TOUGH ROMANCE || scoups || BOOK ONE

18

Hani

Mimi and I had survived nearly an entire week together. It felt like a monumental accomplishment as our lives continued to hang in limbo. There had been no contact from the court system or Child Protective Services yet.

But I'd ground up zucchini and green beans into last night's meatloaf to sneak past Mimi Lee's discerning nose just in case anyone was watching.

I'd worked two more bar shifts, and the tips were starting to add up. Another financial boom was the arrival of my new credit and debit cards that I got in the mail. I hadn't gotten all of Chae's charges erased from my credit card statement, but having access to my meager savings had helped immensely.

I'd had the foresight to pay the mortgage early this month in anticipation of being too deliriously happy on my honeymoon to worry about things like bills. That plus the fact that I no longer had a car payment or insurance to cover meant I could stretch a pound surprisingly far.

To earn that free rent, I carved out a few hours to spend at Jennie's.

"Who's that?" Mimi asked, pointing at a framed photo I'd found tucked into the back of one of the cabinets in the dining room.

I looked up. It was a picture of an older man looking proud enough to burst with his arm around a beaming girl in a dress.

Jennie, who had said repeatedly she didn't like cleaning but still insisted on following us from room to room, looked at the photo like she was seeing it for the first time. She took a slow, shaky breath.

"That's, uh, my husband. Namseok. And that's our daughter, Jisoo."

Mimi opened her mouth to ask another question, but I interrupted, sensing Jennie didn't want to talk about more family members that hadn't been mentioned until now. There was a reason this big house had been closed up from the rest of the world. And I guessed the reason was in that picture.

"Have any plans this weekend, Jennie?" I cut in, giving Mimi a little shake of my head.

She put the photo face down on the table. "Plans? Ha!" She scoffed. "I do the same thing every damn day. Drag my ass out of bed and putter. All day, everyday. Inside, outside."

"What are you muttering on this weekend?" Mimi asked. I gave her a thumbs up that Jennie didn't see.

"Gardem needs some attention. Don't suppose either of you like tomatoes?"

"Mimi and I love tomatoes." I said as my niece mimed vomiting on the floor.

"I'll send you home with a bushel then." Jennie decided.

"I'll be damned! You got all the burnt crusty stuff off the stove top." Jennie observed two hours later. She was leaning over her range while I rested on the floor, my legs stretched out in front of me.

I was sweating, and my fingers were cramped from aggressive scrubbing. But the progress was undeniable. The mound of dishes was done and put away, and the range gleamed black on all surfaces. I'd taken all the papers, boxes, and bags off the island and tasked Jennie with sorting it all into Keep and Toss piles. The Keep pile was four times the size of the Toss pile, but it still counted as progress.

Mimi was making her own king of progress. As soon as she'd fixed the errant e-reader that had eaten Jennie's download and a printer that had lost its Wi-Fi connection, Jennie had handed over an old Blackberry I'd found in the drawer next to the sink. If Mkmi could coax it back to life, Jennie said I could have it. A free phone with a number none if my old contacts had? It was perfect.

"I'm starving." Mimi announced, throwing herself down dramatically on the now visible counter.

"Then let's eat!" Jennie said, clapping her hands. "We'll go to Chwe's. My treat."