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“I have all your medication lined up here in the daily dispenser. On Sunday nights, you just have to refill each one for the
upcoming week. And I set a reminder on your phone that will go off each morning. Over here, I moved the pots and pans to the
lower cabinet so they’re easier to reach. But make sure that if you turn on the stove, you don’t leave it. You stay here—”
A hand came to rest on Henry’s back. It was warm and comforting. “Hank, leave it all here for now. Grab your keys. Let’s go
for a drive. I only have you for another day. Let’s make the most of it.”
Henry dropped his head to his chest and let out a breath. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Let’s go have some fun.”
Henry knew he was going overboard. Everyone had told him so. But all of this was more for him than it was for Dennis. His
granddad could ignore all of his instructions once Henry went back to New York. But he felt helpless to take care of him from
far away, and this made him believe he was at least doing something.
Leaving was going to be harder than he had anticipated.
“Okay, Granddad. Where do you wanna go?”
“Let’s go see the dinosaurs.”
It was such a silly thing. What had started out as a marketing ploy, a way to get people off the freeway to a local restaurant
twenty minutes outside of Palm Springs, had become an art installation of huge dinosaurs painted in neon greens, sky blues,
and bright pinks. They were rotating canvases of sorts for artists to come and recreate over and over again. One wore a rainbow
T-shirt during Pride month. Another had I ?? CA on its chest. One had daisies painted on its huge body.
Henry had been humorless as a kid, not having many things to laugh about, lacking opportunities to be carefree growing up.
But the dinosaurs, over-the-top, colorful, playful, and ridiculous in a way that no one could avoid their charm, were the
one thing sure to lift Henry to a place of joy.
It struck him that these were exactly the things about Jia that he liked so much.
They got into Henry’s rental car. “Seat belt,” he reminded Dennis.
“Henry, I’ve lived in California my whole life. You think I don’t know a seat belt?”
“Sorry,” he said back. He was glad Dennis called him out on his shit. Henry needed more of that.
Jia’s voice rang in his head. They deserve respect. Don’t infantilize them. They’re wiser than we are.
She was everywhere. She’d taken residence in his head. Maybe even snuck into his heart as well. But he couldn’t let himself
think about that. Not while both their futures were so in flux.
“Let’s listen to my audiobook on the way,” Dennis suggested. “I have Book Club this weekend and need to finish it.” Henry set his granddad’s phone up to the car’s media system, and the two of them listened to the recording on the way.
Nations, wars, nor national disasters can keep me from you. It but your resistance to receive love . . . The narrator’s words stirred a discomfort in his chest. Henry quickly reached out and turned down the volume. He felt Dennis’s
eyes on him, but he kept his gaze on the barren desert road ahead. Why these words hit home was not something he wanted to
consider right now. But Henry made a mental note to ask his granddad the book’s title for later. He might like to find out
how this story ends.
Henry’s favorite dinosaur had always been the one that stood the tallest, the proudest, the most intimidating: the T. rex.
Today it was painted an emerald green with a red heart on its chest that said I love you.
“Go stand in front of it so I can get a picture,” Dennis said. He fumbled with his phone trying to open the camera and then
looked down his nose at the screen, squinting without his glasses. The sun had already hit a peak, and Henry could see the
waves of heat bouncing off the ground. He waited patiently for Dennis to get his shot.
“Would you like me to take one of the two of you?” a woman asked. She was with two kids who were running around and screaming
their heads off.
“That would be great. Thank you. My grandson is visiting from New York. He’s a big-shot lawyer out there.”
Henry rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. Dennis just couldn’t help himself.
“That’s amazing. You must be so proud,” she said.
“Oh, I am. But not just because of his job. I’m mostly proud he turned out to be a good man. He’s my best friend.”
Dennis walked over to Henry under the shadow of the T. rex and wrapped his arm around his waist. Henry swallowed back the
emotion swelling in his throat.
“Smile,” the woman said.
Henry had to make sure his grandfather sent him a copy. He’d never been a sentimental man. But this picture with his granddad
was one thing he knew he’d want to take back to New York with him. One thing he’d want to keep forever.
“It’s been a good couple weeks, hasn’t it, Hank?” Dennis bit into his burger. They’d stopped to get lunch at the In-N-Out
nearby. Henry couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a fast-food burger. It was incredible. “I gotta say, I’ve really loved
having you out here. Made making this move a lot easier. Thanks for taking care of all the details, big and small.”
“I’m glad I could come,” Henry said. “I, well, I wish I could stay longer.” And he meant it. The thought of going back to
New York had dulled somewhat for Henry. He couldn’t imagine his empty apartment, his endless hours of work, his solo existence,
being in the center of any of it.
The moment he got back into town he’d have to hit the ground running, working with Genevieve on the investigation into the
claims made in the lawsuit. If Henry had any influence, he would try to push the executives toward mediation. No one wanted
this going to court. It would be damaging to the company’s reputation. And even if there were substantiated evidence, with
all the money, power, and resources on Bakerson’s side, they’d spin it in a way that would end up hurting the women involved.
