Aaron could sense something wasn't right his little one. Her cheeks didn't fluff as high, her smile didn't meet her eyes. Something was definitely not right. Aaron looked at his diaper clad two year old daughter as she walked by with her teddy. Wendy huffed and threw herself into her little Clifford the big red dog chair at her little table, she pulled Mr. Bunny onto her lap and glared at the table. Something must have set her off aaron reasoned because seconds later Wendy huffed again and aggressively shoved her pacifier into . She loudly and rubbed the ear of the teddy bear against her nose and sighed again.

What was wrong with his little girl? Aaron watched from the island in the kitchen, pondering on what could possibly be bothering a two year old. He grinned when Wendy stood up and made her way over to him. She looked up at him, still aggressively at her pacifier. “Hey little lady.” Aaron cooed, squatting down to be eye level with his little girl. Wendy stepped closer to her father and looked him over. Aaron held his arms out, guessing she might want a hug. Aaron grinned brightly when wendy walked further into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder. “Is something wrong my baby?”

Wendy sniffled and aaron told himself not to panic. His eldest cried at random times too when she was this age. It’s normal. He stood up, lifting wendy up with him. He patted her back and rocked her back and forth, cooing and patting till the sniffles stopped and wendy simply rested in his arms. He set her gently on the counter top and watched her. Wendy hugged her teddy tight and pouted with a trembling upper lip. “What’s wrong baby?”

Wendy huffed and threw her arms up, as if the world was about to end she yanked her pacifier out of and groaned. “Whee! She go!” Wendy yelled pointing at the front door like it was the villain in her story. Aaron looked at his daughter perplexed, one thing he had not mastered was the ability to understand baby babble. Stephanie was better at that. 

“Who is going baby?”

Wendy stared exasperated at her dad, why didn't he understand! “Whee!” She yelled again, as if volume would make him understand better.

“We?” Wendy nodded. “Where are we going baby?” Wendy shrugged, sniffling starting up again.

“Whee, back?”

“We aren't going anywhere baby. It's just you and me until mommy and your big sister come back home.”

Wendy’s little lip trembled violently, she her arms up wanting to be held. Clearly her father didn't understand, at this point she just wanted a hug. Aaron held Wendy snuggly to his chest and walked around the house, singing softly until the two year old fell asleep. With her teddy, Aaron laid on the sofa, letting Wendy sleep on his broad chest. He kissed her hair and closed his eyes holding Wendy securely against him.

When stephanie arrived home she was met with the scene of her husband holding their youngest against his chest. She smiled at the sight and grabbed the camera they keep in the cabinet before snapping a photo. Wendy awoke first startling her father awake, the two year old kicked and squirmed to get free from her father’s vice like grip. Aaron finally placed her down when he discerned it was safe, Wendy jumped, face lit up in excitement as she ran around the couch to her big sister. 

“Whee back!” Wendy yelled as she jumped into the arms of her big sister Wheein. Aaron’s mouth dropped at the realization.

Ohh, Whee is back. Not we. She just wanted her sister. He watched with a smile as his six year old lifted up Wendy and hugged her tightly. They giggled together, laughing at everything and nothing. “Are you guys hungry?” Stephanie asked, kissing both her children on the forehead.

“Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!” Wendy yelled running around in circles with her teddy. Aaron suddenly felt tears hit him, why was he crying? There was nothing wrong, Ttephanie was home safe and sound and still very much in love with him. Wheein is safe, happy, healthy and excited to see her little sister. Wendy is smiling and safe, she's not sad anymore. Why was he crying?

He quickly dabbed at his cheeks trying to understand why in the world he was crying. “Daddy?” A voice called, muffled behind a pacifier. Aaron looked up to Wendy who sauntered over, she cupped his cheeks with her warm tiny hands and shook her head. “Daddy cry?”

Aaron smiled, “Happy crying baby”.

“Happy?”

“Yes baby. I’m happy.” Wendy smiled and took a step back, she shoved her teddy into his face making kissing sounds as she rubbed the bears face all over her father’s face.

“Better?” Wendy asked from behind the bear.

Aaron simply nodded. He was happy. Everything is okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive home was stressful, this day has been eventful. First my mother in law harassed everyone she comes in contact with to give us a discount and then my father thinks he’s Hugh Hefner and just goes around titty checking people. What is this world coming too? I swear the only good thing from this day was hanging out with Joy and her friends. “Hey babe, I don't mean to bring it up in case it’s like a touchy subject. But, I don't think our bed should be tainted by Ron-ron the ual menace”. I really shouldn't laugh at this, it’s not funny at all. But I can't help it, I'm bent over in the front seat my sides aching from laughing.

“He isn't a menace Joy, and you know he doesn't like it when you call him Ron-ron.”

“Yeah well women generally don't like it when you cop a feel, but I mean here we are.” I shook my head at Joy, she’s such an .

“Don’t be mean. He was being a guy and thinking he had some kind of special knowledge that the female population needs to hear, not some ert. It just came out that way.” I sighed, this has been a long day.

“You look tired”.

“I am tired.”

“Well, we have to work tomorrow. So maybe we should make your dad sleep on the pull out and we can enjoy a full night's rest on our bed.” 

