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Mina was a lonely woman. Everything had seemed to leave her, and frankly she had become content with whatever decided to stay, and was complacent with the fact that maybe nothing else would come. The one thing she never wanted to let go, however, was her child. Tzuyu was the light of her life, the source of affection she could always turn to after a long day’s work. Her child kept her motivated to do her best, even when everything else could crumble in a moment. Taking care of Tzuyu was what she was prepared to dedicate her whole life to, and the only thing she feared was her child growing up.
But it was moments like when she walked into Tzuyu’s room to see her doing the extra work her teacher had given her, that reminded her that her kid had a life beyond their relationship Mina had worked so hard to strengthen, even with her packed work schedule. While Mina looked forward to seeing her daughter every day when she came home from her exhausting job at a sales and promotions company, she knew in the back of her mind that the young girl had ambitions beyond her mother. And that was normal. Saddening, but normal.
Not that that prevented her from being proud of her daughter’s achievements, like when she came rushing into the car from her classroom holding a piece of paper. As soon as she sat in the back, she stopped Mina from saying more and put the paper in front of her face, eager for her to read.
“What’s this for?” Mina asked, taking the paper and blinking a few times to clear her eyes so she could read properly.
“Mum, guess what!” Tzuyu barely let her open her mouth, before giving a huge smile and bouncing back in her seat. “I got in the Easter play!”
Looking up from the paper and twisting her head round so she could face her child, she grinned with all the love in the word, letting the smile crinkle her eyes slightly. Tzuyu laughed back and pointed at the paper.
“That’s the form. Please can you sign it, please?” She put on her ‘pretty please, I know you love me’ face with twinkling eyes and the slightest pout, really putting on a show like most eight-year-old girls do. “I promise I’ll do anything!”
Mina knew she would already say yes. She was proud beyond belief that her sweet little daughter had landed a spot in the play she had been talking about for weeks now, how much she liked the costumes and how the video the music teacher had shown of it being played by older students looked pretty old but they did it so well anyways. She talked about the Easter play over dinner, letting her food get cold and then needing it to be heated up in the microwave so she could finish it even though it meant she’d miss out on watching TV after eating. Mina would always listen to her beautiful daughter’s dreams, remembering how she desperately wanted to be the main character, a young girl who thought Easter was a stupid idea and had to be persuaded that it was a magical, happy holiday that was worth celebrating.
But she also knew from eight years of experience that she was allowed to tease her own child and pretend to not give in immediately. “Oh really?” she asked, cocking a brow. “What will you do for me?”
Tzuyu’s pout became a little more noticeable as she opened her mouth, looking away for a moment to think, before her eyes flicked back and she grinned as though she’d cracked a code. “I’ll make your big bed! Every day! And I’ll get you drinks so you don’t need to get up when you sit down. Please sign the form, Mum… I really will do anything!”
Mina chuckled at Tzuyu’s enthusiasm, shaking her head and reaching out to ruffle her girl’s hair. “You don’t need to do any of that, Tzuyu. Of course I’ll sign your form.”
Tzuyu gasped and a bright smile stretched out on her face. She leant forward to try and hug her mother from the back seat, sort of failing but a hug nonetheless. Mina told her to sit back and put her seatbelt on, placing the form flat on the passenger seat and pulling down the sun visor to check herself in the mirror, before turning the key and driving home.
****
“Mum? Can I go to Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s? I promised them I’d practice the play with them.”
Mina was sitting at the desk in her room, sorting through a file she’d messed up and needed to hand in the next day, as well as having her computer open on the Excel file with a bunch of business advertisement applicants waiting to be reviewed. To say she was a little tense was an understatement, she was stressed out like she had never been before. Pile that on top of the preparations and plans she had to make for Tzuyu’s performance, as well as the fact that neither of them really had the time to be together outside of meals, and Mina was feeling more and more isolated with each day that passed. Her job always became hectic around the Easter period with the amount of holiday advertising brands wanted to do, and the fact that she’d screwed up this file wasn’t helping her emotional state whatsoever.
Even so, she couldn’t deny her child, especially when it came to the Easter play, even if it meant she wouldn’t be seeing Tzuyu for the rest of the day until dinner. “Sure, honey. Are you walking?”
“Chaeyoung said she and her mum will meet me at the roundabout. She’s going to watch us practice our performance!”