Hurting Jia. Henry couldn’t let it happen.
When he received the full brief, for a moment he’d hoped Jia wouldn’t be listed. But ultimately, he was glad she had taken this stand for herself. It was the one thing he wanted for her.
Never mind that Henry personally was listed as one of the defendants on the claim. He was the one who’d signed the paperwork,
after all. It was clear that wasn’t a mistake. If this turned south, Henry could very well be the one to take the fall. Hell,
he’d probably been set up for that from the beginning.
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing back the headache threatening to break through. He didn’t want to ruin a good
day.
“There’s something I have to tell you, and I think now’s a good time to do it,” Dennis said. It sounded serious. Henry immediately
froze, waiting for the bad news. Dennis was sick. Dennis was dying. Dennis needed help.
“I love you.”
Henry pulled back, completely blindsided by the admission. Their family wasn’t the type to say I love yous. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever heard it spoken in his presence.
“I don’t tell you that enough. I didn’t tell your dad that enough, and I sense he never told you either. A book I was reading
mentioned generational curses, and, well, as ominous and heavy as that sounds, this is one I want to break.”
“I, um, I . . . I love you too, Granddad.” Henry chuckled. The words felt almost silly coming out of his mouth.
“Appreciate it, Hank. And I meant what I said to that woman who took our picture. I’m so proud of the man you’ve become. You
didn’t have it easy. Your parents weren’t that great.”
Henry really didn’t want to be talking about his parents right now—or ever, to be honest.
“They were shitty parents, but I do believe they’re not bad people.
And if I can say that after they took my money, well, I hope you can get to that point too.
Not for them, but for you. They’re selfish and unreliable, sure.
But not evil.” Dennis wiped his hands with his napkin and laid one on top of Henry’s.
“You know, they live in their own punishment every day by having lost a relationship with you. I’d never ask you to give them any more chances.
But I will ask you to let yourself off the hook.
You didn’t deserve being left to fend for yourself.
But you came out on top. You don’t have to carry around that anger anymore, Hank. ”
Henry’s face heated. Tears welled in the back of his eyes. “I don’t know if I can let it go.” He struggled to get the words
out. The truth hurt too. Who would he be without his drive to succeed as a way to punish his parents for abandoning him, for
never allowing him to feel like he was enough to stay?
“I think if you let yourself, you could probably replace that anger with a whole lotta love. And I know of a really special
someone worth that love.”
“Mind your own business, old man.” Henry squeezed Dennis’s hand and smiled. He didn’t mean it. He could use a lot more of
his grandfather’s wisdom in his life. He wouldn’t let months, or even weeks, go by without it again.
“And Henry. Don’t worry about me. I’ll take my pills. As long as you promise me you’ll take yours too.”
Touché.
It was Henry’s last night in town, and he wanted to spend it with Jia. He’d made reservations for them for dinner and gotten
a room at a hotel after. He wanted uninterrupted time to say goodbye.
Billy Reed’s was a favorite among locals, an older crowd, a restaurant steeped in history and nostalgia.
When he got back to New York, Henry would miss places like this—a home to generations of stories quieter than ones in the city, tales regaling of the desert’s magic.
They sat in a red leather booth and immediately ordered dirty martinis and steaks.
“I love this place,” Jia said, wistfully scanning the large space, black-and-white photos of patrons and town history and
copies of newspaper articles decorating the walls.
“So do I,” Henry said. Though, he’d meant it beyond just the restaurant. He meant the town with its contradictions of old
ice-cream shops and new pizza places. The streets with classic cars driving next to new electric vehicles. The mid-century
modern homes and the flashy glass-faced condos. And the quiet little paradise of Sunset Hills just at the northern border
of it all.
“Are you gonna miss it?”
“I’m certain I will. I’ll miss Dennis. I’ll miss the others. I’ll miss Zumba,” he said and winked at Jia. “I’ll miss you.”
She met his eyes and smiled, but there was a sadness behind it. “I’ll see you soon enough, I guess. I just wish the circumstances
were different.”
Jia and Henry had agreed not to talk about the case. He meant it when he’d told her it was a conflict of interest. But he
also didn’t want her to back out because of him. He wanted her to do what was right for her.
The first meeting between the parties was scheduled for a week from now in New York.
“Do your parents know?” he asked.
“No. I don’t think they’d take it well. I’ve only told Mimi. And swore her to keep it between us.”
“Listen, Jia, whatever happens . . .” He wasn’t sure how to finish his thought.
They’d survive being on opposites sides of a lawsuit and be okay? She’d move to Florida and they’d date long distance while
he stayed in New York? They’d both give up everything and live in a commune upstate, and to hell with the rest of the world?
Neither of them had answers about what was next.
“Whatever happens . . . happens,” she said.
He wanted to say more. He had the words at the tip of his tongue. A confession of feelings he’d never had toward anyone before.
Emotions that excited but terrified him. But he wouldn’t, couldn’t let them out.
He just nodded in agreement. “Whatever happens happens.”