“I don't want to wake him up when we have to get up tomorrow Joy. if we’re in the living room we can grab our clothes now and just get ready without ever waking him up.”

Joy groaned, using the red light we’re at to throw herself against her seat. “But babe, he came to our house. He should suffer the consequences. You can't just show up announced knowing we work and then expect us to cater to you.”

“It’s funny you say that, because your mother does that nearly daily. So when you think you're gonna get that key back huh?” I think one thing Joy is really good at is ignoring the flaws in her family and being hyper aware of my dad’s flaws. While I admit my father is not perfect, my father does not interfere with our lives nearly as much as Joy’s mother does. My dad does not require that Joy change her entire culture to fit his, whereas Joy’s mother is very quick to throw away my Ginseng tea because she’s a coffee drinker. Last time I checked, it’s my house not hers.

“I’m working on it. I told her she needs to call before showing up.”

“Did she call last time?” Joy circled the block for a parking spot, blatantly ignoring my question. “You know were going to have to have a serious talk about this right?”

“About what?”

“Our parents Joy. you don't get along with my dad, I’m really struggling with your mom, like do you not see how absolutely crazy our parents are?”

Joy shrugged and finally began backing into a parking spot, “I think of it as having character. My mother is the crazy one and your dad is the ual predator. Everyone has a part to play”, I gasped and slapped Joy’s shoulder as she laughed and slipped the car into park. I leaned back into my seat, just looking at Joy look at me. I wonder if she knows she makes me feel perfect, like I may not solve world hunger but as long as I'm with her everything is okay. “What are you thinking about?”

I shook my head, “Nothing, I just love you. You know that right?”

“Of course. You don't say it nearly enough for my ego.  But, I'll allow it because you, my love, are great in bed.” I giggled, slapping Joy’s thigh. If every day is like this, I think I'll die happy. “Ready to head in?”

“Ugh, not really. Did your mom call you or anything to tell you if the furniture people dropped everything off?”

“Nah, I figure when we get upstairs that's how we’ll find out. She never even told me if she left, for all we know she could be upstairs wondering who the hell your father is.”

“Oh god, I didn't think about that. C’mon. '' With a bit more pep in my step I got out the car, listening to it beep twice when Joy locked it. I intertwined my hand with Joy’s and together we made our way into our apartment building. “Hey Joy”.

“Mm?”

“What do you say when we get inside we do some math.”

“Like multiplication tables?” 

“Nope!” I slithered my way in between Joy and the door, looped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her neck while she unlocked the door. “I’m thinking, we subtract these clothes”, I pulled Joy through the door and pulled her down for a kiss. She kicked the door closed and rested her hands on my hips while I walked us back and into the refrigerator. “Add a bed, divide these legs”, Joy’s hands made their way under my thighs and I jumped up and into her arms, she smiled against my lips while she walked us into the living room. “And multiply” I whispered against her lips.

“Wendy!” Oh, absolutely not! Joy nearly dropped me at the sound of my father’s gasp, “Wendy! What kind of scandalous things are you doing! Joy you have corrupted my daughter! Was that !” Joy looked at me and I swear I saw hatred to last the rest of our lives in those eyes. “Put my little girl down you demon! Look what you’ve done! This is supposed to be a christian household! It is being run by Lucifer himself! Down! Wendy you come down here right this instant! And you!” Joy quirked a brow at my father, her eye twitching. “You get your dirty hands off my daughter’s posterior right this instant!”

Oh god, kill me now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I glared at Irene while she nearly dies from my pain, she started slapping the table still laughing. “It’s not even that funny. I don't understand why you’re laughing so much.”

“Your dad actually caught you and Joy dude, that's like the second time. And then he sat there and yelled at Joy. I'm surprised she didn't kill him where he stood.”

I stabbed my fork into my chicken, “Girl you and me both. And then, he kept us both up till two in the morning. I was really hoping we were gonna have when he left. But nope! He kept us up all night.” I am so stressed out. “I think I'm going insane Irene.” 

“That’s why I make my parents stay at a hotel. I can't be bothered to have quiet .” I groaned, I don't even want this damn chicken anymore.

“That’s the thing. I could deal with needing to be quiet. It's the fact that he’s so damn protective. Like this morning, I went to shower with Joy like we do every morning and he pulled me inside the bedroom instead to show me childhood photos. Like I want to see baby Wheein over my fiance’s body.”

“Have you ever thought about just sitting down and talking to him? When is he leaving?” I shrugged, my dad never tells me when he’s leaving. He’s like the flu, I know when he's coming, but never when the hell he’s leaving.

“I never know when he’s leaving Irene. You know this.  But hey, did I tell you about Joy’s friend Summer?” Irene shook her head and sipped from her tea. “Well, she went to a call about this drunk girl like two days ago or something. And she was saying the girl made her feel weird and-”

“Like a lady ?”

“What? No. Irene! No. like she made Joy feel weird, like she wanted to protect her.”

“Sounds gay. We gonna find her and kill her?”

“Irene! Really? Shut up and just listen. What i’m saying is that platonically Joy felt off. She like spoke to the girl’s father and everything and when she hung up with him she said she felt like something was missing.”