That made Mina swivel to face Tzuyu. The mention of her friends’ mother had at first been a minor detail, but the more Tzuyu went to practice at her friend’s house, the more she talked about her. Her name was Nabin, or something like that, and her two daughters were Chaeyoung and Dahyun, who were both also in the play. She was glad her daughter had found good friends, she talked nonstop about things they did together, and how Dahyun had drawn the three of them in the back of her maths book, the time Chaeyoung snuck a whole family pack of chips into her bag and they shared them together. Their mum sounded like a nice woman, apparently running a café with a ‘leaf wall’ that Mina was pretty sure was a wall-mounted garden. They’d never met, and she’d only ever seen her two girls once or twice before, but she wished they could have a cup of coffee together at some point, especially seeing as their daughters had become such great friends.
“Isn’t that nice of her? Tell her I’ll come around between five and five-thirty, and remember to thank her for having you around,” Mina smiled at the girl in the doorway, who thanked her enthusiastically and ran over to hug her tightly before going out the door and grabbing her coat from the drying rack outside the bedroom. She heard tiny footsteps rush down the stairs, much against her wishes but there was no use telling anybody off now. The front door opened and closed, and Mina was left alone once again.
She got up and closed the bedroom door against the rest of the empty house.
****
To Mina’s slight disappointment, when she went to pick up Tzuyu, a babysitter was there looking after the three girls, because apparently the mother had gone to check in on the café. Mina respected that kind of enthusiastic effort, and wished she had the same with her own work.
Tzuyu came rushing to the door with a smile on her face, leaping into her mother’s embrace and waving goodbye to the two girls who stood in the doorway with their guardian. “Bye! Thank you for having me around, you guys can come to my house next time.”
Mina laughed and smiled at the girls in the hall, waving and nodding a thanks and goodbye to the babysitter, before prying Tzuyu off her and holding her hand to the car.
“Mum, did you reserve your seat?” Tzuyu asked whilst she was getting buckled in, her head turning in the direction of Mina as she closed the door and moved to the front of the car to get in.
“I did, right up the front for you.”
“Really Mum? Thank you! Chaeyoung said their mum is going to be up the front as well!”
“Cool, maybe I can finally meet her?”
“Yeah! She said you sound nice. I think that’s an understatement,” Tzuyu smiled brilliantly as Mina turned her head, putting her hands on the wheel and pulling out the key.
“That’s a big word, where’d you learn that one?”
“We did compound words in English today! It was actually really, really boring.”
Mina faced back to the front and pulled out of her parking spot, laughing at the frankness of her daughter. “Any other compound words for me?”
“Yeah, there’s rainbow, suitcase, headband, cameraman, and heaps of others but I can’t remember them all. There was a huge list on the whiteboard and we had to copy them down, my hand got really super sore.” She looked down at her hand for emphasis.
“Is your hand okay?” Mina wondered aloud as she turned around the roundabout Tzuyu had met her friends at.
“Yeah, it’s fine, it was only for a tiny little bit.”
“That’s good then. Make sure to take care of yourself before the play, won’t you?”
“Of course I will, Mum.”
Mina hummed in response, turning into the driveway and stopping slowly, taking the key out of they ignition and getting out. She went to the back door, opened it and unbuckled Tzuyu, helping her out of the car and closing the door. Tzuyu ran up to the door and stood with one leg swinging below her, leaving her mother to lock the car and waiting for her to come open the front door.
****
Mina didn’t quite realise that Tzuyu was trying to let go of her hand, but took the hint when a heavy tug pulled down her arm and made her lose her footing. She caught herself, slinging her bag further up her arm and remembering to wave goodbye to her daughter, who ran off to her teacher. They had just arrived through the doors of the school hall, the chairs were all set up to face the big stage that had a cardboard background resting against the wall. A teacher was on either side, one for each class, handing out pieces of paper and giving small instructions, sending students one by one behind the stage to get changed.
Mina watched Tzuyu get sent off blankly, before quickly moving towards the front of the hall so she could claim a front row seat. She sat down and put her bag at her feet, glancing at the mostly empty seats beside her. The play was supposed to start in about half an hour, but parents were told their child should arrive early so they could do a quick run-through. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw her daughter’s friends walk up to the teacher as well.
