But then, on our last morning there, it’s raining and we stand together on the hotel wraparound porch, staring at the downpour.
“This is so weird,” I say. “I can’t remember the last time it rained in the summer.”
“It’s what I miss most about Minnesota,” says Logan fondly. “Thunderstorms and rain to cleanse the stifling hot summer days.”
“Remember when we used to streak through the quad?” Mar says with a grin.
“What’s streak?” ask both kids simultaneously.
Before anyone can answer, I tag them and yell, “You’re it!” Then I bolt out into the rain, running through the meadow. I feel the water wash over me like a new beginning.
—
After coming back from Catalina, I start to spend some of my evenings at Halmoni’s or bringing dinner to Marcella at her new restaurant, where she has declared she may have to live until it actually opens in a month. And my playlists no longer exclusively make me want to weep. A couple weeks later it’s Saturday and I hop on my bike for the first time since the fire. But when I’m almost to the coffee shop, I decide to take a detour. I pass by the spot where Ellis andI met and feel a familiar pang in my ribs. Rolling down a concrete culvert on a bike as my meet-cute should’ve been a more obvious foreshadowing.
When I near the gates that lead to the park, I slow down. I hop off my bike and lock it against the fence.
Even though it’s a little uncomfortably warm out, the park is full of people. I see two teens reading a pile of manga on a bench. A couple walking together, holding hands, deep in animated conversation. Three older Asian men walk by briskly holding hiking poles, decked out head to toe in North Face. Kids running through the meadow, dogs happily sniffing blooming sage blossoms with butterflies flying overhead.
I take a picture and type a text to Daniel.Your legacy, bro.I don’t send it, but maybe someday. I like to think we’ll get there.
I slide my phone back into my pocket and head to my bike. With Mar out of commission getting ready for her opening, I decide to ride by myself that day. And I go where the wind takes me.
—
“I swear my stapler was moved,” I hear Lila say with a suspicious sniff.
“Everything was moved,” Shreya says as she places a potted plant on her desk. “Can you please help Matteo grab the files?”
The office is open again, after the most blessedly hiccup-free renovation ever experienced in L.A. I’ve been plying Marcella with wine and time in Halmoni’s massage chair to assuage my guilt. It’s well into September, but summer shows no signs of slowing down. But we’re finally settled in and the AC is blasting.
We all head upstairs together, passing by the newly constructed reading room and conference room. At my insistence, we’ve made necessary technical and design updates. No more stuffy floralpatterns and heavy furniture—instead everything is furnished in blond wood with pops of warm colors. More rugs, less carpet.
It’s a makeover signaling a shift into the future. A future that will always include fated loves, because that is still real. I may have chosen another path, but this is a path that will work for clients the same way it has worked for hundreds of years. In the end, I guess I am still a believer.
Halmoni’s office has also been updated. If mostly because, well, it’s my office now. My desk sits in the middle of the spacious room, with two overstuffed and bright chairs placed in front of it. The big window behind my desk looks over the newly landscaped garden—beautiful and meadow-like.
“Ready?” Halmoni asks as she sets her purse on the desk. Everyone nods.
We stand in front of the refurbished apothecary cabinet tucked into the corner of the office. It’s still damaged, but Halabuji managed to put it back together so that the drawers are all intact and working. He spent weeks meticulously replacing wood, sanding and staining it so that the damage was fairly well hidden.
We all step back and look at Halabuji’s handiwork and then at the office. The shift in the air, the next chapter of our agency—it is all palpable.
“Ready to fuck some shit up?” I say.
“Oh my god,” Emoni says with a headshake. Halmoni smacks my arm while Sunny cackles. Forty or not, I’ll always relish playing the brat of the family. I am my mother’s daughter, after all.
We call Matteo, Lila, and Shreya into the conference room.
Halmoni takes the seat at the head of the table and I sit on the other end, which has been left empty for me.
“We’re so happy to finally have the office back,” Halmoni says. “Thank you all for being so patient.”
Then Halmoni makes eye contact with me over the table. “And now that the office has been renovated, we also have a few changes we’d like to introduce.”
Curious looks are exchanged by everyone. Halmoni says, “This new office is a new beginning. As of today, I’ll be stepping down as president of One & Only, and Cassia will be taking my place. Emoni has also decided to retire.” Emoni smiles at us all.
Shreya gasps and even though I knew it was coming, hearing the words sends a thrill through me. Everyone starts talking at once and Halmoni shushes them with one stern look. “It’s been a long time coming. But it’s clear that Cassia is ready. You’re all in the best hands. And, Shreya?”
