It was a typical morning in the Bae household. Wendy waking up next to Irene was, for her, the best thing in the world, right next to singing and baking but she doesn’t say that to her wife.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Wendy said, moving closer to her significant other, arms wrapped around the other’s small figure. Wendy waited for a reply when she realized the girl she was holding is shivering despite being wrapped in a blanket. She put a hand on Irene’s forehead, confirming the bubbling thought that her wife might be sick.

Irene slowly turned towards her, eyes barely open. Her wife always had pale white skin but it is a different matter when her lips are not their usual red. She looked at her with concern, feeling sorry for the overworked individual lying on their bed. They are a hard-working couple but, unlike Wendy, Irene does not know how to listen to her body. She would work countless hours without resting because she wants to finish her work as soon as possible.

Just as Irene started coughing, an excited teenager came barging into their room.

“Mommy! Mama!” the teen shouted. “What are you guys waiting for? We’re going to be late. Let’s go!”

Wendy looked at the clock. 7:29 am. Then it hit her. They were supposed to wake up early to go to her parents’ rest house.

Wendy looked at her daughter then back to her wife, wondering how to break the news. She was about to open when she felt a shuffling beside her. Irene slowly leaned on their bed while she massages her temples.

“Good morning, baby, honey,” Irene said while looking at the concerned Wendy and their ticked-off daughter. “Yeri, honey, as you can see mommy’s a little sick.”

But before Irene could finish her sentence, Yeri started her rant.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Yeri retorted, her arms folded as she annoyingly dropped her luggage. “Mom, we planned this for weeks. I asked you, no, begged you to get at least a day’s worth of rest because we all know how much of a workaholic you are.”

Irene looked away, the loud voice of Yeri causing her head to throb.
“I’m sorry, honey. I took a rest but I guess that wasn’t enough. The company has been busy lately and I need to be there if I want to keep things afloat,” she said.

Yeri scoffed, waiting for another response from her mom. She then looked at Wendy who was looking for a way to defuse the situation.

“How about this. Yeri and I will go to the resthouse first and then I’ll pick you up after you’re done with some more stuff. Sounds good?” Wendy said, hoping for Yeri to agree with her proposal. Unfortunately, she made it worse by mentioning that Irene had more stuff to do. This prompted Yeri to pick her things up and leave their room.

All Wendy could do was stare at the door, mouth agape, wondering how she could fix things.

Wendy felt Irene slowly succumbing to her sickness as she went deeper under their blanket. She pulled up the blanket to cover her wife.

“I’ll get you some medicines and some food,” said Wendy.

She stood up and fixed her side of the bed then proceeded to their closet to get changed. While inside, all she could think of was how to make Yeri less upset about the situation. It was expected that she would react like how she did earlier. No one can blame the teen. She misses her mother.

Yeri loves them both but spending time with Irene was a different matter. She would drag Irene anywhere; from shopping to arcades, whatever Yeri wants, Yeri gets when she’s with her. They were the perfect mother-daughter tandem. People often mistake them as sisters with the way they interact with each other. Aside from her mother being baby-faced, they bicker like they’re siblings.

But nothing compares to the times Yeri breaks down. Since Irene is busy with work, Wendy would be the witness of most of it, during which she would give Yeri back rubs and tissues. That’s all she could do. With Irene, Yeri could talk for hours. It was easier for her to dump all her emotions in front of Irene and its those moments that Wendy thanks the man above that she married the right person.

Wendy was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her wife from their bedroom.

“Baby, you should go on with the trip,” Irene said, her sickness evident through her hoarse voice. “I’ll update you about how I’m feeling and just follow after.”

Wendy comes out of the closet and looks at her wife. She thought of more solutions but could not think of anything so instead, she sighed in defeat.

“I guess that’s the new plan. I’ll pack my things and tell Yeri. I know she’ll understand once I talk to her. Or so I hope.”

Wendy is a good mother. She might not be good with consoling their daughter but she’s good at making her understand things. Like that time Yeri wanted new gaming headphones and Irene said no because her current ones were still in good shape. They did not spoil Yeri but they know how important gaming is to Yeri. It is to her what singing is to Wendy. Just like any teenager, their daughter is still figuring out how to control her emotions. So, Wendy talked to her and explained why her mother refus