Finest Jin

Collision

I was up at the crack of dawn with an angry stomach for the second day in a row. I had barely eaten anything. It was likely excitement as today Cher would be home and I was looking forward to hearing all about her trip. Tomorrow the rest of my Nerd Herd would return and the family would be reunited. Thistle had gone with the kids and Hagrid had taken to hiding in wait in their room. Jin dutifully scooped the litter box for me so with nothing to walk or clean, I was feeling rather useless. I headed to the kitchen to start some tea, noticing that the baby had shifted. It felt like a bowling ball in my underwear and my regular gait had deteriorated into a waddle.

The whole day was an intricate dance of schedules. The boys had several appointments to get to and Jin had carefully timed his break to be home when Cher and Jimin arrived. I chopped up fruit for Jins' breakfast and started some eggs to be hot when the alarm went off. The first egg I cracked hit the edge of the pan and it split into fractures, landing several pieces of eggshell that I had to carefully pick out of the sizzling pan. The second egg went off just fine but the third seemed to explode when I tapped it and ran in slimy ooze trails off the counter to the floor. Cursing under my breath, I slowly lowered myself to the floor to clean up the mess. Getting up was an ordeal. The kettle was whistling. Slowly, creaking like an old lady, I rose up again. I poured the hot water into the teapot just as the alarm sounded from the bedroom. It startled me and a splash of boiling liquid seared into my fingers. I managed to set the kettle down and was standing with my hand under cold running water when SeokJin came in. 

"Good morning!" He sang out. "Are you okay?" He rubbed his tousled hair from his eyes. 

"Yes, just really clumsy this morning." He gave me a gentle hug and a tender kiss on the forehead. "Sit down and I will dish your plate." He took the kettle to the table and I scraped his eggs onto his plate, then lifted the lid to the rice cooker. It was empty. I had forgotten to fill it last night. Humiliation at my predicament pricked at my eyes and tears began to flow.

Jin heard the sob and rushed over.

"Telly-Ah; what's wrong? Are you hurt?" I shook my head, embarrassed at my break down. One hand swiped at the tears while I passed his plate with the other. 

"I forgot to fill the rice up last night. I'm sorry." 

Jins' face crinkled up in a cautious smile. 

"And that's why you're crying? Come here." He sat again, pulling me onto his lap like a child, pulling my head to his shoulder and rubbing my back. "I didn't want rice today anyway. You made these perfect eggs and is this bowl of fruit for me?" At my nod, he pulled it closer and pointed his chin at the table. "Look at this feast! I am a lucky man. You take such good care of me." He offered me a grape but I refused. "You have barely eaten in two days. Do you need to see a doctor?" 

"I would rather die in a ditch than go see that woman."

Jin laughed at my melodramatic response.

"Ok. Then Dr. Kim here says you must fill this prescription." He held out a hand holding an imaginary note. I raised my eyebrows at him. "It says you need 24 hours on the couch. Feet up. Pjs on. I will have food delivered for you and will check on you as often as possible. Think you can do that?"

"Ok." He patted my bum as I stood up to take my own seat, sipping tea with him as he ate. "Sorry, Jin-Ah. The last month can get miserable. I guess this pregnancy is going to make my last month a good 7 weeks of misery." 

"I love you at your best and at your worst. Misery and all."

True to his word, SeokJin parked me on the couch with all I could need and left me dozing in front of the television until the food buzzed at noon. It was tacos. Where he had managed to find a restaurant that made my favourite food in Seoul, I had no idea. I managed a few bites of one before snoozing again.