“This sounds like a lifetime movie. Is this like her long lost father or something.” I groaned, leave it to Irene to ruin everything.

“If you would have just let me speak, I would have gotten to that.”

“Sorry”.

I rolled my eyes, “anyway. As I was saying. We went to dinner with Summer and her girlfriend last night. And Summer was talking about her life and stuff and I was noticing some really weird connections.”

“Like what?”

“Well, they’re both really tall. For like no reason at all. And when they laugh, they both do this thing where their eyes nearly close all the way.”

“Like Seulgi?”

“No, Irene. We’re not talking about your girlfriend. They both slap their thighs when they laugh, they both rip apart their bread instead of just biting into it.”

“Jesus Wen-lock! You must’ve looked like a creeper watching her.”

“Irene! Listen. It’s gonna get weirder. So, Summer said her father raised her to be like the older sister she never met, and that the girl had a lung problem. Joy has a lung problem, it’s why she was adopted out.”

“So Summer's father put his daughter up for adoption?”

“No, Summer said she died.”

Irene blinked and stared at me, “Then there you go Wen. The girl is dead and Joy is very much alive.  They can’t be related.”

I nodded and waved Irene off, I spent all last night during my father’s ranting thinking about this. I am so prepared! We’re on the case Watson! “Listen, he could have lied to Summer. Dude, Summer’s korean name is Sooyoung, just like Joy’s name. And! And! Joy was born in the same place that Summer’s father is from.”

“Have you told Joy about your thoughts?” I shook my head, standing to throw my food away. “Why not?”

“Because”, I shrugged. “She always says she doesn't care to know about her birth family. I wouldn't want to get her hopes up and then Summer isn't related to her at all. It’s like you said, it's like a lifetime movie. What are the chances this happens in real life?”

“It happened in Sister Sister.”

“That’s a TV show Irene. This is real life.”

“I know, but I’m just saying crazy happens every day. But why doesn't Joy want to know her birth family? What if she has a family history of something, don't you guys want kids?”

Huh, I never thought about kids. “I don't think we’ve ever thought about that. I never even thought about kids.” Irene shook her head at me and stood up. 

“Speaking of kids, Seul and I were thinking of having kids.”

I smiled at Irene and pulled her into a hug, oh that’s so exciting. “That’s so awesome!”

“We’ve been looking into donors and everything. We were thinking of me carrying first and then her. We’re not getting any younger you know?”

“That’s awesome. Do you guys have names?”

“We’re thinking Korean names. I’m thinking, Jisoo it works for boys and girls. And if we still want another kid, I was thinking Daniel if we decided on an american name. Or maybe like Dahyun or something. I don't know. We might not even follow through with it. We’re just thinking about it you know?”

Ohh I’m so excited. Irene never just thinks about anything. One time she was like I’m just thinking about buying a big screen tv. The next day, guess what? We had a big screen tv. Oh man. I’m gonna see little tiny Irene and Seulgi’s. “Does Joy want kids?” I shrugged, walking back to my work station with Irene. 

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. We’ve been so swamped with the apartment and the wedding. We haven’t really thought about kids. But I think if I had kids. I’d want american names.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’d be worried that the kids around them couldn’t say their names. Or that Joy couldn’t you know? I told her my Korean name and she was so confused. She literally said it was a mouthful.”

“How is Seungwan a mouthful? She’s lucky she never met Seulgi’s cousin. His name is a mouthful.”

“What is is?”

“Baekhyun”.

“That’s not that bad”.

“No. But I can only picture Joy saying bacon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“911 how can I help you?”

“Help me! My dad ate a mussel! And he’s choking”.

“Okay ma’am. Open his mouth, is the mussel lodged in his mouth?”

“No! He’s allergic.”

“Okay. Where are you?”

“3rd ave. In front of the pharmacy in the Bronx”.

“Okay, sit him down. And watch him. Try to get him to breath as best he can. Help is on the way”.

I switched coms to the paramedics relaying the information. “We have a middle aged man. Suspected allergic reaction to mussels. They are on 3rd ave in front of Belmont pharmacy. In the Bronx”.

“We’ve got it. Van 24 responding.”

“Katy?”

“Wendy! Hey! What’s up girl!”

“Not much. You and Joy are on this call?”

“Yep last one before it’s time to hit the hay girl. I am so tired” I chuckled, switching back to the girl to tell her the ETA. 

“There in five!” Katy yelled. 

“Is my dad going to be okay?” 

“Yes sweetheart. He’s going to be fine. What’s his name?”

“Seo-joon.”

“Oh is he from here?”

“No he’s visiting me and my girlfriend Sunny from Korea. He literally just touched down today”.  

I stared at my screen in shock. “Summer?”

“Yeah? Who's this?”

“It’s Wendy. Joy’s fiancé. We had dinner last night.”

“Oh my god. Thank god. I can trust you. Who's coming to help?”

“Joy and her partner Katy should be getting there soon.”

“Oh. Oh I see them! Oh thank god it was you guys. Thank you so much.”  

I stared still stunned at my computer screen. What are the chances?