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A gentle tug at her waist pulls Mira’s attention downwards. Looking up at her with excited, wide eyes, is her daughter. “What is it, Wren?” Mira murmurs softly. The young girl points excitedly in front of them.
It was a Friday morning so the mall wasn’t incredibly busy yet. Rumi needed to pick up a few things from some of the stores; a birthday gift for Celine, a thank you gift for Bobby – specific things that the variety of the mall offered.
Through the sparse bodies in the walkway, Mira can almost immediately make out what has so excitedly caught her three year old’s attention. Hoping awkwardly from side of side – dancing maybe – is a turtle mascot. Her eyes flick to the store it’s stationed outside of. ‘Build-A-Buddy’ – must be some type of promotion. It had definitely worked on Wrenlow. She is obsessed with turtles; had been since her first birthday when she had seen them at the aquarium.
Wrenlow tugs at the side of her shirt again. A gentle smile pulls at Mira’s lips. “Yes darling,” she murmurs softly, her hand coming to rest gently on top of her daughter's head. Her hair is a soft purple like Rumi’s. Her hair is done up in two short pigtails. Rumi was looking forward to her hair being long enough for her to braid. “Mama should be back in just a moment, then we can go look at the turtle.”
The young girl frowns for a second before nodding and shifting to tuck herself against her mom’s leg. Mira keeps her hand down, resting gently on her daughter’s shoulder as she looks around for her wife. She glances down to her watch; Rumi had said she’d only be a few minutes.
“Mama,” Wren whispers. Mira looks down to her daughter before shifting her gaze to look where the young girl was looking. Making their way towards them, slightly flushed in the face with two drinks and a small bag in her hands, was her wife. Mira can’t help the smile that pulls at her lips. Rumi was her world – had been since the day they had met nearly ten years ago.
“Sorry my love,” Rumi breathes out as she raises up to place a soft kiss on Mira’s cheek. “The line at Starbucks was insane.” Rumi slides Mira’s drink into her hand – her usual of a medium coffee with a shot of hazelnut flavouring – before crouching down to be eye level with their daughter.
Wren’s face immediately lights up as she watches her Mama reach into the bag and pull out a pink cake pop from inside. “Your favourite, my little dove,” she hums softly as the preschooler reaches out to take the treat with a grin. Before Rumi can stand up straight, Wren is pointing back towards the turtle mascot. Rumi’s eyes flick from the costume and then up to her wife. ‘We have time,’ she mouths silently. Mira nods and Rumi looks back to their daughter. “Let's go say hi to the turtle.”
With her mothers’ blessing, Wren turns to face the turtle. She waits for her moms to move with her before breaking into a small scurry towards it. Mira brings her drink to her lips as she feels Rumi slip her arms around her elbow, her bags jostling at her side. “Did you find what you were looking for?” she murmurs softly.
At her side – eyes still trained on their daughter who is hesitating as the turtle interacts with another toddler – Rumi nods. “Yes,” she hums softly as she draws a sip from her Frappuccino. “For both of them.”
Mira echoes the hum in response. Her gaze flicks back to their daughter and the mascot. It was unusual to see Wrenlow so invested in a stranger. Their daughter was incredibly shy – always had been. Rumi and her had done their best to try and get her to open up over the years; speech therapists, counselors, anything really. Wren was just always too anxious. ‘She’ll grow out of her selective mutism as she gets older’ they were told. ‘Entering school should help.’
Wren only spoke to her and Rumi – and even so, it was often single words or small noises to indicate how she felt.
The toddler that had been previously interacting with the turtle was being pulled away by their dad. The turtle waved goodbye before turning to Wren. At her side, Mira felt Rumi stiffen. Mira’s own uneasiness swayed in her stomach. Wren hated having attention on her.
Surprising both women though; their daughter took a tentative pace forward.
Both mothers held their breath.
