Page 17 of See You at the Sunset

Parking pass registered.

And then he could plan what to feed his grandfather for lunch.

Henry’s muscles felt tired from the lifting and moving. He insisted on helping the movers in order to direct the boxes into the right rooms and, honestly, to keep an eye on their progress. Plus there was something about using your body for something natural versus working out at the gym that made it feel both harder yet more satisfying.

“That’s the last of the boxes, sir.” The movers were efficient and fast.

“Thanks, appreciate all your help,” Henry said. He shook the mover’s hand and passed him an envelope with a generous cash tip.

“Hank, make sure you give them some money for lunch too,” his grandpa called out from the living room.

Henry gave him an awkward smile and dug into his wallet for an extra hundred dollars. It was easier than arguing with his granddad about manners and the lack thereof from the younger generations these days.

After the movers had gone, Henry reached for the first box to begin the task ahead of him of unpacking.

“Hank, whattaya say we wait till tomorrow to start with the boxes?” His grandfather looked hopeful. Like he wanted to just hang out and put the hard work off until later.

Henry was never one to put things off till later. “Granddad, you go ahead and sit. I’m gonna start unpacking stuff for you, and if I have a question of where you want something to go, I’ll ask you.”

“Or we could order a pizza, crack some beers, and watch a movie,” his granddad suggested.

Henry saw a glimpse of the man he grew up with, who loved to have a good time, who hung out with Henry and played Scrabble with him. Who laughed hard and loved even harder.

Who didn’t need a walker to stabilize or headphones or a list of medication a mile long.

But the boxes needed unpacking. And Henry just wanted to get him settled.

“Maybe tomorrow, Granddad. For now, why don’t you just rest.”

It was impossible not to notice the droop of his shoulders in disappointment.

But Henry knew they’d both appreciate it when the work was all done. And that wasn’t going to happen if he didn’t get started now.

So Henry grabbed the box cutter and got to work.

7

“Hey, Gladys. How goes it?”

Jia ventured over to the community center to check in on Gladys, the office assistant and Mimi’s best friend. It had been a week now since Jia had arrived back at Sunset Hills. She’d slept the first couple days for hours and hours on end. It was as if she’d been clenching her entire body and it needed to rest off its trauma response of the days since her termination. She woke up only for meals and to take Mimi on a walk each day.

When Jia suggested they invite some of the other neighbors to join them, Mimi mentioned moving the walks to the mornings and possibly getting a better response. So they did. And thus started the Sunset Hills Walking Club.

When Jia saw Betty, one of her grandmother’s neighbors, reading the latest Kennedy Ryan book, she asked if she could buddy-read with her and meet her for tea the next day to discuss. She invited two of her neighbors who were also reading it. And thus started the Sunset Hills Spicy Book Club.

And when Jia peeked over their four-foot back fence to see Lynette repotting some of her succulents, Jia got curious and asked about the different types and how they grew in the heat. Carla on the other side of Lynette’s fence peeked over to hear the answer. And thus started the Sunset Hills Gardening Club.

She knew life still existed here. She just needed to wake it up. So when Jia woke up from her slumber, she got to work waking the neighborhood up from its as well.

She’d told Mimi about all the ideas brewing in her head, and the first thing Mimi did was to enthusiastically tell Jia to have at it, to do what made her happy, and if that meant rousing all the old folks, then she was all in. Having Mimi’s support meant everything to Jia. It gave her confidence that she was on the right track.

“Cute outfit,” Gladys said.

Jia looked down at her ridiculous ensemble. It wasn’t her normal style. But she hadn’t received a call from the airline about her luggage yet, at least not that she knew of. She actually hadn’t even looked at her phone in days. She also hadn’t gone through all of Mimi’s closet yet. So she saw the scrubs in a drawer, and when Mimi had mentioned they were a designer collab with Betsey Johnson from back in the day, she put them on. She decided to make a whole outfit around the most colorful things she could find. She even included the decorative norigae from Mimi’s wedding hanbok. A homage to her grandmother’s life. And truth be told, she loved it. It suited her mood here in the desert today.

“Thanks, it’s Mimi’s stuff. Fits perfectly,” Jia said.

“Sure does,” Gladys agreed. “I’m about to head out to lunch, sweetheart. Did you need anything from me?” Gladys asked.