Page 43 of See You at the Sunset

“Hmph! I never saw a competition I didn’t set out to win, you know that. That’s how I won your grandmother over.”

“That’s right,” Henry replied, heart warmed. He missed her, his grandmother. She’d gotten sick and died more than ten years ago. She was so good at taking care of both Henry and Dennis. Now they only had each other. For all of Henry’s adult life, it was just him and Dennis. He mentally kicked himself for not paying closer attention the last few years.

“Well, why don’t you go back home and change into some real swim trunks?” He leaned in and whispered, “I know you were just trying to get Jia to save you and all. You’re a strong swimmer, so you weren’t fooling me.” He winked.

Henry shook this head. “I do need to get out of these wet clothes. But I’ve got some work to do back home. Are you going to be here long? Do you want me to wait for you? Or do you want me to walk you home?”

“We’ll all walk back together after just a little bit longer,” Jia said, walking up beside them. “You go and get yourself out of your misery.” She scanned him head to toe.

Henry tried not to squirm. The water was kind of cold, and he didn’t want to know what she saw.

He stepped back into his shoes, shoved his wet socks into his pockets, and turned to leave. As he walked away, boat shoes squishing with each step, he thought maybe, just maybe, his granddad would be perfectly fine here at Sunset Hills once Henry went back to New York. Maybe he could trust that Dennis would be okay on his own. Because he wouldn’t really be alone, would he? There would be a whole community of people supporting him.

And he suspected all of Jia’s efforts had a lot to do with that.

17

Jia grabbed her slippers, gently opened the front door, and quietly let herself out onto the front porch. Mimi had already retired to her bedroom for the night, and even so, she respected that this time of day had become sacred for Jia.

Jia couldn’t remember ever seeing the sunset in New York. It was either light outside or dark outside, and there wasn’t much difference in her mind. The light was often blocked by the tall buildings, the dark usually brightened by the city lights. But out here in the desert, it was like the sky was announcing when it awakened or went to sleep. It let everyone know by projecting stunning and vibrant shades of reds, oranges, and pinks until it had gone where it needed to go.

It was breathtaking.

And it felt especially magical here at Sunset Hills where no one came outdoors after dinner. Where Jia could sit on the curb of her favorite corner, the one where she had an unobstructed view of the outline of the mountains to her right, the wind turbines to her left, and the sun providing the backdrop to them all as it went down, in complete peace and quiet.

She felt him before she saw him. He walked quietly. And she might have teased him the first time they’d walked down this sidewalk on this street, making him think she’d felt unsafe, but maybe she always knew for some reason that that was the furthest from the case. He was a caretaker in his own way. He worried, he took close care, he made sure everything was safe for his granddad.

“Hi,” she said. She didn’t turn to look at him, didn’t watch him as he came up beside her.

He remained standing but looked straight ahead just like she did. Not taking his eyes off the show the sky was putting on.

“Hi,” he said back.

She patted the ground next to her, inviting him to join her. Maybe he didn’t want to bother her. Maybe he sensed this time was important for her to experience. She wanted him to stay.

She usually faced this time of day alone. But today, she felt willing to share.

He sat down on the curb next to her and stretched his long legs out in front of them on the street. He crossed his feet at the ankles and leaned back on his hands.

Who knew how long they sat there in silence. The yellow gave way to pink gave way to orange gave way to red, rust, brown, black.

And then Jia let out her breath like she did every time the night fell.

“Wow,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

Neither of them made a move to leave.

The streetlights flickered on, and the temperature finally felt bearable.

“It’s special,” she said.

“I never took the time to experience it before.”

“What brought you out here tonight? Couldn’t sleep?” Jia asked.

“Still getting used to that seven o’clock bedtime,” Henry said.