh…” Sunny looks at her son, “I guess that would be alright”

“Come on, sport”

Bella and Sophia keep their heads down and pretend to be busy.

“No thanks, I’ll wait” Jamie says.

Sunny crawls over to him and rubs his back. “Sweetheart, let Sooyoung take you, yeah? I’m a bit tired from walking around all afternoon”

Jamie sighs and looks up at Sooyoung. “Fine”

“You girls wanna join us?” Sooyoung asks Bella and Sophia.

“No, thank you”

“Nope”

“Alright, we’ll be back, then”

Sunny watches them walk off.

“He doesn’t like her” Bella tells Sunny as they set up the food.

“He doesn’t know her very well” Sunny answers.

Sophia opens a container of cucumber slices and hands it to Sunny. “Are you two… together now, Sunny?”

“No, we’re not. But we are spending more time together”

“What for?” Bella asks.

“Because we like each other”

“Like like?”

“No, just as friends”

“Well it’s pretty obvious that she likes you more than that” Bella says, swiping a cucumber slice and putting it in .

Sunny nods. “Yes, you’re right; she does”

“But you’re not interested, right?” Sophia tries to catch Sunny’s eye.

“I’m… getting to know her better. And that’s the end of this conversation, ok?”

The girls look at each other and then nod at Sunny, and they set up the rest of the picnic in silence.

...

...

...

“So, Jamie, what do you want to get on your face?”

Sooyoung and Jamie stand at the booth and look over a sheet of choices.

“I don’t care” he shrugs.

“How about… a bow and arrow?”

“Ok”

Sooyoung pays for the service and they wait for another little boy to finish his turn.

“I’m glad we have this time alone because I’ve wanted to talk to you about something”

He looks up at her curiously.

“I know you don’t like me very much, but I was wondering if you could give me a chance to be your friend”

Jamie looks away.

“It would make your mom very happy if you told her you like me”

“Why?” he asks.

“Because then I can be her special friend, and I can help her with things, and I can take both of you out to do fun stuff”

“I like doing fun stuff with Taeyeon”

Sooyoung squats down to his level. “I get that. But your mom asked Taeyeon to be her special friend and Taeyeon doesn’t want to. She made your mom really sad”

Jamie furrows his brow and looks back in the direction they came from. He looks at the lady who’s painting the boy’s face. He looks at the faces of people as they pass him by.

“Taeyeon doesn’t want to be a part of your family, sport, but I do. So let’s you and me be friends, ok?”

Jamie lowers his eyes and slowly nods once, and Sooyoung stands up and puts her hand on his shoulder, squeezing too tightly for his liking.

...

...

...

“Did you have fun, sweetheart?” Sunny opens her arms and Jamie sits between her legs. She hugs him to her and offers him some food.

Sooyoung sits down next to Sunny and slides an arm around her waist. “We had a great time, right sport?”

Bella looks up from her book and glares at Sooyoung, while Sophia focuses on Jamie.

Sunny kisses Jamie’s head and holds his face to look at the artwork on his cheek.

“That looks great, Jamie. Do you like it?”

Jamie bites into a sandwich and nods without looking his mother in the eyes. “Mm-hmm”

Sunny looks at Sooyoung and smiles, with impressed eyebrows.

Sooyoung winks back.

...

...

...

“I’ll be right in, guys; I’m just going to say goodnight to Sooyoung” Sunny closes her front door behind her and walks out with Sooyoung to her car.

Sooyoung leans back against her car and faces Sunny. “I had a really good time today”

“Me too. And I think Jamie’s taken a liking to you”

“See, I told you he would. All we needed was some time together”

Sunny nods. “Yeah, I guess you were right”

Sooyoung puts her hands on Sunny’s hips and pulls her forward. She kisses her gently at first, and then opens to deepen the kiss.

Sunny closes her eyes.

...

...

...

“Ewww, they’re kissing!” Bella says from inside the house, where she has her face pressed against a front window.

“They can’t be” Sophia opens the curtain and peers into the darkness with her sister. “This is more serious than we thought”

The girls let the curtains fall back into place and slide down on Sunny’s sofa.

“How can she kiss her when she loves Mom? You’re only supposed to kiss the person you love”

“Oh, come on, Sophia, you know that’s not true. People who aren’t in love kiss all the time”

“Yeah… well they shouldn’t. It’s a sign of affection; that’s what Mom told us”

“Either way, it’s gross that they’re kissing”

“It’s sad…”

“Yeah. Sad that we had to see it”

Sophia looks at her sister. “Maybe Mom and Sunny really aren’t getting back together”

Bella shakes her head and shrugs, and she notices Jamie standing in the hallway. “What’s up, Jamie?” she asks.

“Sooyoung said Taeyeon made my mama sad”

“What?” Bella walks over to him. “When did she say that?”

“When I got my face painted. She said Mama asked Taeyeon to be her special friend and Taeyeon didn’t want to and that made her sad. And Sooyoung said to like her so my ma can be happy and we can be a family”

Bella puts a protective hand on top of Jamie’s head. “Don’t listen to her, ok?” Bella pats his head and looks back at her sister, fuming. “That lady has got to go”

...

...

...

Sunny looks at the clock when she hears the knock on her door, and lays the book she’s reading face down on her bed. She pulls down her tank top, which she realizes is getting too small, and tries to cover her little bump as she walks toward the door. Quietly, she looks through the peephole and steps back suddenly at the sight of the person on the other side of the door.

