Our Child

Chapter twenty two

An uneventful shift greeted the half hearted duo, framed by sleepy sunlight and happy customers. Still, by the time it drew to a close, Jennie's stomach began to ache. On first instinct, she wanted to call Jisoo, but she would be running to pick up Annie. Rosie still had the rest of her shift to complete, so that only left one option; Lisa.

Lying, Jennie said to Rosie that she felt no apprehension whatsoever, yet when Lisa texted to say she was only five minutes away, her stomach gurgled. Over her cardigan, Jennie rested her hand on top. The thought had never hit her until now, but her discomfort was not unlike what it had felt to be pregnant with Annie. Those wretched nine months of nausea, headaches and swollen feet. All Jennie needed was a basin and it would be identical.

Lisa did not leave her waiting long, pulling up in a white Range Rover, wearing sunglasses, a baseball hat and a mask to cover her face. The photographer wasted no time once Jennie entered the car, barely giving her a minute to fasten her seatbelt before peeling off into an inevitable traffic jam.

"Nice to see you too," Jennie tutted sarcastically.

"Uh, yeah," Lisa pressed her hat into her head, "Did... was work okay?"

"It was fine. Rosie sends her best," Rosie had not, but Lisa's attitude was to strange not to warrant comfort. Jennie gave her a look, "Were you busy before this? I could have walked."

"Rosie, huh?" Lisa muttered, quickly snapping out of it, "There was a high profile interview earlier today, you happened to slot in perfectly right out of it."

"That's nice," Jennie smiled, "Is the after party not until eight?"

"Ten," Lisa corrected, ignoring Jennie's disapproval, "I was planning on looking over some of Jisoo's upcoming schedules before I went, see if we can arrange another shoot."

"Really?" A slight bitterness filled Jennie, she had not, and did not want to put any thought into Jisoo's inevitable return to work.

"Yeah," Lisa focused on the road, her face unreadable, "She's prepping for some big project, might make it big internationally if all goes according to plan. I bet she's going to be super busy."

At first, Jennie felt pride. Jisoo worked so hard, and the mother knew how much a breakthrough like this could mean for both her and her career. But Jennie was a paranoid person, and she knew Jisoo could grow neglectful of even Annie once made to work too long. The duality of purple.

Her hands fidgeted, "An intense project?"

"Very," Lisa confirmed, "It wouldn't shock me if she was in hotels for weeks at a time."

Jennie hated when Jisoo overworked, she always became so argumentative, complaining about headaches, "I'm sure she will find a way manage."

"Of course," Lisa agreed, "The last time she hooked up was on one of those trips."

"Lisa," Jennie's voice grew cold, a threat the Thai was sure to appeal to.

And she did. The car returned to the same awkward silence it had to begin with, now with the underlying tension of anger. Jennie looked at her, long and hard, but Lisa was just so hard to read thanks to that mask. Her hands remained sure, her breathing regular. Jennie's stomach gurgled.

"Why would you bring that up?" Jennie asked.

Lisa did not respond.

"Do you enjoy talking about my- Jisoo's... affiliations? Are we still in uni?" Jennie berated, "The last thing I want to talk about ever, is that. You should know better, Lisa."

The photographer still remained silent.

"You do know that," Jennie stared, "Don't you?"

Lisa drove on.