****
Nayeon waved to Chaeyoung and Dahyun and smiled, quickly moving down the aisle between rows of chairs so she could get a seat up front. People were starting to arrive at the school more quickly now, and she promised her daughters that she would sit right in the front row so she could record the whole thing.
She looked between rows beside her, making the rapid choice to sit on the left side and just chose a seat without thinking. She put her purse in her lap and straightened her shirt, peering around the assembly hall when her eyes landed on the woman she’d sat next to. She didn’t really recognise her, it was more who she resembled.
“So who’s your child?” Nayeon coughed up the courage to ask, with a small smile. She seemed to have startled the woman, because her eyes went a little wide and she looked alarmed as she turned to face her.
“Oh, she’s Tzuyu, I promised I’d sit up the front for her. Who’s yours?” the woman replied.
Nayeon furrowed her brows in recognition. “Tzuyu? You must be Mina. My daughters know yours.”
Mina’s expression went from slightly startled to really quite surprised. She smiled slowly, holding out her hand for Nayeon to shake. “Oh! Yes, you’re Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s mother. Nabin, right?”
“Nayeon,” she corrected as she took the hand and shook it gently. “You’ve got a nice little girl, by the way.”
Mina smiled and hummed a laugh. “Mm, she talks about your two a lot as well. They sound nice. I’ve wanted to meet you actually, she speaks very highly of you.”
“Ha, really?” Nayeon took her hand away and rested it in her lap, turning her body to face Mina’s. “I feel bad because I don’t tend to be home much when she’s around. She said you work in advertising, does that keep you very busy?”
“It really depends on what time of year it is. This Easter has been a hectic one though, I can’t wait to take some time off,” grinned Mina. “You own a café?”
“Yes! I opened it a few years ago with one of my good friends. It’s in the city, if you ever want to come by.”
“I’d like to! Do you and your friend work there together?”
“Yes, I do, but she doesn’t anymore. It’s doing well with just one of us though,” Nayeon smiled and nodded. She opened her mouth to say something again, but by then the hall was full and a teacher had walked onto the stage to signal the beginning of the play. Nayeon mouthed a near-silent ‘oh’ and smiled one last time at Mina, before turning away to face the front.
****
Mina had been invited to Nayeon’s café to have lunch together just as she was about to leave with Tzuyu from the Easter play, so on the weekend on which the date had come, she made sure that her daughter was with Chaeyoung and Dahyun and their babysitter. In the little time during the performance that they’d had to talk, the two found themselves enjoying each other’s minimal company and both seemed to agree that their children were friends, so why not them? And plus, Mina needed something to do rather than be alone at work and only have her daughter to talk to.
She arrived at the café, which was a small building in the midst of the outdoor mall with big windows framed by polished wood planks. She pushed open the door, ignoring the closed sign like she was told, and peered around the dark room. There were booths along the westward wall and round tables in the middle of the room, the food display and counter opposite with black chalkboards mounted behind that featured the menu, along with a daily specials board beside where customers would line up. At the back of the room, matching Tzuyu’s description, was a wall-mounted garden that added a nice touch of greenery to the otherwise neutral-and-black room. And there, sitting at the very back table, was Nayeon, who was looking at her phone and tapping her fingers against the tabletop.
“Nayeon! I’m here,” Mina waved as Nayeon turned her head with a smile and beckoned her over.
“Hi, Mina!” Nayeon grinned as the other sat down opposite her. “What do you think? I closed early just in case we went overtime.”
Mina furrowed her brows. “Early? Oh, you didn’t have to do that, Nayeon, I’m not that important. It’s beautiful, by the way. I love the garden,” She motioned to the garden in question.
Nayeon’s smile softened back into her more casually happy one, which Mina was starting to recognise as her resting expression, and nodded, sighing happily. “Yeah, I like it too. Would you like something to drink?”
“Do I have to pay?” Mina raised a brow.
Nayeon giggled as though she were a child, “Of course not!”
Mina smiled and put her bag down beside her feet, resting her head on her palm as she watched Nayeon get up to turn on the coffee machine.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like?”
“Mm, no. Whatever you’re having is fine.”
