804. When a friend goes out of their way to help you

 "What do you mean you haven't gone to see your granny yet?"

Rennie's text shot back before Jun could think. Why did he tell her? Why? A part of him wanted to turn off his phone and just lie there cold in bed. Only he was hot and clumsily took his shirt off instead. Still focused on his phone. Why did Louie have to keep the flat so hot?

He shouldn't have told Rennie how Sunny got a lunch all set up at the assisted living, and he was the only one to miss it. Didn't she know how awful he felt about missing it? Evidently, not because she kept sending him messages like, "You need to see her before it's too late." "You are her only grandson. LOVE HER."

He felt as if his nerves were shot as it was with the new job. He almost spilled hot coffee on someone, but spilled it on himself instead. Honestly, this was not the job for him. But where was he to go? Couldn't everyone see, he was really trying?

But as of yet he wasn't really good with the washing machine at the apartment, and he just had so much to do and no time. His clothes were on the floor. Some clean. Some not. He had to face it. He was lost in this world. He didn't mean to neglect his own care. Jun wished he could get away, only he didn't know where.

"What if I came to live with you?"

Her text enlarged the pupils of his eyes. What was she trying to say? 

"You've been honest with me, haven't you?"

Jun winced hard with a sigh. It was time to drop the phone, but he couldn't, not with Rennie.

"You can't come all the way to Seoul." No way did he have the funds.

"Why not?"

"Oh, God, we don't know each other that well."

End of story. The phone went silent. He was certain she'd never text him again. But she did.

It's harder than we both thought

 "I shouldn't have been so blunt with her," Sammie felt the need to tell someone about Vada. And Carmen always listened.

"Oh, you did the right thing. Sometimes, you have to say what you have to say. Maybe it's testing your friendship, but you have to be honest. And you were honest," Carmen said as she folded laundry on the kitchen table.

Sammie helped. It was good to keep busy. She did her best to get up and move when she could since that was what the doctor had said about her pregnancy, and they were going to go for a walk at the park nearby as soon as the laundry was folded. And they quickly got it sorted and put it away. 

"I'm afraid Jade thinks I'm pregnant," Carmen said on their way out. She said it was true that she had put on some weight. Her meds had been changed, and she was now on an antidepressant that made her hungry with a vengeance. "But it helps me relax at night, so I will just keep trying to eat healthy and you know, exercise."

"Oh, I can't believe she thinks you're pregnant," Sammie said she looked healthy.

"Well, she didn't say it, but the way she looks at me, I know what she's thinking." Carmen sighed as they walked out of the parking lot to the nearby trail that led to the park. It was breezy out with a touch of fall in the air. Although the leaves were barely changing. 

"I have a feeling Jade wants to be pregnant, and she might envy you." Sammie's smile was open, and Carmen laughed back at the thought.

"I mean, we do get along. We do. I like working with Jade. I'm glad we can both work there, you know." Carmen said about the matter. "At this rate, I'm going to have to start working out at the gym with all the food Eric brings me."

They picked up the pace of their walk. Still, those with dogs past by. It wasn't too busy at the park, but enough. A few families were out with their kids at the playground. Sammie watched wondering how she would be with a little one. Actually, she thought of Gabe.

"Gabe, is going to the appointments with you, isn't he?" It was if Carmen read her mind.

"Not as much as I thought, but you know, he is busy working." Sammie nodded.

"I don't know how Justin would be. I mean, I've never thought of it, actually." Carmen shrugged about the matter. "I know he likes being babied himself, but he'd never admit it. Never." She chuckled then.

"There is a part of Gabe I don't know. I think it has to do with being with his dad all those years and not seeing his mom. I just know, he's afraid he'll be his dad when the baby is born." Sammie felt a little sad at the thought. "It's just I'm afraid of what I have in store, just..you know, having the baby." She talked about the pregnancies she knew of. How happy she was for Bren and her brother. "Bren is so strong. I don't know if I'm that strong."

"Oh,  you're strong. You are," Carmen smiled at her as if she believed it. Sammie nodded. She knew she had to have faith. Still, she wished Gabe were with her for these appointments. 

No more thinking that somehow the sum will be different

 

Vada saw Kevin with someone new. She didn't want to say it bothered her, but it did. 

"Do you know about this?" She asked Sammie while they were out at lunch. Of course, she never spoke of who she was with these days. She was trying to be a better private person. But this with Kevin. Vada wanted to scream, "That's just insane!"

But she didn't. She played with her salad a bit more. She couldn't eat. Her fork clanked against the plate like a complaint. She had starved herself for him, and here he was dating an overweight woman.