“Turtle,” Wren whispers softly, a small, pale hand extending out towards the mascot. The mascot – seemingly sensing the child's anxiety – moves a little slower than she did with the previous toddler. It offers Wrenlow a flipper. Wren takes it, curling her small fingers around the green fabric. The turtle bobs its head happily as it moves its weight from side to side.
Mira and Rumi watch quietly in soft awe as their daughter and the turtle dance outside the store for a few minutes. Eventually, the turtle waves its flipper at the window display. There is a variety of stuffed ocean animals in the window – all pre-fluffed as examples of what the store has. Sitting beside a coral coloured octopus is a turtle plush. Wren’s eyes light up even more as she looks from the turtle plush to the mascot and then to her moms.
The mascot’s head moves to see where the young girl is looking. It offers the pair of them a small wave.
“I got it,” Rumi whispers softly as she hands Mira her drink. The pair of them approach the mascot and their daughter. There is a look of playfulness on her wife’s face as Rumi reaches out to take her daughter’s hand. “Have you been good for…” Rumi’s voice trails as she looks to the nametag pinned on the turtle’s chest. “Tony?”
Both Wren and the turtle nod. Rumi laughs softly – the tone melodic as always. The turtle’s shoulders relax a little as Rumi looks down to their daughter. “Would you like to go make a turtle?”
Wren's face brightens as she gives her mother a happy nod. The toddler’s eyes turn back to look up at the turtle. Awkwardly in the suit, the mascot crouches down before it reaches out to pat the small child’s head gently.
Mira’s gaze softens as a quiet giggle escapes their daughter. “You’re,” the toddler's voice trails as Rumi and Mira both look at the toddler with genuine surprise, “a… green sea turtle.”
Mira exhales quietly. That was… the most Wren had ever said to a stranger. Leave it to a random person in a giant turtle costume to get their daughter to speak a full sentence for the first time.
The turtle nods happily in response. So their three year old was right.
With a small but polite nod to the mascot, Rumi guides their daughter into the store. The mascot waves happily to them, Wren returning it with a smile.
Mira approaches, her and Rumi’s drink in her hands. She pauses beside the mascot who seems to be taking a second to watch her wife and daughter as they pick out one of the unstuffed turtle plushes. “She – Wren – loves turtles,” Mira offers lightly.
The mascot gives a little jump. Mira looks down to them with a small, apologetic smile. The person in the costume probably couldn’t see very well. “They’ve been her favourite animal since she was a baby. Every year all she wants is to go to the aquarium to see them.”
The mascot stares at her unblinking. The costume kind of weirds Mira out a little – but that doesn’t stop her from feeling grateful. “Thanks for being gentle with her. She’s a shy kid.”
The mascot nods before it reaches up to pat the top of Mira’s head just like it had with her daughter. Mira fights back a grumble. A chuckle from inside the store pulls both Mira and the turtle's attention. Rumi has her phone out – pointed at the two of them – while Wren is getting the turtle plushie stuffed.
Mira rolls her eyes as the turtle returns its flipper to itself. “Thanks,” the pink haired woman huffs, “my wife will not let me live that photo down.”
Mira can hear the faintest laugh from within the mascot, though it’s super muffled from the costume. She gives them a side glance before sighing and making her way into the store to join her wife and daughter. The three of them spend time picking out some clothes for the turtle – now affectionately named Tony Jr. – before heading out of the store with some polite waves to the mascot who happily returns the waves back.
The next Friday, Mira found herself back at the mall with Rumi and their daughter. Clutched tightly in their daughter's arms was Tony Jr. Wrenlow had been practically inseparable from the turtle plush for the last week. She had been changing the turtle's outfits with her dolls clothes but many of them didn’t fit due to Tony’s shell – so, here they were, back at the mall and heading to Build-A-Buddy to buy Tony some new clothes.
