Page 71 of See You at the Sunset

The laugh felt like a punch to Henry’s solar plexus.

Sword and men like him, they believed Henry was on their side. They saw him as one of them. And as much as Henry had believed it was what he’d wanted too, it made him sick to his stomach facing the truth now.

The revelation hit him: Henry did not want to be like them at all.

“If you’ll excuse me, sir. I have someone I need to talk to.” He stepped around his boss and made his way to the elevators.

Henry’s only thought was to find Jia.

He rode the elevator down to the ground floor, ran out the front door, and looked up and down the street. No sign of her. She was gone.

Where would Jia be off to right now? If they were at The Sunset, she’d be at the community center laughing with the residents, or in the office gabbing it up with Gladys, or by the pool watching Jared walk his laps. But Henry didn’t know the New York version of Jia.

He looked down at his phone and opened up the text app. It rang just as he meant to type out his message. With a pounding heart, he tapped to answer it and quickly lifted it to his ear.

“Hi, thanks for calling,” he let out, the relief clear in his voice to his own ear. There was so much he wanted to say to Jia.

“Hank? Hank, you there?”

“Dennis? Sorry, I thought it was someone else calling. Hey, Granddad, can I call you back in a bit?” he asked. He’d only been back in New York three days, and the old man already missed him. And honestly, he missed him right back.So much. But he was eager to get Jia on the line and wanted to do that right away.

“Hank, I’ve taken a bit of a tumble,” the strained voice said. Henry heard it this time, Dennis’s attempt to hold back the pain and the sound of it.

“What do you mean? How? How bad is it?” Henry’s voice was panicked.

“Now, don’t you worry. One of the others in the Walking Club got her phone out, and she called the ambulance. We made sure it was the one my insurance covers. But I’m in the hospital now, in case you get a call from a stranger. You’re listed as my in-case-of-emergency contact.”

“The hospital?” Henry’s voice broke. “Jesus, how bad is it? Is the doctor there? What did they say? Can I talk to them?”

“Tripped over my own goddamn feet, if you can believe it. Gordon told me that today’s Walking Club would be all the slowpokes. I figured I’d be okay. That damn curb just snuck up on me. Anyways, it was a fluke accident. I was careless. But it’s not too bad. It’s just the wrist. Broken. I got a sweet cast on it now. Luckily it’s the left side, and I hardly even use that one.” Dennis laughed at his joke, but it clearly came at a cost, and the laughter turned to wheezing and a groan. “The body is a bit bruised but none the worse for wear.”

The thought of Dennis in pain broke his heart. Bones healed slower on older people. He needed to know the details. How serious was the break? What were they going to do to help with the pain?

“Dennis, let me talk to the doctor,” Henry said.

“He’s not here right now, Hank. But I’ll call you back next time he checks in. I’m getting a little sleepy now, so gonna hangup. But just in case you’re worried, don’t be. I got all the neighbors who came by to visit, and I called your folks.”

“You did what?” Henry didn’t want to raise his voice at Dennis ever. But it was impossible not to be frustrated when it came to his parents.

“Just gave them a heads-up. I figured I’d want to know if one of them got a little banged up. They said they were planning on visiting sometime soon anyways, so they’re probably working their way out here. Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I’m just...” Henry couldn’t let his parents be there alone with Dennis. He didn’t want to even think of what they’d try to talk him into. “I’m on my way. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out how fast I can get out there.”

“Now, Hank, if you’re busy at work, don’t make a fuss. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Gonna catch some z’s now,” Dennis said. He sounded weary, and Henry let him go.

Henry rushed back up to his office to get his stuff. He’d figure out flights on his way to the airport. If there was nothing direct, he’d do LAX again. He grabbed his laptop, shoving it into his briefcase, and headed for the door.

“There you are,” Edison Wainwright said, blocking his way. “Fine job you did there today, Shin.” He reached out a hand to shake. Henry stared at it but didn’t offer his own in return. “Well,” Wainwright said, pulling back his hand, “good, looks like you already got your stuff. Let’s head out. We’re going for celebratory drinks and cigars. Figure it’s time you come along with us, now that you’ve proven you can hang with the big guns.” His smug voice and pompous attitude made Henry sick to his stomach. “They probably won’t have the sake you people like, but there will likely at least be some Japanese whiskey.”Racist prick. Henry had a right mind to sue the man himself. If he wasn’t in a rush to get out of there, he could very well be pushed to throwing a punch. That was how much disdain Henry had for the man.

“Not now, sir. I’ve got a family situation I have to take care of, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Now, Shin. Family can wait. Work is the priority,” he said, his voice laced with condescension. As if going for drinks and cigars was work. “You know what I like about you? You’re like me. You put yourself and the job first. Everything else ranks way below on the priority scale.”

“Well, considering you’ve been divorced three times and are cheating on your fourth wife, oh, and that you’re almost never in the office or actually ever get any work done that I can see, I find this a very odd comparison.” Henry had never once spoken this way to someone senior to him, to anyone at all, for that matter. And he’d never put himself at risk in the workplace like this. But he couldn’t help himself. He felt lighter, relieved, free from holding in his disdain for a man he was meant to respect.

“You better watch what you say to me, son,” Wainwright said.

Henry hated that word. He hated that his dad never referred to him as his own. And he hated how patronizing it sounded coming out of Edison Wainwright’s mouth.