"I-I really don't know anything," Sammie looked at her, startled as she took another bite of her chicken salad sandwich.

Vada couldn't help but fret. It wasn't like she was stalking him. God knows, he wasn't stalking her. No, those loving eyes of his had found someone new to adore, and it pained her just a little. She winced and her face tensed.

"You're not coming down with a migraine, are you?" Sammie asked out of concern.

"No." Vada snapped.

"What's going on with you?" Sammie squinted as if she wanted Vada to calm herself.

"I don't know," she sat back in the booth as if she had to let someone know what she was going through. Of course, she did have a theorpist, and she was even keeping things from her, too. She raked her fingers through her stringy hair.

"Yes, I'm in love," Vada said rather quickly. "But I hate it." She frowned with discontent.

Sammie sighed and put down her sandwich. "I don't think you know what the word Love means. You hate everything. Have you ever noticed the first word that ever pops out of your mouth is NO?"

"NO!" Vada's eyes lit as if Sammie couldn't be right. She took a sip of her iced tea, then, as if she'd make an effort to calm down, and the thought that maybe Sammie was on to something.

"I just think you are having fun, not thinking about the future with this someone. You just want sex."

Vada looked at Sammie as if she didn't think words like that could come out of her best friend's mouth.

"You aren't proud enough to show him off. You don't want your friends to know who you're seeing," Sammie went on to say with a shrug. "When is the last time you've had a real conversation with him?"

Vada kept her mouth closed. She couldn't think of a comeback. She didn't want to.

It's on you

 Ari made appointments for the vaccines online. Ari did have to wonder if the drugstore was having issues with its site. It felt like he was in a loop of some kind that brought him back to the beginning, but he did his best to get the appointments set for him and Jade. Afterward, they would go to breakfast. 

Of course, when they got there, he noticed they were taking walk-ins. Still, the weight wasn't long.

"I should spread them out, at least a week," Jade said about the Covid and flu shots.

"It'll be fine," he smirked. "It's best to get it out of the way."

There had been some issues at the hospital about the availability of the Covid vaccine. They acted as if he needed to go somewhere else to get the shot. Now it seemed they could have gotten their vaccinations there. Of course, everyone he talked to was tired of shots. They weren't going to get one. Even Jade said it would make her arm hurt, but since she was around children and parents a good portion of the day, she was up for getting her vaccinations.

It seemed the waiting took so long. Maybe it was the anticipation. But they'd watched an older couple go into the room for the shot. They held hands.

"Aww," Jade bit a grin and looked at Ari, who smiled back. Perhaps, he took her hand for good measure, or maybe he wanted to hold her hand too. Or have her hold his because deep down, he hated shots.

At least ten minutes later, it was over, and they were at the diner for the grand slam.

"I guess I should have given blood or something before ordering this," Jade said when the meal came. It was a huge meal and it came with a price.. Ari wanted to tell her they wouldn't be back here for a while. Even so, he knew everything was getting so expensive. So they ate like royalty.

"Oh, why did I eat so much?" Jade said later as they refreshed their coffee and drank more.

"Because we didn't want it to go to waste, and pancakes just don't taste the same after they have been microwaved."  Ari shrugged. Jade agreed with a nod.

She looked at the time. They would both be a little late. "I'm just glad we can both agree to be proactive about Covid and the flu." She mentioned then that Justin (Ari's friend) wouldn't get it. 

"He won't?" Ari winced. "Really?"

"Well, maybe its his insurance, but even so, he says its risky and a waste of time."

Ari shook his head, "He works in a hospital."

"Carmen said he wasn't going to get it. She got his brother and Randy to get it. She got hers."

"It's amazing we're even friends," Ari wondered if he had anything in common with him anymore. They used to text each other daily. Well, he was going to text him right now and ask  him why he wasn't getting vaccinated.

We shall get there some day

 "He's not going to listen," Chewy sighed when he got home from seeing Jun.

"You never know, he might." Chai warmed up the curry, and Daisy was there to make sure he would eat. Of course, they were always on to her about eating since she loved playing around or asking endless questions, but she was quiet as if she knew not to say a word.

"It's just, I feel so bad for his grandmother. I don't guess he ever really spent that much time with her while growing up. Maybe that's it."

Chewy shrugged and began to eat his dinner. 

"I'm sure he grew up differently from you. Your grandmother raised you," Chai reminded him as he went ahead and put the dishes away that were rinsed and dried. Chai went on to say that he never knew his grandparents, but he wished he did. 

He looked to Daisy. "I think it might be a good idea for Daisy to be around older people. Maybe..maybe we could visit there, from time to time."

