Jennie
We ended up taking the children to Café LLOW, for the change-over after wearing them out at the park. When everyone is settled and the food and drinks are ordered, I pass a sleepy Ella to Jisoo with a quick kiss to her head. Before she can react, I'm walking out of the door.
My sole intention is to power onto the car but the sound of my name brings me to a stop.
"Jennie Kim?" I hear again.
My breath catches in my throat. I never thought that I would hear that voice again. Turning slowly, I find the person who goes with the voice and I suddenly feel like a nervous teenager again.
"Lisa." I breath. My first girlfriend. The one that made me realise that I liked the fairer sex. She looks even better than I remember.
A blinding smile takes over her face. "I knew it was you. How are you?"
I open my mouth to give some generic answer when Ella comes slamming into me. Suddenly, I'm an adult again with all the responsibilities that come with it. "Mummy! No go!!" I make her words out between the broken-hearted sobs. Picking Ella up, I cradle her in my arms, while trying to soothe her.
"Shh... baby girl. You're okay. Everything is fine. Shh... baby."
Suddenly Jisoo runs out the shop behind me. "Oh, thank God. Jen, I'm sorry. I looked away for a second and she was gone."
"It's fine Jisoo, it was a long shot anyway." I'm feeling completely frazzled but know that Jisoo is going above and beyond to help me. I place a kiss on Ella's soft brown curls.
"Hi Jisoo." I hear behind me, reminding me of Lisa's presence.
"Lisa, how are you?" Jisoo says completely throwing me. How do they know each other?
"I'm good. Was just getting some muffins to take to work."
Completely confused, I watch the two of them interact for a moment before finding my voice. "I'm sorry but how do you two know each other?"
"Lisa is a local firefighter. She has come to the school a few times to give fire safety talks. We got talking during the school fire last year and realised that she lives locally."
"You're a firefighter?" I ask. Where did that profession come from, she had never talked about that before?
"Yeah Jen, for about five years now." Lisa says shyly, with hands stuffed into her pockets. That explains why she looks even fitter than she did as a teenager. Her body was always amazing but now it's on a whole other level. There are subtle changes of maturity in her now as well that suits her well.
I wonder what she'd think of the changes in me. I was never skinny but now there is a pouch of skin around my belly that I can't seem to shift in the past two years. Stretch marks that I hold as a badge of motherhood along with a smattering of grey hairs.
Why am I even thinking about this? I don't have time or the energy to date so why am I worried about her seeing my naked body.
"Wait, do you two know each other?" Jisoo asks. Now it's her turn to be confused.
"We went to high school together." Lisa answers.
I look to Jisoo and see the wheels turning. Oh no. Back in high school, I was firmly in the closet. Lisa was my first girlfriend, my first love. But when she came out while we were dating in sixth-form, I still couldn't find the courage.
It wasn't until university, that I opened up to my family. They had met my other girlfriends over the years but Jisoo was the only one whom I'd talked about Lisa with. She knew everything about our relationship apart from Lisa's name. But if she knows about Lisa's sexuality now, it won't be that hard to put the pieces together.
And Jisoo is no fool.
"High school huh?" Jisoo says, with a smile starting to form.
I close the gap between us and pass a resistant Ella to Jisoo. "I'm going to be late." I say before she can embarrass me, kissing Ella again. "I'll see you later baby girl. Behave for Auntie Jisoo yeah." I say choking back the emotions that always come when I hear my little girl crying.
With a final wave, I run the rest of the way to my car.
