Page 15 of See You at the Sunset

“I suppose a short walk can’t hurt.”

Jia offered her arm, and Mimi hung on as they walked around the block. The pace was slow, but Mimi was animated as she caught Jia up on who still lived where and all the new names that had recently moved in.

“There’s a lot more turnover than I expected,” Jia said sadly. Sunset Hills felt different. The yards of the houses, though maintained with pride, looked duller, simpler landscaping taking the place of the more vibrant ones she remembered. Fewer cars lined the streets. No one was out and about, despite it still being somewhat light out. It wasn’t what Jia had expected. And she started to worry that her memory had oversold what she’d find here.

“You remember the community center,” Mimi pointed to the large single-story building on the right. “And the pool, though no one uses that anymore. We’re voting at the next HOA meeting to see if we should just fill it up and make it into a desert garden.”

“What? Get rid of the pool? But—” Jia stopped herself. All of this change made her sad. But she didn’t want to put that onto Mimi. Maybe Mimi was sad about it too. Jia couldn’t tell.She just couldn’t fathom it. So many memories in that pool. And pools were great for low-impact exercise like aqua aerobics. The seniors here should be taking advantage of that.

They stopped at the next corner. “Mimi, you doing okay? You want to rest?” She looked tired. And Jia felt tired. Lack of energy was contagious. And maybe all the self-loathing and feelings of failure Jia had been putting herself through the past days were catching up to her.

“I wanted to show you this.” Mimi pointed up to the sky.

Jia lifted her eyes, and her breath caught. It was like a painting. The entire sky was colored with shades of pink and light orange, the horizon sprinkled with the outline of palm trees and wind turbines. She’d forgotten how stunning the desert sunsets were. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Never, ever gets old,” Mimi said.

They continued on until they reached Mimi’s front gate. Mimi seemed a little out of breath. She’d once been so active. Jia made a mental note to try to casually ask Mimi about her overall health. She was starting to worry.

“There’s a new neighbor moving in across the street. A Korean man, if you can believe it,” she said. “I’m excited to meet him.”

“You should throw him a welcome happy hour,” Jia suggested.

Mimi laughed as if it was the funniest joke. Mimi used to be in charge of the neighborhood welcoming committee. She used to be the one to suggest a party.

“Mimi, I’m serious. And I can help, if you tell me what to do. It will be fun. Plus, I’ll get to see all the familiar faces and meet some of the new ones. Please let’s do it.” Jia wasn’t sure why this felt so important to do. But she should at least make herself useful while she was here, right?

“Well, what if you take on the planning?”

Planning a party for a bunch of seniors? Jia’s confidence had taken a hit with the loss of her job. She wasn’t sure she would be able to take on any amount of responsibility. But this didn’t seem too hard a task. It could be easy enough.

“Will you help me and tell me what I need to do to make it the best party ever? I need it to be of Mimi-level proportions. I have a family legacy to live up to.”

“You betcha. That’s what I’m here for. But I have complete confidence in you,” Mimi said with a smile.

Jia hugged her grandmother and led her inside.

Sunset Hills might not be what it used to, but Jia knew there was still life left in it. And she was determined to help everyone tap back in.

6

Henry packed up for a couple weeks away from the city and jumped into the Uber to JFK. The traffic was heavier than he expected, and he made a mental note to revisit his calculations of when would be the right timing to leave for the airport before his next trip.

He went back and forth in his head talking himself out of going. Sure, it was quieter in the office during the summer months. But his boss and all the executives were gone. Someone should be in the office to make sure things didn’t all go to shit. But that someone didn’thaveto be Henry. This was one of those things where the upside to being responsible was little to none. No one that mattered would see him staying tied to the office. Analysis concluded. He decided to go.

If he wanted to be an executive, he should start acting the part. Dump some of the menial work on those reporting to him and go about with an air of entitlement, privilege—not something Henry was used to. He’d worked his whole life,harder than anyone else around him, to get to where he was today. And he didn’t have plans of stopping.

But his grandfather so rarely asked for help, and when he did, there was just no way for Henry to say no. He was the most important person in his life, and the only family he had left in the world. At least, who mattered to him. And with him being eighty now, he wasn’t sure how much longer that would be.

Instead of flying into the rinky-dink Palm Springs airport, Henry had decided to fly into LAX, secured a first-class seat with his frequent-flier points, and rented a car to make the two-hour drive to the desert. His latest audiobook played through the SUV’s speakers. Henry preferred audiobooks to podcasts. And he enjoyed consuming fictional stories to keep his mind occupied.

The rental car had made a mistake with his reservation, trying to give him an Escort instead of a Bronco. But Henry had insisted on an SUV as he’d have to carry around his granddad’s walker if they ever ventured out from the house.

With the rough commute to JFK, the bumpy flight to LAX, and the rental-car mix-up, Henry wondered if this trip was cursed. At least he’d managed to get that real estate agent off his granddad’s back. He’d worked out buying the new house from him but secured a different agent, one referred to him by a trusted friend, to sell Dennis’s home. It had all happened smoothly and fairly, and now Henry was heading out to help close the deal. And it allowed Henry to be there when all the boxes were being moved to the new house.

The drive into Palm Springs was long, barren, and droll, but something about it put Henry at ease. The San Jacinto Mountains sprawled out before him, huge hills that looked like singular pieces of stone. The wind turbines turned and signaled a different world, really.

Henry had mixed emotions when it came to the desert. On one hand, he’d loved coming to visit his grandfather as a kid in the summers at his house with the huge pool and a slide. On the other hand, it signified yet another time his parents had left him so they could pursue whatever harebrained idea they’d had again. Whether it be living off-grid in Costa Rica for a year or traveling across the US in a van they’d converted themselves and camping in BLM land, Henry’s parents were free spirits. And being free didn’t include taking care of an uptight kid with a myriad of health and emotional issues.