Chapter Text
“Wait, what’s going on? What’s changing?” Lara.
“Is she unstable? I’m calling Manon and Yoonchae, they’ll want to be here.” Sophia.
What was happening?
“She seems to be regaining consciousness, big step.” But who was that?
Chae isn’t here?
It had taken too long for Sophia’s words to resonate. Why were she and Lara with me while I slept, if my wife wasn’t?
My eyes opened, taking in the room.
A hospital. Tubes of some sort stuck in me. Lara sat on the left of my head, next to Sophia, while Daniela was by my feet. On Daniela’s left was Manon’s jacket, and on her right was Emily’s purse. And there was one more chair, next to what was probably Manon’s, but with nothing in it. Probably hers.
My eyes flickered down to my ring, the habit I had developed over the seven years we had been married now. It wasn’t there.
And worse. Neither was the shell tattoo.
“Why’s her heart rate spiking?” Dani. “Her eyes are open, what does that mean?”
“Mei! Meg, you’re awake!” Sophia. She leaned over me as Lara grasped my hand, both instantly at attention. And my eyes shut again.
I had been twenty two when I got the tattoo. Yoonchae had proposed to me three months ago, and I was so in love. I had begged her, begged her, to draw one for me. Everyone had said it was a bad idea to get a tattoo for your partner, but I had the stars already. In honor of her, despite not telling Yoonchae for years.
She had hesitated, not wanting to draw the shell even after drawing the cat Lara and I had gotten for the group a year before. I guess I understood. A life-changing experience as opposed to one partner. It had seemed insane to me when David got 'Meret' on his hand, so recent then, but far now.
But this was different. This was Yoonchae. She could only ever be my forever.
"It's just a shell." I had pleaded, clutching her hands. "I love the beach, Chae. It's so, so, pretty. And peaceful. We need to go to the beach again together."
If it was going to be a shell, it had to be from her sketchbook. And it had been.
And it had been there, at our wedding, as she slipped the ring on my finger. It had been there at the Grammys, when we had taken our first award home. It had been there as we signed the paperwork for the perfect house, our forever place. It had been there at the Oscars, the year that Yoonchae got a nomination for leading actress, and I got one for costume design of a different movie, that I had been supporting in. My movie won for leading actress, and hers won for costume design, something we laughed about the whole way home.
And most importantly, it was there at the ultrasounds. First with Jakey, her fingers gently covered the shell as she held me close, while my mascara ruined her jacket. And just last week, for the girl. Her name's going to be Elaine Nabi. Yet again, Yoonchae held me close as I cried, softly stroking the tattoo in that simple grounding way.
It had been there for every single one of our big moments.
But now where was it?