Sonja led the charge. She softly rapped on the door and got a soft ‘Come in?’ in return

  She opened the door and entered. The baby squealed in delight. Both mom and dad were there. Life was just perfect in his little world.

  Gillian stood and took the wee baby into her arms while ‘Sonja’ went to hug her son. Then it was her turn to be held and comforted while crying. Seulgi and the gang decided to wait outside while naked emotions were revealed and dealt with.

  They were not family, so it would not be appropriate for them to be there and view it.

  Seulgi waved at Gillian getting her attention. She pointed to her crew and then at the waiting room chairs. Gillian nodded at them and they started retreating to the waiting chairs before the door shut.

  Once everyone was settled back into the comfortable chairs, came the inevitable question:

  “So. Who’s Sonja, dad? Or, should I say ‘Alfred’?”

  “Now, dear…”

  Insert death gre. “Don’t you dare ‘Now Dear’ me, Alfred.” He looked away.

  “Who is Sonja, dad? For that matter, who is Alfred, dad?”

  For some timely assistance, Bhuwakul did the impossible by breaking into the building tirade by pcing a calming hand on her arm and looking her in the eye. She nearly bit his head off next but instead, he calmly said, “Seulgi, you’re yelling.”

  Seulgi took a rge, calming breath. After exhaling, she was back to her center, she was back to being calm. That, ironically made the other three more nervous. There was still fury in her eyes. There was still a demand for answers.

  “Who’s Sonja, dad?”

  "Seulgi? Darling? Love of my life? Apple of my eye? This is neither the time nor the pce to answer this. I am not saying that I will not answer, just not here. And before you get on your high horse about this, please remember that I have questions for you about when you got home this afternoon. Also, just like there are things that you cannot tell me? Well, there are things I cannot tell you. Not for another twenty years at least.”

  That stopped everything that Seulgi was about to start shouting about. That stopped her to a dead halt. Well, she had things that she didn’t want to tell him because it would upset him. She didn’t want to get him involved in things that would cause him heartache.

  She never once thought that her ever stoic, ever stolid, unemotional, and unfppable father might have things that he was unable to say to her, as well.

  Seulgi’s world cracked, then shattered at all of the conversations that she had overheard and made no sense. She then understood that these were things that he was hiding to keep her from unhealthy and unpleasant things. Her world reformed, stronger with understanding. She still didn’t know, but now she understood these things better.

  It was also understood that there would be questions for and from both of them tonight. There was also a tinge of concern that they would both be as honest as they could be. And ‘Could Be’ was not fully.

  Seulgi mentally shrugged, everyone had secrets. Some more than others.

  It was hard to believe that her father, ‘Alfred’, was one such person.

  Then she started to wonder how much did her mother know.

  Then she started ughing to herself – her mother would know nothing. She was the poster child of the phrase ‘Loose lips sink ships.’ It would be impossible for her to stop herself from spreading state secrets. Her mother would give the world's nuclear missile codes to the local stray cats.

  Everyone, including one passerby, looked on at Seulgi who was stifling her giggles.

  Yeji looked at Bhuwakul and asked, “Has she finally lost it?”

  Bhuwakul frowned back at her in consternation. “Maybe.”

  “Alfred” looked at his daughter and pleasantly noted that the ughter was not hysterical. Knowing them as he did, her ughter, tinged with just a bit of madness, probably involved his wife.

  Seulgi calmed herself down and apologized for her inappropriate actions.

  That was enough for them to rex.

  Bhuwakul went to the soda machine and got everyone drinks while they waited to be able to access Jackson’s room again.

  Seulgi couldn’t hear anything from the room, so she tentatively went to the door and knocked. After receiving a ‘Come In’, she waved at everyone to follow her, then she opened the door and saw how everyone was spread around the room.

  Jackson was the centerpiece. Gillian was off to the right side, holding her child to her chest, like a talisman warding off evil. Sonja was off to the left, like a modern masterpiece of a statue, marble and unfeeling, but beautiful and unrelenting. Gillian handed the boy off to his father. And the picture was complete.

  Sonja would not pale against the likes of actress Choi Eun-hee, Marlene Dietrich, or Audrey Hepburn. This would expin a good portion of Jackson’s looks, too.

  Both Gillian and Sonja were close enough to be touching Jackson. Gillian held his hand as he held his child. Sonja had her hand on his shoulder. Had they been at home, it would have been a lovely and wholesome image.

  But, they were not at home. And while the image itself was wholesome, nothing about the image was. Jackson was too pale, too thin, and obviously recovering from an ordeal. Gillian was still coming to terms with his being back after dealing with his being away.

  Sonja was Sonja and no one knew what was going on inside her head.

  However, they were all striking. Seulgi wished that she had her camera.

  Seulgi, Yeji, and Bhuwakul went forward to speak to Jackson. Alfred hung back as he didn’t really know the man. He did, however, slide towards Sonja. There was a whispered conversation that happened at that.

  Seulgi took Gillian’s other hand as they started to all speak together.

  Gillian was not sure if she was resentful or not at not being told immediately about them finding Jackson or not. The nice thing is that she was a highly intelligent person who cared very much for the bearer of the news, so she was more inclined to assume that there was no malice, nor ill intention in ‘hiding’ it. They were trying to ensure he was OK and nothing to worry her, to begin with. They did tell her as soon as they could. So, she was more inclined to not get mad.

  But, she was also an emotional person. Oh, how emotional she was at the moment. She wanted to rip, tear, mutite, and maim, but she didn’t have a proper target, so she wanted to sh out even more, but no one to sh out at. And that, perversely, made her angrier. And that made her very human.