Wren was resting on Mira’s hip as they approached the store. She could feel her daughter shift in excitement as she peered around for the turtle mascot – but sadly, there was no costume in sight outside the store this week. Mira can feel Wren visibly deflate in her arms as she throws a worried glance to her wife. Rumi looks a little disappointed herself. Mira knew they were both looking forward to watching Wren interact with the mascot again. They had never seen their daughter so lively in public before.
“We can still get Tony Jr. some new clothes, bug,” Mira murmurs softly as she leans in to press a gentle kiss to the toddlers temple. “Maybe we can find him some pajamas to match yours – hmm?”
Wren nods quietly in agreement before beginning to wiggle. Mira pauses to put her daughter down as they approach the store. Standing outside the store this time – instead of the mascot – is a cute woman. Her dark hair is pulled back into a pair of messy space buns and she’s waving to customers as they walk by. She has the same apron that all the other ‘Build-A-Buddy’ employees wear, but underneath she’s wearing a pair of light coloured jeans and a yellow t-shirt. When her gaze flicks to them, Mira sees recognition light in her eyes. That was a little odd – Mira definitely would have remembered seeing her last time. There would be no way on earth she could forget such a smile. With a glance to her wife Mira knows Rumi is thinking the same.
Before she can ask Rumi, the woman is giving them a friendly wave. “Hi! Welcome to Build-A-Buddy,” she sings gently. There is a slight accent to her words; but her Korean is fluent.
“You want –” Rumi sounds confused as Wren tugs at her sleeve. Mira watches quietly as Rumi blinks a few times before nodding and reaching into her bag for a piece of paper. She hands it to Wren who takes it before turning back to the employee.
The woman crouches so she’s now eye level with the toddler. She seems to be a bit younger than them both – but not by a whole lot. Her gaze is focused intently on Wren, her eyes warm. “Hey! Aren’t you Wren?” she hums softly.
Rumi and Mira glance at each other.
“I’m a friend of Tony the Turtle.” The name of the mascot makes their daughter do a little bounce of excitement, the paper and her stuffed turtle held tightly in her hands. “He mentioned meeting you last week – told me you were the number one turtle expert! Is that true?”
Wren glances shyly down at her feet – one of Rumi’s habits she’s inherited – before nodding slightly as she looks back up to the stranger. Their little girl then takes a hesitant step forward so she’s standing in front of the worker. She holds out the paper to the woman, her cheeks puffed. “Can… can you give this… to Tony?” Their daughter’s words are barely a whisper, but both Mira and Rumi are floored.
The worker offers Wren a smile so bright Mira thinks it could rival the mid day sunshine outside. “Of course!” she chirps as she leans forward to accept the paper. Looking down at it, Mira can see the way the woman’s eyes soften. “Is this you? Your family and Tony?” she asks as she angles the drawing back to them. It’s a drawing their daughter had worked on for hours the day prior. Tucked away at her little desk beside Mira’s as she worked, putting all the attention she could into the drawing of her and the turtle mascot holding hands with Rumi and Mira on either side.
Wren nods before reaching over and pointing at each of them. “Mama,” she explains, pointing at Rumi. “Mom,” she indicates to Mira. “Me and Tony”. She then looks up to the woman, her expression worried. “Sorry… I didn’t draw you…” she whispers.
The employee only smiles warmly as she holds the drawing to her chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she hums softly as she moves to tuck the drawing into the front pocket of her apron. “Maybe next time.”
Wren nods with a glance back to her moms. Both of them offer her an encouraging smile as she looks back at the employee.
“Oh, actually, Tony wanted me to give you something from him, if that’s okay?” the woman asks, her gaze flicking to look over top of their daughters head to instead look at her mothers for permission. Rumi looks a little confused, but Mira nods, granting her permission. She seemed harmless enough.
The woman smiles before turning her attention back to Wren. “Can I see your hand, Wren?” she asks softly.
Wren hesitates for a heartbeat before extending her hand to the woman.
