THE LANDLORD (BBANGSAZ)

Chapter 12 (M)

MINJI

"Here comes the S.S. Jia, returning from its journey across the ocean." I chuckled, guiding Jia's plastic bath toy from one end of the tub to the other, making chugging sounds as the little blue boat floated along.

"Yay!" Jia squealed, splashing her arms in and out of the water in excitement.

Morning baths weren't part of our normal routine, but we had stayed up late playing bingo the night before, and I'd completely forgotten about bath time. It wasn't until she crawled into my bed for some early morning cuddles that I realized we'd forgotten it. One whiff of the top of her head, and I knew it was time to take the S.S. Jia out for another voyage.

"Where did the boat go this time, Dada?" she asked, looking up at me with bright, excited eyes.

Leaving the toy bobbing in front of her, I squirted shampoo into my hand and worked it into her hair. As the shampoo foamed up under my fingers, I gently scrubbed her scalp, smiling at the bubbles that formed all over her head.

"Well, I heard that it traveled all the way to Iceland since the last time we saw her."

"Iceland?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Is Iceland really cold, Dada?"

"It is, but not as cold as Greenland. Can you believe that?"

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the little blue boat and shook her head. She then picked up the toy and started talking to it, asking how long it took to get to Iceland and if it saw any ice castles when it got there.

I rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, smiling as she splashed and played in the water. It was one of those moments when I knew I should have been watching the clock, making sure that she would get to preschool on time and that I wouldn't be late to work, but I couldn't bring myself to rush through this, or ignore how incredibly precious moments like this were.

If someone had told me five years ago that my life would be completely changed by a tiny, helpless baby coming into my life, I would have told them they were nuts. But from the moment Jia's mom told me she was pregnant, I knew my life would never be the same.

One look at the ultrasound photo, and I was smitten. And when it was clear I'd have to raise Jia alone, I chose to do it in a heartbeat. There was no other option for me.

My little girl became my whole world the moment I learned of her existence. Even if my personal life had taken a bit of a hit because I was busy raising my daughter, every second I spent with her was more than worth it. Jia was everything to me, and nothing could ever take away from what we had.

The pregnancy had obviously been a surprise for us both, but Jia's mom had no interest. Now she lived across the country and called once a year on Jia's birthday.

Once I finished rinsing the last of the soap off her body, I helped Jia out to dry off and pulled the plug to drain the tub. I got her dressed and quickly braided her hair before changing into my own work clothes. The two of us brushed our teeth side by side in my bathroom. Soon we were both ready for the day, and as we walked down the hallway to the front door, I checked the clock in the kitchen. Even with the added bath time, we were right on schedule.

As I walked out the front door, my gaze ventured up to the apartment above the garage. I couldn't stop my mind from flashing to the other day at Hanni's apartment, when we'd ended up on the kitchen floor. Not that I was complaining.

I'd been surprised that someone as kitchen-savvy as she was would make such a rookie dishwasher mistake . . . but once we wound up having some of the best sex of my life on her kitchen floor? It all made sense. And hey, I wasn't the kind of person to turn down quickie kitchen sex. I wasn't entirely sure that such creature even existed. Sex was amazing, no matter the locale.