"I don't know." Chewy pressed his lips tight. "I would think it to be a good thing. Only, I want Jun to do this, on his own, you know. And if he does, then..then maybe we could take Daisy to see her. Even so, I hear they have trick-or-treating in October, so we could go then. Sunny told me about it."

Chai nodded. Of course, Daisy's face beamed at the thought of trick or treating.

"Why is it only on Halloween?" She asked.

Chewy sighed.

"It's just once a year, like Christmas. We have to wait, you know." Chai didn't give her any more details.

She made a fretful face and hugged herself as if she didn't like that idea at all. She finally went back to coloring a page.

"You know, how we wouldn't want you to have too much candy. You get a tummy ache and you might have to see the dentist too," he explained.

"But I like chocolate," she informed him.

"I know. You like the hard candy too." He nodded.

"Only ring pops." Daisy glared back.

Chai knew she would have never known about those if it hadn't been for Liv, who shared a box of candies her mother sent her from America.

Chai smiled at her as if she'd just have to wait to see what Halloween had in store for her. Meanwhile, he wanted her to practice holding a crayon. Hopefully, she would be learning to write her name soon.

Things fall apart, and time breaks your heart

 

Chewy heard it all from Sunny and Louie about Jun's grandmother. 

"Well," Sunny's eyes told him he needed to fix this. Chewy sighed back, knowing there was only so much he could do. Because Jun was stubborn. 

"Of course, we should tell him." 

Chewy remained even-lipped as his own supper grew cold back home while they waited for Jun to get home. He hugged himself, thinking, why did they go to such lengths for Jun. Chewy knew his grandmother had gone to great lengths, giving Jun money for college, and she was still waiting to see him. 

Besides, he was hungry. He plopped down at the dinner table and decided on a bowl of stew after all. Maybe he and Jun were more alike than he realized. He winced, thinking that wasn't so. Jun just needed to be..well, Chewy wished he'd grow up.

It wasn't long til Jun showed up from work. Sunny set the food out for Jun. They said they would go for a walk. Jun looked at Chewy as if this were strange. As if he didn't really want to be alone with him.

"I guess you know where your granny is," Chewy was a bit sullen as Jun wolfed down the bowl of meaty stew.

He sighed deeply as if Chewy was distracting him. He was quiet and got up to see if there was more in the pot on the stove. There wasn't.

"Look, I know you don't want her thinking you're a failure and all, but-" Honestly, Chewy knew Jun might never get it. "Where you've really failed is not being there for her. You need to make the most of these days before they're gone."

Jun wouldn't look at him. 

"Can't you just be with her, let her see your face. Just, you know, talk about the weather. Look at the flowers. Just, you know, be there." Chewy's eyes lit as he couldn't help but scold him.

"I know." But he wouldn't continue. He nursed at a glass of water instead.

"You're going to wish you'd known her better before it's too late." Chewy decided to leave it at that. Jun nodded, but Chewy doubted if he was really listening.

Nothing left to lose

 Sunny hadn't meant to keep it a secret. But she knew Jun's grandmother was in the assisted living place where Sunny worked.

It wasn't that she knew this instantly, and she hadn't made it a mission to find Jun's grandmother. But she'd known her over the last few months. They talked ever so often. Sometimes, the old woman would come out in her wheelchair on the floor and join bingo or an art project. Sometimes, she'd stare at the TV. 

Sunny did her best to make the frail woman comfortable. Usually, Sunny would help with her plants in the bay window of her room. That was where she finally realized the youngster she'd been seeing in all her photos was Jun.

"I didn't know, I really didn't know until..just yesterday." 

Sunny was practically in tears. She didn't know how to tell Jun the news, but she had Louie to calm her down. He told her not to worry. She was not at fault.

"If he'd wanted to know, he would have known already," Louie told her. After all, Jun was trying to figure out his new job. Neither was sure he'd last at the coffee shop.

"Even if we told him, it doesn't mean he'll go see her," Louie said after a while when they sat down to eat.

Sunny nursed her bottom lip. "But, but she doesn't have any family, and the way she waves at people. It's like she hopes they are her family."

"He needs to know," Louie sighed. "I'm sure he was hoping she was still at home and she would just give him her house."

"I'm sure she had to sell the house to move there," Sunny tensed.

Louie dished out some stew, but she hesitated to eat. 

"Look, if Jun doesn't want to see her, then..well, we'll go," Louie said. "But you know, maybe if Chewy and Chai take Daisy to see her, he'll come to."

It was hopefully, but Sunny had no idea what might be on Jun's mind.