Page 54 of See You at the Sunset

But she closed up right away, seemingly unwilling to share. For someone so vibrant and willing to do so much to help others, Henry was beginning to see that Jia shared very little about her own needs.

“It’s not really my place to ask, but do you know what you’re gonna do next?” Henry asked, deciding he had to take the direct approach.

“I’m not really great at keeping a job, apparently.” She snuck a peek at him under her eyelashes.

He stiffened. “I... About that...”

“We don’t have to talk about it. I thought about asking your advice with something. But I realized you might be breaking some kind of rules talking to a former employee about Bakerson’s stuff, right? And you don’t quite strike me as a rulebreaker, Mr. I Have To Get A Visitor’s Permit.” Jia leaned into him and gave him a little nudge with her shoulder. The small contact immediately put him at ease. “Anyways, I figured this time I should really know what I want to do before jumping in. That way, the chances are better for me not to be a total failure yet again.”

“You’re not. A failure, I mean. You’re pretty amazing, if you ask me. I know I gave you a little bit of a hard time about it when I first got here. But I see it now. What you’re doing here, for the residents, for their lives. It’s incredible.”

“Alittlebit of a hard time?” Jia laughed. “I thought you were gonna petition to have me removed, citing the HOA bylaws.”

He lifted his hands in surrender. “I was just looking out for my granddad, making sure there weren’t any hooligan rule breakers in the neighborhood.”

Jia gave him a playful push. “You haven’t figured out that you and I are the last people to worry about here? Miscreants, all of them.”

They both looked out at the crowd of seniors on the dance floor having the time of their lives. Henry didn’t know them all by name like Jia did. But he could see what her efforts had brought them. He found Dennis on the dance floor, shimmying his hips, his walker nowhere to be found. Henry smiled.

“Thank you for giving this to him,” he said to her.

She shrugged. “I’m just helping them all have some fun,” Jia replied.

“No, you’re giving them their dignity. You’re building their confidence. You’re giving them reasons to live and enjoy their lives. It’s pretty astounding. And, well, I’ve learned a lot from you. So thank you.”

Jia laughed off Henry’s compliment. “You make it sound like planning parties is akin to saving lives,” she said.

“You know it’s more than that. What you do here...”

Jia shook her head, uncomfortable with the words. Had no one complimented her on her work before in her life? Henry found that hard to believe.

“We’re low on ice. I’ll be right back.” Jia turned and ran off, leaving him standing there in front of a spiked punch bowl and filled with questions about who had hurt Jia Chung and what he could do to help her see herself the way the rest of them saw her.

21

“You really don’t have to come with me,” Jia said over her shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen at the back of the community center.

She would just need one minute on her own to catch her breath. To make sense of what Henry had said about her. To remind herself that he didn’t really know her at all.

But he wouldn’t let her go alone. He wouldn’t let her escape him and his surprisingly kind words.

“You said you were getting ice, and I’m coming to help you carry it out,” he said.

“I’ll be okay. I promise I’m capable of carrying a bag of ice.” The final word caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure why she was getting so emotional. Maybe because she wanted to believe the things he said about the Jia there in the desert. That maybe he was wrong about the Jia he terminated back in New York.

Henry’s hand wrapped around her arm and gently tugged ather to turn to face him. “I know you can get ice on your own, Jia. I’m becoming well aware of what you’re capable of. And it’s so much more than you give yourself credit for.”

She shook her head as he spoke. Jia was nice. She was kind. She was a good time. She made people happy. So she could plan a party. But none of that mattered. When she met someone new, and they inevitably would askWhat do you do?When she filled out job applications, and they askedWhat’s your experience?And if she wanted to have a voice, speak up about how maybe what had happened to her when she was fired wasn’t entirely fair, no one would listen.

“Hey,” Henry said, blocking her path, stopping her in her tracks. He put his hand under her chin and lifted it so her eyes were forced to meet his. “Listen to me. I don’t know what lies you’re telling yourself right now. But I’m telling you, I see you, and this is what I know. And I don’t give out compliments or even bother to say kind words to people that often.” He smiled. It was shy, self-effacing, so unlike the confident and stern Henry she was so used to seeing. It made her want to listen.

“You’re incredible. Possibly the most capable person I’ve ever met. You’re capable of loving freely,” he said. His voice was so gentle she almost didn’t believe she’d heard it. “You’re capable of making anyone feel seen and heard,” he added. He lifted his hand and reached past her face, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re capable of giving people their value and their confidence back,” he said as he stepped in closer to her. “I’ve never been the type of person that usually even notices these things. But with you, it’s like a billboard hangs out above you with shining lights announcing that someone’s here to take care of everything, everyone. You, Jia, you take care of everything.”

She shook her head, trying to not let his words take residence in her brain. Jia Chung was a screwup. She let people down. And a few weeks out in the desert having some fun with old people didn’t change that.

Did it?

She still didn’t have a job. She still didn’t have prospects to set her up for her future. She still had bad credit. She still had no health insurance. She could go down an entire list of things she didn’t have.