The employee smiles brightly as she reaches for the toddler's hand. “Tony and I made this together,” she explains gently as she slips a beaded charm bracelet off her own wrist and onto the toddlers. It was beautiful; made of teal, green and blue beads, with a silver turtle charm dangling in the middle.
The toddler's eyes fill with wonder as she pulls her hand back slowly to look at the bracelet. It’s far too big for her. She has to spread her fingers wide to keep it from slipping off her hand but Wren’s smile is infectious. She turns to look at her moms before looking back at the employee with one of the biggest smiles they’ve ever seen her make.
Startling every adult, Wren reaches out to wrap her arms around the employee’s neck in a hug. The woman lets out a small squeak of surprise as she fights to hold her balance in her crouched position. Mira is about to lean forward to pull their daughter off the stranger, but the woman gives them a gentle wave. ‘It’s okay,’ she silently mouths to them.
Mira and Rumi relax against each other.
The employee smiles warmly as she wraps her arms gently around the toddler in a soft hug. Wren whispers something so quiet that neither mother can hear, but the employee laughs softly before responding with a gentle, “You’re welcome.”
After a few seconds, Wren pulls away before turning back to look at the store and then to her mothers. Rumi – who hasn’t stopped smiling the entire exchange – nods and gestures inside the store. “Yah, let's go get Tony Jr. some new clothes,” she laughs softly.
Wren waves goodbye to the employee before reaching out to take her mother’s extended hand. The employee stands and gently reaches out to touch Rumi’s elbow to get her attention. Rumi turns her gaze away from Wren to look at the employee curiously. The smaller woman leans in to speak softly. “Try and get her to look at the summer themed clothes. A lot of the options have bigger elastics in them which fit over the shell.”
Rumi flashes the employee a grateful look before she’s tugged gently into the store by Wren.
As Rumi and Wren make their way over to the clothing, Mira pauses at the employee’s side. “So, should I call you Tony or–,” she starts.
The employee turns to look up at her with a warm smile. “Zoey is fine,” she chuckles softly as she points to the name tag on her apron.
It takes Mira a second to shift her eyes away from the cute pattern of freckles that run across the girl's nose to her name tag. Her name is spelt there in rounded letters; ‘ZOEY’, with a little doodle of a turtle and some bubbles surrounding it. “So, I take it you like turtles too?” Mira questions, her eyebrow rising into a small arch as she leans against the entrance wall.
Zoey’s smile brightens. “Yup – probably since I was her age too,” she explains with a nod to where Wren and Rumi are pulling a pair of swim trunks over Tony Jr. little legs. “I knew she was a fellow turtle lover almost immediately,” Zoey laughs softly. The sound was so easy. So soft. “I was hoping you guys would come back,” she adds softly, her tone warm as she looks up to Mira.
In her chest, Mira’s heart does a little flutter.
“So,” Mira clears her throat, “are you usually dressed as a big turtle?”
Zoey laughs once more, her head shaking from side to side. “No, usually it’s a high school student but he was off sick. They asked me to fill in at the last minute for him. Either because I like turtles the most, or because I was the only other one who would fit into the costume,” she chuckles as she raises a hand over her head to indicate her short stature. “But, I definitely think it was because of the first fact,” she finishes with a playful wink.
A chuckle comes from Mira’s throat too. She can feel Rumi’s eyes on her. Glancing to her wife, Mira watches silently as Rumi raises an eyebrow at her in clear amusement.
Mira feels her cheeks flush.
Turning her attention back to Zoey, Mira asks, “so, you're not like in high school though – are you?”
Zoey laughs again, this time more airy than before as she waves her hand. “You’re funny,” she teases as she shakes her head. “No, no, I’m actually done with university; but I’ll take that as a compliment that I look less tired than I feel.”
