“How?” I love when Sunny starts talking about Mom. She knew a side of her that no one else did, not even my grandparents. I soak up every story greedily.
“Everything!” she says with a laugh. “I mean, tattoos, getting caught sneaking out of the house, refusing to be a matchmaker—anything I did after paled in comparison.”
Halmoni appears in Sunny’s doorway wearing her purse and sunglasses. “I have to go get my nails done. I’ll see you all later for your birthday dinner?” she says.
I get up and grab my purse, too. “I’m getting coffee, let me walk out with you.”
“How are you feeling, Cassia?” she asks as we walk downstairs, arms linked.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“With your birthday.” She squeezes my arm.
The question hits harder because I know this is a difficult time for both of us, not just me. “Oh, you know. I’m good, don’t worry about me, Halmoni.” But she does. All the time—whether it’s fretting over my bike accident or the carbon monoxide detectors in my old house. She only had eight years to be a carefree grandmother before she had to become a mother again.
“Just make sure you don’t work too much.”
I start laughing. “Look who’s talking!” Everyone thought she would retire ages ago. Yet here she is, approaching ninety and still coming in most days. I very much take after her. We’re in the lobbywhen Shreya calls me over from the front desk. “Cass, someone’s here to see you.”
I check my phone. “Do I have another surprise reading?”
“No, he didn’t make an appointment. He just wanted to see you but I couldn’t get any other info…”
I stare at her. “And…?”
She flushes. “He’shot.”
Halmoni rolls her eyes and says bye to us as she heads to the door.
“He’s in the waiting room,” Shreya says in a hushed voice.
When I turn around to see who this person is, I find myself face-to-face with Ellis. “What!” I exclaim. Happily.
Dimple time. He glances down quickly before he looks up at me. “Okay, don’t be freaked out.”
I tilt my head. “Okay. I’m not.”
“Oh.” He looks embarrassed. “Um, hi. Do you remember me, then…?”
“Of course. Ellis. You saved my life.” I smile widely. Flirting with young guys is always so low stakes.
He just looks at me for a second, then he seems to snap out of it. “Oh, ha. I didn’t really do anything.” It’s as if he’s seeing me for the first time, his eyes sweeping over me, drinking in the details of what I look like in my element. I remember what I looked like when he last saw me, wearing a bike helmet and nineties-coded workout clothes. Sweaty and mildly humiliated.
Today, my long hair falls over my shoulders in natural loose waves. I’m in a crisp, oversized men’s shirt, the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, thrown over a mini, lace-trimmed slip in butter yellow. Under Ellis’s interested gaze, I’m glad I shaved my legs this morning.
“Saved yourlife?” Halmoni is back outtanowhere.
Ellis looks over at me with a little bit of alarm.
I summon patience. “Halmoni, this is Ellis. He was there when I had my bike accident. He was the one who called nine-one-one.”
With a loud clap of her hands, Halmoni rushes over to greet Ellis. “Omo, omo. Thank yousomuch. She’s the most precious thing in my life.” She’s gone from elegant matriarch to cartoon Miyazaki crone.
I widen my eyes at Ellis; he catches it, hiding a smile. Sunny, then, marches in. Oh, god.
“What’s with the ruckus?” she snaps. But her expression immediately shifts after spotting Ellis. She sends a sweeping, appreciative look down his tall frame. “Hi.”
“This is the young man who helped Cassia after her accident,” Halmoni says.
