Page 27 of See You at the Sunset

“Mimi came over to bring some leftovers from the party and to drop this off.” Dennis passed a piece of paper over to Henry.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS, it read. There was something in almost every box. Walking Club. Gardening Club. Pool Party. Spicy Book Club. Mystery Book Club. Sewing Club. Chair Yoga. Zumba.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Dennis said. “Jia did all of this. Can you believe it?”

“She’s only been here a couple weeks and got right to work,” Mimi said. “She’s on FYA, as the young folks say these days.”

“She’s amazing. An angel,” Dennis said.

“And to think, she’s had such a hard time in New York. Hasn’t quite found her purpose out there yet. Her parents are kinda tough on her, and I think it makes her uncertain of herself. But she gets out here and lets the desert work its magic on her. Suddenly she’s transforming a whole community.”

Henry thought about how the people at Bakerson’s, himself included, thought and spoke about Jia.Failure. Incompetent. Difficult.Other than Genevieve, no one bothered to say anything nice about her or in defense of her. She added no value to the company by being a good person.

Not your business, he reminded himself.

Plus, something about Jia had sent Henry into a panic attack last night. And that was bad news. He needed to avoid her at all costs while he was here.

“Looks great, Granddad. But remember, you can’t push yourself too hard. You just had your hip replaced not too long ago.”

“It’s been almost a year now, Hank.”

Had it really been that long? “Well, you can’t be putting too much stress on your heart or your lungs either. Take it easy.”

“Nothing wrong with my heart or lungs,” Dennis muttered.

“You just don’t have to do every single thing on here is all I’m saying.” Henry lifted the calendar in question and tossed it back on the table. Henry hated the way his voice sounded. He hated the sudden quiet in the kitchen. Most of all, he hated being here having to worry about this.

He turned the key in his mind and locked it.

11

Jia leaned into the door, using her pinkie to pull the handle while shoving her foot in and then her hip to push her way through. Her hands were currently full with a hazelnut latte with sweetener and extra cream and a matcha latte with oat milk she’d brought for Gladys and herself.

She was meeting with Gladys to review the entire events calendar and discuss where she might need to request funding, what liabilities they needed to consider, and what attendance maximums they should put on each. Jia hadn’t thought of any of these details until Mimi and Gladys had pointed them out. She was so relieved for their direction because if she was going to do this, she wanted to do it right. She was learning so much from everyone.

Needless to say, the calendar had caused quite a buzz among the residents. Everyone was excited to go to everything. Jia had to make sure that people were being responsible in how theywere spending their time and exerting their energy. She didn’t want people pushing themselves too hard.

“This one’s for you, and this one’s for me,” Jia said, handing Gladys her coffee.

“Oooh, where’s this from? Is there another new coffee place downtown?” she asked.

There likely was, considering how quickly businesses were opening along the main strip especially. “Nope, these are special for Sunset Hills residents only.”

Gladys raised an eyebrow in question.

“I was walking past Gordon’s place on the way here, and you’ll never guess what. He actually did it—he set up a coffee cart in his driveway.” Jia had been so startled but thrilled when she saw it.

The people here amazed Jia. They were experienced in ways only time and years could make you. They were determined in ways only knowing how to overcome hardship could teach you.

Jia had come to know Gordon as one of the gentlemen who played bridge on Tuesdays. And he’d mentioned to her that when he’d lost his wife a couple years back, he was in a bit of a brokenhearted rut. Then one day, he decided he was ready to start the new chapter. He wanted a job. But no one was going to hire him at sixty-eight years old. So he passed his time teaching himself how to make froufrou coffee drinks from some viral barista on YouTube.

He’d invited Jia for a tasting, and it was one of the best things she’d ever put in her mouth. She told him so and encouraged him to open his own coffee business right there in the neighborhood.

He’d asked Louis from two streets over, who had formerlybeen a carpenter, to help him build the cart stand on wheels. And this morning, he rolled it out onto his driveway and waited for neighbors to walk by. There was already a line by the time Jia had arrived.

“This is yummy. Jia, you’re such a good influence on everyone here. You’re kicking all our asses into gear, making dreams happen,” Gladys said.

A lump formed in Jia’s throat as tears welled in her eyes. “Gladys, you can’t say nice things to me before I’ve filled up with caffeine. I’m not able to process it,” she joked. She blew an air kiss to Gladys, and the two of them got to work.