Julia’s shower was cut way too short by the blast of cold water against her skin. Her parents hadn’t gotten the water heater fixed like they were supposed to. Julia would have to be the one to call someone tomorrow, as it was clear just handing a phone number of someone to her parents wasn’t going to get it done.
“Julia, good, you’re awake and ready. Let’s go outside.” Her grandmother was dressed in her Sunday best, a floral linen top over pink polyester pants, the elastic waistband rolled over two times to shorten the length. She had on mismatched socks, and one of the gift-wrap bows from a birthday present she’d unwrapped last night was pinned to her lapel. She was perfection. Julia gave her a kiss on the head before heading out.
As they walked through the front yard, Julia took out the keys to her new Porsche and beeped it unlocked. She dug through her tote bag, looking for her sunglasses and lip balm. She’d need both to get through this day.
“Thank you so much for driving me today,” her grandmother said.
“No problem,” Julia said.
“No problem,” a male voice said at the same time.
Julia whipped her head up at the unexpected sound of another person in their conversation—just in time to see her grandmother crossing the quiet residential street heading straight for their neighbor’s house and the car parked in the driveway. And standing there waiting for her was a tall, broad, very handsome man in a gray T-shirt and jeans.
Julia pulled down her sunglasses to get a better look and then quickly crossed the street to chase down her halmoni.
“Good morning, Tae.”
“Good morning, Halmoni. How’s it going, Julia?”
“Uh, hi,” she answered. Tae. Tae. Tae Kim. Taehyung Kim. The kid across the street. The man in the playground in her dream last night. Wait, what?
“Halmoni, we need to get going if we’re gonna hit up the herbalist before you all leave for church. Where is his store?” Julia walked up and took hold of her grandmother’s arm, gently trying to direct her back across the street toward her car.
“Tae’s driving us,” Halmoni said.
She bent down to whisper into Halmoni’s ear. “Why? I thought I was taking us?”
She looked back up at Tae who leaned against the car, waiting with the door open.
“Thank you, but you don’t have to come. I’ve got this,” she said to him. She hadn’t seen Taehyung Kim in years. But Julia had the oddest feeling, almost like a hazy memory, that she’d just talked to him recently. She was truly hungover.
“Good to see you again, too,” he said with a smile. “And your grandma asked me to take her, so why don’t you guys get in and we can go. As you mentioned, we don’t have a lot of time, and it’ll take us at least fifteen minutes to get to Garden Grove.”
No fair, he already knew where the herbalist was located.
“Tae will drive, and Julia will come along and pay for the herbs. It’s settled. I need you both. Let’s go.” Her grandmother shuffled past Julia and sat in the car behind the front passenger seat as Tae shut the door. He grabbed the handle of the front door and opened it for Julia.
Julia was not at the top of her game this morning and did not have the energy to argue. But this all seemed a little overkill. Why would Halmoni ask the neighbor to drive her when Julia was right here?
Julia got in and put on the seat belt.
“Good morning, Julia.”
She yelped as she realized there was another person in the car in the back seat with her grandmother.
“Oh, uh, annyeonghaseyo” she said, bowing awkwardly to Mrs. Kim, Tae’s mom. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were in the car.”
“Yes, it was fortuitous that Tae was taking your grandmother to the medicine store today because we needed some things too. I read in the Korean newspaper about a tea that helps with constipation. I’ve been wanting to try it. And, of course, we have to get our herbs that help the body fight the cancer for Tae’s dad.”
“No need to recite our shopping list, Mom,” Tae teased. He reached his right arm behind Julia’s seat, leaning her way as he looked over his shoulder and backed out of the driveway. God, he smelled good. Fresh, clean, like soap and a perfect spring day. Julia needed to figure out what the combo was for future product testing. She wanted to bury her face in his neck and take another whiff.
Julia probably still had the smell of makgeolli and regrets coming out of her pores, despite the shower she took this morning. She leaned away from Tae, just in case.
As the two women talked in the back seat, it suddenly occurred to Julia that maybe her grandma’s urgent need to get to the herb shop today might also have to do with thesomethingthe doctor found at her last visit. The increasing tightness in her chest signaled an oncoming panic episode. She placed her hand over it and rubbed.
“Hi.”
The deep voice and kind greeting pulled Julia from her darkening thoughts. She looked over at the driver, Tae, amazed at how much he’d changed. His body had definitely filled out, and the softness in his face had been replaced by sharper, chiseled lines and angles. Grown. Different, yet so familiar, as if she’d just seen him yesterday, though it had to have been years since they last talked.