“Open the door, Sunny” she hears Taeyeon whisper, “I look like a ing criminal standing out here at this time of night”

Sunny unlocks the door and peeks her head around the opening, shielding her body.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

“I was just about to go to sleep”

“So I can’t come in?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you hiding behind the door?”

“I’m not… it’s cold out there”

“It’s August in LA, Sunny; it’s not cold”

“The girls are asleep”

“I’m not here to see them”

Sunny sighs, lowers her eyes, steps back and lets Taeyeon in.

...

...

...

She tries not to do it but she can’t help herself; her eyes drifting down Sunny’s body and stopping beneath her s at the small bump. The slightly larger sizes of Sunny’s s suffocating inside her tank top do not go unnoticed by Taeyeon.

Sunny crosses her arms over her torso and she looks everywhere but into Taeyeon’s eyes.

“I’m going to get my robe on…” she whispers.

But Taeyeon grabs her wrist before she can walk away and turns Sunny around.

“Please don’t hide anything from me, Sunny”

Brown eyes find black. “Who told you?”

“No one” Taeyeon says, letting go of her wrist, “it was an accident, really. But I wish it had come from you”

Sunny looks down and then back into Taeyeon’s eyes. “I’m sorry; I wanted to tell you, but then you went and made a point of telling everyone how much you didn’t want any more children, and so I thought I’d wait, until we were closer, and I was sure you wanted me…” Sunny sighs and turns on a lamp in her living room and sits down on the sofa.

Taeyeon crosses her arms and stays standing.

“It was stupid of me; I realize that now” Sunny tells her. “I pushed you away even more by not telling you. Not that it matters, anyway” Sunny shrugs. “You’ve made it pretty clear that you don’t want anything to do with me – pregnant or not”

“Sunny…”

“But I am sorry. I should’ve been honest”

Taeyeon nods, accepting the apology, and sits down a safe distance from Sunny on the sofa. She crosses her legs and picks at the material on the knee of her jeans.

Sunny watches, rubbing her bump, relieved that she doesn’t need to hide it anymore.

“Are you ok?” Sunny asks.

“Yeah”

Sunny eyes Taeyeon’s fidgeting hand and knows better. “You sure”

Taeyeon nods at her with a tight-lipped smile.

“Then I shouldn’t be bothered that you showed up on my porch at midnight?”

Taeyeon rolls her black eyes at Sunny.

Sunny smiles a half-smile. “I have to wonder, don’t I? I mean, two weeks ago you wanted nothing to do with me, and now…”

“That’s not true…”

“Isn’t it?”

“No Sunny, it’s not. I was just…”

Sunny shifts and sits to face Taeyeon, making sure she pays close attention.

“I was… overwhelmed”

“Because I told I love you”

Taeyeon’s mouth goes dry and she glances at Sunny. “Not just that. It was a lot of things. It was… everything”

“I shouldn’t have just blurted it out like that. But I was sort of desperate to get a reaction out of you”

Taeyeon raises an eyebrow. “You got one”

Sunny nods and shakes her head at the same time. “Yeah, I suppose. But not the one I wanted”

Taeyeon swallows roughly. “I’ve been a ”

“You have been extra cranky”

“Oh thanks”

“Just agreeing with you” Sunny smirks.

Taeyeon smoothes out the wrinkle she’s created on her jeans and tries to not look at Sunny. Fails.

Sunny lays her head on the back of the couch, her eyes fixed on Taeyeon.

“Why did you come over, Taeyeon?”

Taeyeon closes her eyes at the sound of Sunny’s husky voice and presses harder on the wrinkle that’s already flattened.

“I spoke to my mum the other day”

“Oh? How is she?”

“Annoying, but good”

Sunny laughs quietly. “I love your mum”

“Most people do” Taeyeon says, biting her lip.

Sunny waits patiently for Taeyeon to continue.

Taeyeon takes a deep breath. “She reminded me of something, my mum. She told me I’m a better mother now than I’ve ever been. And when we hung up, I thought about it, a lot, and I couldn’t agree with her; not with the way I’ve been behaving lately”

“You are a good mother, Taeyeon…”

“I was, but I haven’t been since you entered our lives again”

Sunny lifts her head off the cushion. “Oh”

“No no” Taeyeon turns to face her, “I don’t mean to say it’s your fault…”

“But you would’ve been better off had we never seen each other again?”

“No… no, I don’t think so. What I’m trying to say is… I let my own feelings take precedent over my – our children’s feelings, and I don’t want to be that person again”

“But you’re not”

“But I could, and I’ve spent a lot of time working to never be her again. I’ve been in some very dark places, Sunny, and I don’t want to go back there”

Sunny nods and reaches out to touch Taeyeon’s shoulder, but then pulls her hand back.

“So… what does all of this mean?”

Taeyeon leans over and picks up one of Jamie’s coloring books from the coffee table, staring at the cover and smiling gently. She looks up at Sunny.

“It means I’m going to do what a very precious seven-year-old told me to and practice being a better friend”

Sunny nods and smiles, trying not to look disappointed. “So you’ll tolerate me for their sakes, is that it?”

“No... Sunny. I want to see you. I do enjoy being with you but…”

“But I hurt you too deeply and you don’t love me anymore”

Taeyeon opens to counter but nothing comes out.

Sunny looks at her with tears in her eyes and gets up off the sofa.

“It’s late” she says, “you should stay” and she grabs a blanket off a chair and puts it on the sofa. “They’ll be excited to see you here when they wake up”

“Sunny…”

“Goodnight, Taeyeon”

....

....

....

this chapter was boring right ?

anyway thx for reading :)

and thx for all the comments and votes!