****
Their drinks were long finished, and by now they were both too immersed in their conversations that they couldn’t be bothered for more. Mina was finding more and more out about Nayeon, more than just that of being the mother of her daughter’s friends, and the hours were beginning to flit by, along with the worry of how Tzuyu was doing. It nagged at the back of her mind, but at the last second of every concerned moment, Nayeon would say something that brought her back to Earth, or she would come up with a question that burned with the desire to be answered as soon as it appeared in consideration.
“I’m assuming you’re a single mother…?” Mina asked cautiously because it wasn’t the most appropriate question.
Whether Nayeon was taken back by it or not, she replied without hesitation. “Yes, the girls were born through IVF.”
Mina’s face lit up with some kind of adoration; to be a single mother like that, and have absolutely no one to be able to call upon for child support was incredible to her. “That’s amazing, it would have been a surprise to find out you’d have twins.”
Nayeon pursed her lips into a humble smile, resting her head in her palm and keeping her attention directly on Mina. “I remember being warned that there was a higher chance of twins if I used artificial fertility and disregarding it completely. I was horrified when I found out,” she shook her head to herself. “I was a very stupid person.”
Mina smiled, full and wide, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Your children seem beautiful. Did they have a father figure at all?”
Nayeon exhaled through her nose and shook her head again. “The friend I opened this place with helped me sometimes, but I was a very independent parent.”
Mina nodded. “That’s very strong of you. Do you still see her a lot?”
“She passed away the year we opened.”
Mina’s face dropped. It felt like her stomach had sunk, like a stone in a pond. She opened her mouth to say something, but only air left her lips and she looked down. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, it was years ago.”
Although the perkiness in her voice was still there, Mina felt very awkward.
“Mina, it’s fine.” Nayeon straightened and reached over for her hand, grasping it and pulling it towards the middle of the table. “Don’t worry about it.”
To Mina’s slight relief, Nayeon laughed under her breath and squeezed her hand gently before changing the topic quite smoothly. “What about Tzuyu? She’s said she doesn’t live with her dad before, how’s that?”
Mina smiled again, brushing away the embarrassment and furrowing her brow with a little concern. “Has she?”
“Mm, only once, though.”
“Ah. Well no, she doesn’t know him. He left before she was born.”
Nayeon shook her hand in hers by way of encouragement. “You’ve been doing well on your own then, haven’t you?”
“Of course!” Mina could not help but break into a grin.
She broke the gaze she wasn’t aware she’d been holding with Nayeon and glanced at the oversized clock on the wall behind her.
“Shit, is that the time?!”
She felt her hand being let go as she got up and slung her bag over her shoulder. She grabbed her coat and pulled one arm through the sleeve whilst pushing her chair in. “Sorry Nayeon, I have to go, I promised Tzuyu I’d pick her up in like, ten minutes.”
“Oh no, it’s fine, I should probably get back home as well. This was fun,” Nayeon gave a smile that Mina returned, and pushed out of her own chair and stood up. Mina rushed over to the front of the café, turning around when she’d reached the light spilling in from the outside.
“It was. Thanks so much Nayeon, I really needed to get out like this. If you ever want to go out for a drink sometime, totally call me.” Mina smiled at Nayeon as she made her way over to say goodbye and leave herself.
“I will!” Nayeon hung her own bag over her shoulder. “Good luck with Tzuyu.”
“You too, good luck with the girls.”
“Uh…”
Mina breathed in, then out, watching and waiting for the next thing that would be said. There was tension growing in the air at a fast pace, she didn’t know why, but it made her feel like she had been thrown back fifteen years to her teens. All the high school-awkwardness just made her stay rooted to the spot.
Maybe she’d missed a minute, or something Nayeon had said, or had responded with something subconsciously because she was very confused with the next moment, or rather, the moment she caught herself in.
Nayeon kissed her, like they were all the way back in high school, with the swiftness of that childish impulse she hadn’t felt for herself in years. Before she knew it, she’d been released and was missing multiple, multiple moments or seconds or minutes as her head spun with the new sensation of knowing that she’d just been kissed, from when she’d arrived at the café to when she’d sat down, to when they’d been talking like old friends to when she come over here, to this spot in the golden halo of amber sunlight that streamed into the room from the slowly sinking sun in the distance behind the buildings on the other end of the street.
Mina didn’t really mind, now that she was coming back to herself. She was beaming, in fact. Not aware that it was something she’d wanted, but was perfectly fine with getting it. Not the most conventional of Nayeon, but that wasn’t a problem right then.