Mira feels her hands begin to grow sweaty in her sweater pocket. Pulling them out, she rubs them casually along the side of her dress pants. “What did you study at university?” she questions genuinely, her eyes flicking around the store slowly. “I don’t take it you studied stuffed animal building.”
Zoey rolls her eyes playfully as she turns her body to begin straightening a display beside them. “No, no I didn’t,” she huffs softly. “I studied music. Everyone told me I’d have trouble finding work out of school and I told them not to worry about it – but, I guess I should have listened, because now I’m here – working at Build-A-Buddy until I can find something that I really want to do,” she sighs before straightening and turning to Mira quickly. “I-it’s not that I don’t like this job!” she stumbles quickly. “Frankly, I’m actually really grateful to have any job – and I like working with the kids – it’s just not what you know… I envisioned.”
Mira waves her hands lazily. She can see and feel the anxiety radiating off the employee. “Don’t worry about it,” she hums lightly. “You gotta do what you gotta do, right?”
Zoey nods, her shoulders falling a bit. “Yah – just, fingers crossed it’s not like, forever, yah know?”
Mira bites her lip. She looks once more to her wife but Rumi and Wren have made their way over to the checkout. Reaching into her blazer pocket, Mira pulls out a business card. She holds it out to Zoey who looks at it curiously for a second before accepting it. “My wife and I, we need someone to start babysitting Wren on Friday nights for a little while we're out. She seems to like you, and you seem nice. Consider it, and uh, give me a call if you’d like to talk more about it.”
Zoey’s eyes flick down to the card in her hands. She looks a little surprised but then Mira is able to tell the moment she recognizes the last name on the card.
The girl’s eyes snap back up to look at Mira. Her mouth parts for a moment but no words seem to come out.
A smirk pulls at Mira’s lips as she glances over Zoey’s shoulder to see Rumi and Wren making their way back over to them. “Bring some of your stuff along. Anything really, tracks you’ve been working on, recordings. Just whatever you’d like to show off.”
Rumi wraps her arm around Mira’s as she passes Wren over to Mira. Mira takes their daughter in her arms, settling Wren on her hip as she watches Zoey’s gaze slide over to look at Rumi. There is a second, then further understanding morphs on the girl's face.
There it was. Rumi had finally been recognized. Nearly four years out of the public eye and it still happens once people can get a clear look at her face.
“You’re… you’re Mira Kang,” Zoey breathes. “And you’re Rumi Ryu–”
“Rumi Kang,” Rumi corrects softly, her eyes flickering to look at Mira with a warm fondness.
Zoey nods silently, still looking stunned at the information she was processing. “You own Kang Music Industries,” she breathes, gaze locked onto Mira’s.
Mira nods simply as she adjusts her daughter in her arms. “Mhmm, that’s me,” she hums. “And that’s my number. Give me a call whenever.”
Rumi smiles before holding her hand out for the card. Zoey blinks before she hands it over. Mira watches silently as Rumi takes the card and reaches into her purse. Her wife pulls out a pen before scribbling something quickly on the back of the card before handing it back to Zoey. The playful smile on her wife’s face is enough to tell Mira what she had just done. “That’s the number for her personal cell,” Rumi explains with a grin. “Text her there, it will bypass her receptionist that way,” she says with a playful wink.
Zoey’s face has turned the colour of a tomato as she glances between the two women. Rumi is grinning while Mira looks a little sheepish. Wren is playing with her mothers hair, draping it over top of Tony Jr’s head like a wig.
Zoey nods, almost dumbfounded as she looks down to the number once more before looking at Mira and Rumi again. “Y-yah, I’ll call… definitely, yah.”
Rumi waves and Mira nods, the corner of her mouth inching up into the beginnings of a smirk. “We’ll look forward to it,” Mira drawls softly. Her and Rumi share a glance before turning away from Zoey and begin to make their way towards the mall exit. From over her mother's shoulder, Wren waves a hand goodbye.
Zoey waves back.
Thank you, Tony the Turtle.