Page 74 of See You at the Sunset

“Listen, my life is far from perfect. And having some parts of it supposedly figured out doesn’t mean other parts aren’t a mess. I’m pretty convinced that life is all about pulling different levers until something works and then moving on to the next challenge. You’re not behind, if that’s what you’re thinking. You’ve just prioritized some things at the expense of others for now. It’ll all balance itself out.” Lizzy sounded so confident in her assessment. Jia wasn’t so sure. She couldn’t think of one thing she’d succeeded at to date. It all kind of felt like a mess to her.

“You know, all that stuff you’re doing for the residents out at Sunset Hills? It’s pretty amazing. There are few people who have the motivation and the heart and the patience.”

Jia smiled thinking of her friends out there. She missed them already, and she’d only been away a couple days. What a weird thing to feel so connected to and invested in people so much older than her.

“Hey, is there a way for you to make all that work you dointo an actual paying job? Like, can the community maybe pay you out of the HOA budget or something?” Lizzy was a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization. It’s how her mind worked.

“They’ve never posted anything like that before. I don’t think it’s an actualthing,” Jia said.

“Well, maybe you should ask them. It couldn’t hurt. And isn’t it the dream to get paid for work you love to do?”

Jia wondered if this could be a possibility. Maybe like an event planner or a community manager role? She could do some research online and see if such jobs existed. She could come up with a job description and a proposal. She could take it to the HOA board. She was starting to get excited about the possibility. Even if it didn’t work out, the idea triggered something in Jia to start thinking outside the box for her next career move.

“That might not be a bad idea. I’ll give it some more thought,” Jia said.

“Okay, my love, I have to get to work. Give me a hug before I go.” Lizzy stood up and pulled Jia to her feet. Jia wrapped her arms around Lizzy and squeezed. She loved her bestie so much. “When do I see you again?”

“I still have a few days left in Palm Springs, and then I have to see how everything plays out with my parents, but I’ll call you soon just to catch up. I love you.”

“Love you back. Safe flight tonight, okay?” Lizzy walked off with a wave and left Jia sitting with her first sense of hope in over a month.

Jia’s phone rang, and she knew this time to look at the caller ID. She should talk to her parents and apologize for hanging up on her dad last night. But she wasn’t ready for their criticism and disappointment right now. The screen readMimi. Jia missed her grandmother and quickly picked up the call.

“Hiya, Mimi. How goes it?”

“Hello? Jia?”

“Mimi? Can you hear me? I—”

“Honey, there’s been an accident. Dennis fell during Walking Club. It was a fluke. Didn’t realize the curb on the corner of Robart and Pine was a little higher than the others. Just lost his balance, and, boom, he was face down on the ground. Bruises all over and a broken wrist. We’re here at the hospital...”

But Jia couldn’t hear the rest of it above the ringing in her ears. Dennis fell? A broken wrist? Walking Club? Jia was the one who’d encouraged him to participate weekly. In fact, she’d suggested to him, pressured him even, to give it a try. Henry had asked her not to push him too hard. But she hadn’t listened. She thought she knew better what would be good for him.

She’d done this. She was the one that made Dennis think he didn’t need a walker. She was the one that told all of the residents at Sunset Hills that they didn’t have to listen to their families, their doctors, their naysayers. They could live the way they wanted to.

She was the one at fault for Dennis’s accident.

“Mimi,” Jia croaked out around the tears and the boulder lodged in her throat. “I’m on my way.”

She hung up and ran back to Lizzy’s apartment to get her stuff. She quickly looked up her flight information and changed the itinerary to catch the next earlier flight out to Palm Springs. It would cost her an additional four hundred dollars. She’d put the charge on her credit card and worry about how to pay it off later.

She needed to get home.

But Sunset Hills wasn’t her home. She was just a visitor. What even made her think she was qualified to plan activitiesfor elderly people who had limitations to actually be concerned about? She’d been reckless. Selfish. Arrogant.

This was all her fault.

Maybe it was time for her to leave Sunset Hills behind. Maybe she would grovel and ask her parents to control her life. Maybe she could take the settlement from Bakerson’s Group and start over somewhere. Somewhere where she couldn’t hurt anyone she loved.

But first, she had to get back and make sure Dennis was okay.

Jia grabbed her bag and called an Uber to the airport. As soon as she got into the car, she picked up her phone and called Henry. She was sure he’d likely been contacted already, but just in case...

“This is Henry Shin. Please leave a message.” Not even one ring. His phone was turned off or out of service. Jia thought of how his message was economical and to the point. So Henry. She missed him. She wanted to talk to him and make sure he was okay. She wanted him to forgive her for putting Dennis in this position.

But would he? And even if he did, did she deserve to be forgiven?

Jia leaned back, closed her eyes, shut off her mind, and let the tears flow.