I don't think I have ever been this disappointed in anything. It wasn't him. Only the dog looked just like Tannie.
"I am sorry. I thought you were someone that I knew." I bow to apologize and he assures me that it's okay and walks away. I stand there, watching him blend into the crowd and disappear. I head back to the cafe once I snap into reality. The kids were done eating by the time I got back but I decided to stay there for a bit longer.
"Mummy, who is Tannie? Is she your friend?"
"No Abby, it's the name of my friend's dog."
"Uncle Taehyung." I am surprised Liam still remembers him. Tae had a great impact on all our lives, even for the very few days he spent with us. "I still think it's a bad idea that we left Kuma with Grandma and Grandpa."
"We will ask them to bring him when they come here," I reply, still looking at the busy road outside. I still can't understand what I am feeling. That night, when I walked away from him, I wasn't sure if it was the right decision but after marriage, after living with Kai, after Abby was born, watching him be a great father for the short period of time he could, I realized I did take the right decision. Now, when I got the smallest hope that I would meet Taehyung, I ran for him. If I do not regret it, what is it that I feel towards this man?
Lisa called to see where the three of us disappeared so we headed back to the apartment. She was unpacking her clothes and arranging them in her wardrobe.
"Where did you guys go?"
"The cafe. The kids were hungry. I bought you a pastry." I hand the pastry to my sister and take her place in organizing the clothes. "Did Rose send her location?"
Lisa nods since her mouth is full of food. Rose is one of Lisa's best friends who lives in Australia with her husband and twins. She promised Lisa to help her settle in here and she already found me a job at a local school where I should be going for an interview tomorrow.
"She asked us to come over tonight. She is making dinner for all of us."
"That's nice. I don't wanna cook tonight."
Once I am done arranging her wardrobe, I head back to my room and start unpacking my clothes and Abby's. There are two bedrooms, one bathroom, one laundry room, a moderate-sized kitchen, and a very comfortable living room in this apartment. Lisa and Liam are in one room while Abby and I are in the other.
The bedrooms were also quite spacious with queen size beds, a large wardrobe, a dressing table, and a bedside table. Lisa and I decided to remove the dressing tables and replace them with study tables for the kids.
Once all our clothes were unpacked, I picked out an outfit for Abby to wear to Rose's. I got her all washed and dressed up before I got in the shower and cleaned myself. I stood in the shower as I recalled what happened earlier. Why did I get so excited to see him? I thought I was over this. What is wrong with me? I cannot go back to that. I have a child. I have to focus on her. Just her and our future.
Lisa called us an Uber and we set off to see her friend. She wanted to grab a fruit basket to take with us so we stopped at the supermarket on our way. Is it just an Asian thing or does everyone take something like a fruit basket or a bag full of goods when visiting a friend or family?
We arrived at a gorgeous two-story house that had ivory growing all over the red brick walls. A tall, blonde lady with a slim figure stood at the entrance, holding onto her two kids, with a bright smile on her gorgeous face.
"Lisa" She dragged the 'a' all the way from where she stood until she hugged my sister. "You so different. The last time I saw you, you looked like a little kid. Now look at you, looking all mature and glowing."
"Are you saying I look old now?" Lisa asks as they pull away from the hug.
"No woman. I am saying you look better now." She turns to look at me. "You must be Jennie. Nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you."
"All good things I hope." Once she is done hugging all four of us, she finally invites us inside. The kids remain outside with the twins as they have already made new friends. The neighborhood was a very peaceful one so Rose asked us to not worry about them.
The twins, Rilly and Ron, were seven years old and both of them had blonde hair just like their mum's with the prettiest blue eyes. They looked so adorable in their little denim overalls.
The interior of the house was just as aesthetic as the outside. Beige-colored furniture, plants everywhere, off-white walls which had simple paintings hanging on the walls, the whole house smelt like lavender. My favorite part was the large mirror in the living room, which covered most of the wall.
We sit down on the couch while Rose brings out three glasses of orange juice.
"How does it feel to be here in Australia?"
"It's alright so far. Exciting and tiring." Lilly answers as I take a sip of the juice. They continue talking while I stand up and go to observe the paintings hanging on the walls. It was so simple yet so elegant. I don't know why but it felt like those paintings were speaking to me.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(I do not own this image. I will tag the artist's Instagram below.)
"My brother painted all these paintings. These are his favorite ones but if you want to see more of his work, I can take you to his gallery." Rose offers and I agree instantly. "Are you free tomorrow?"
"I have nothing planned yet."
"Shall we go tomorrow then?" I nod, agreeing. I want to see more of his work. "Lilly you are coming too right?"
"No, I have to go get some work done. You guys go enjoy."
Finally, I have something exciting planned in my life. I can't wait to see what his other paintings look like and I wanna see who this great artist is.
