Our Child

Chapter two

A beat of silence followed, not even the crashes of Annie's stick made a noise. Her little face was scrunched with concentration, bashes both planned and chaotic. She was having the time of their life.

In wake of her arrival, Jennie could barely take the sight of the girl, "Hello, Jisoo."

The mother could feel the breeze on the back of her neck as Jisoo took a seat. Clad in a woolly coat and sunglasses, the porcelain beauty was beyond excited to see her baby. Leaning forward, the actress took off her glasses, watching in amusement as her daughter continued to play.

After a moment, Jisoo spoke again, "Is she fighting a robot, or a dragon?"

"Dragon."

Even without looking, Jennie knew Jisoo was smiling from ear to ear. She had kept good on her promise. Every school play, parents evening, and third weekend, the actress would always make time for Annie. Much to her own disgust, Jennie's heart warmed at the very thought.

Eventually, Annie looked over, screaming when she saw Jisoo, "Mama!"

As the little girl sprinted over, Jisoo stood up, gracefully capturing her daughter into a warm hug, "Hello, Ann."

In muted happiness, Jennie watched their matching obsidian hair blend together. When she first realised how similar they were, it had been a shock. Though technically not genetically related, they had the same hands, smile, and - worst of all - the same sense of humour.

Even now, Jennie could tell that Jisoo had whispered something into her daughter ear, making them both burst into little fits of laughter. Annie wriggled free, grasping Jisoo's hand, "Where are we going this time?"

Jennie raised an eyebrow, knowing they should be going nowhere bar Jisoo's apartment.

The actress look almost fearful, "Whaaat," She chuckled, "We're going home!"

Annie frowned, "That's not what you said last time, you said we were going to-"

"Is that a squirrel?" Jisoo interrupted, pretending to look off into the distance.

Completely distracted, Annie bolted off, not caring that there was no actual squirrel in sight. The two watched the little girl, going from tree to tree with a look of sheer excitement on her face. Jisoo chuckled. Jennie remained stoic.

"Will you be gone soon?" She asked halfheartedly.

Why is talking to you so hard?

Jisoo looked down at Jennie, a look of confusion on her face. Neither of them liked holding each other's gaze, it was always so intense, even after all these years. After a moment of quiet, the actress responded, "We'll head off now, if that's what you want."

Looking away, Jennie rolled her eyes, "Don't start talking like that."

"No," Jisoo persisted, oblivious to her backhandedness, "I don't want us to inconvenience you."

"Stop. Stop that right now."

"I'm not doing anything."

You know exactly what you're doing, Jennie thought to herself. The only reason she did not say it out loud was the little patter of tiny footsteps now drawing nearer.

Annie hopped up onto her mother's lap, "The squirrel's gone."

"That's a shame dear," Jennie kissed her daughter's forehead, "We can go looking together at some point."

The little girl's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yes?"

Swinging off her, Annie ran into Jisoo, "All of us! We can spend the day together!"

Unsurprisingly, Jisoo's eyes widened, "I..."

Both women were at a loss. Their distance from each other went far beyond the physical plain, but how was their child supposed to understand that?

"Fine, I'll walk you to the gates," Jennie sighed.

That, is how a grumpy ice cream lady found herself walking through the park with the ex love of her life, her baby swinging from her arm. As awkward as they were, Annie did not notice for a second, chatting to them like they were really a family.

We were supposed to be...

Jisoo had grown soft. Jennie could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at the little girl between them. Whatever anger that had lied within her was long dead. A much older and wiser woman remained, and with every passing year she had remained stubbornly beautiful. Even Jennie, with all her bitterness, would never deny her goodness.

Much to Annie's delight, the gate did not come for some time. When it was time to part, after a playground and ice cream, Jisoo held a certain melancholy to her. Twice, she had tried to convince Jennie to have dinner with them, the mother had refused, even with her daughter's whining. To her, every second with Jisoo was poisonous, no matter wether she was smiling or not.

By the gates, Annie had clung to her, begging for Jennie to reconsider, "Mummy, pleeeaaase!"

"You'll see me on Monday, sweetie," Jennie forced out a laugh.

"Come on," Jisoo plastered a smile on her face, "You're laying it on a bit thick, Ann."

"Mum won't see you on Monday," Annie looked like she was about to cry, "You two never see each other! It's not fair."

"Darling," Jennie said with much more control than she felt, "We're fine."

"Come on, Ann," Gently, Jisoo took her arm, "I'm sure your mum's busy."

"No, she's coming with us."

"Annie," Jisoo's voice went strict, "It's time to go."

With no more room to fight, Jennie stood and watched her baby leave with her ex woman. The only thing Jennie was ever truly jealous of was Jisoo's ability to get Annie to behave. That would make her life easier. Jisoo always had made life easier.

She chose to leave, the voice reminded her.

Jennie went home, alone.