Page 25

JULIE

On Sunday, I witness a few miracles. My grandmother is back to her feisty self. Tyler is being nice to Randall. And Ahma and Halmeoni are tolerating being in adjacent rooms.

When I visit Ahma, she is sitting up and playing cards with Tyler. It’s a card game that Tyler made up when he was a kid that we still play as a family.

Ahma slaps down a card. “King beats a queen!”

Ahma scoops up a stack of cards as Tyler groans. “You won. Again,” says Tyler.

Ahma spots me and puts her cards down. Tyler cleans up the cards into one big stack. I give Ahma a gentle hug. The color has returned to her cheeks. She’s smiling as she pats my hair. “You didn’t sleep here last night, did you?”

I respond with wide eyes. She smacks the edge of her bed. “Ai-yah! You need sleep. You are still growing. Go home and get to bed.”

“I rested,” I protest.

“Not enough. I don’t want you two worrying about me and losing sleep. Your mom will be here soon.”

Tyler and I exchange a glance. “You should be the one resting,” I say.

“I feel as fit as a young chicken,” says Ahma. She even flaps her arms like a chicken.

I can’t help but laugh.

“We’re not leaving, Ahma,” says Tyler.

“What he said.”

“Stay with her while I go check on…”

His voice trails off when he realizes that Ahma is listening. I look at her for any signs that she’s mad about this.

Ahma seems extraordinarily interested in the sheets on her hospital bed because she’s examining them as if she’s trying to find a speck of dirt.

“How is she?” asks Ahma, still looking down.

Tyler is silent for a second. He looks at me for encouragement. I nod.

“She is better. Still needs to stay for observation because of her age,” says Tyler.

“That’s good,” says Ahma. “She is old.”

“I’ll be right back,” says Tyler, laughing.

He slips out of the hospital room to go to the room right next door. I turn back to my grandmother. I’m not sure what to expect.

She pats the side of her mattress. I sit down next to her. She brushes my hair away from my face.

“How is Randall?”

It takes me a few seconds to recover. She doesn’t sound mad, so I respond.

“He was really sick last night. Vomiting, diarrhea, everything. But I stayed with Randall to make sure he rested.”

Ahma pinches my cheek. “You are a good person. I hope Randall knows that.”

I smile at her. “I think he does.” I stare at my hands that are clinched tightly. “Are you okay with me dating Randall?”

“I thought it was over?”

“If I started dating Randall again,” I say.

Ahma smooths the sheets down with her hands. For a few moments, she doesn’t say anything. Maybe I should’ve waited until we were all out of the hospital.

Ahma reaches for my hand. “You really would stop seeing someone because I said so?”

I nod. “Of course.”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t want that. When I married your grandfather, I hadn’t had a boyfriend before. At nineteen, it was expected that I’d raise kids and that’s it. I was very happy with that life.”

I squeeze her hand. She continues, “But you are young. Your job isn’t to just get married in three years. You have many things ahead of you. If you like Randall, say it. It doesn’t matter if I approve. It matters if your heart approves.”

I didn’t realize that I had been holding my breath the whole time Ahma was talking, but all the air in me comes out in one whoosh. My body relaxes for the first time since we arrived at the hospital.

“I thought you hated Randall’s family.”

“I don’t hate them. Yes, I have said things about their family, but it’s only because…”

I see the edges of tears holding out in the corners of her dark brown eyes.

“There’s time to fix that, you know,” I say.

I grab a tissue to hand to her. She dabs the corners of her eyes.

“It is too late. Chung Hi is mad at me and probably won’t ever forgive me,” says Ahma. There is sadness in her voice like she has resigned herself to this fate. My heart aches for her and her friendship with Chung Hi.

“Yesterday, I found Tyler in Halmeoni’s room and they were laughing like little kids.”

Ahma smiles at the thought. “Those two always loved to play practical jokes on me. She got him a whoopie cushion for his twelfth birthday, even though I told her that I didn’t want her to give him that silly gift.”

“They would stick it on our chairs during Sunday dinners.”

“Acting like toddlers,” says Ahma with a hint of affection in her tone.

“Cracking up so hard. I remember once when Chung Hi coughed out a japchae noodle through her nose,” I say.

Ahma barks out a laugh. It’s so good to see her laugh lines reappear.

“If it’s not too late for Tyler to forgive her and she forgives him, then there’s hope for you two, Ahma.”

She nods her head a few times. “My old bones would like a nap.”

I take that as my cue to leave her alone. As I step out of the hospital room, she calls out my name.

“If you want to bring Randall here to my room when he is better and introduce me properly to him, I would like that very much,” says Ahma.

“I will.”

I walk down the hallway past Halmeoni’s room. I hear her talking with Tyler, who sits on the edge of her bed. I give him a wave as I walk by. He waves back. Halmeoni does too, but beckons me into her room.

“How are you feeling?” I ask from the doorway.

“Better.”

Somehow she looks great even though yesterday she looked as sick as a dog. Her black hair is brushed. She has makeup and jewelry on. She points to a chair near her hospital bed and a gold bracelet jangles against her watch.

I sit down, unsure what to expect. Tyler pats my shoulder and steps out of the room. I want to grab his hand and make him stay, but he’s gone too fast.

“I would like to visit my Randall.”

“Oh. Do you need help getting there?”

“I would like you to come with me.”

It takes me a second to realize that she wants me there too. She starts to get out of her bed. I stand next to her, taking her hand. She stuffs her feet into blue satin slippers. I grab ahold of her IV stand and slowly walk with her.

As we shuffle toward the elevator, Halmeoni looks up at me.

“Tyler says you took good care of my Randall yesterday.”

I nod, still too surprised to say anything yet. We step into the elevator. I press three for the third floor.

I take her to Randall’s hospital room, but before we enter, she stops and turns to me.

“Thank you for staying with Randall when I couldn’t.”

“Of course.”

I can tell she wants to ask me something else by the way she hangs onto my hand. But she releases her grip on me when she hears Randall call out for her.

I wait outside of the door. I’m not sure if I should interrupt this family moment. I turn to walk back to the elevator when I hear someone call my name.

“Hey, Jules.” It’s Mercy.

She hugs me. I hug her back.

“How did you dodge the bullet?”

“Tyler and I were on dumplings duty yesterday.”

“Lucky ducks. I haven’t seen Halmeoni this sick in years. She legit looked like a ghost yesterday. I’m on my way home. Walk with me to the parking lot?”

I nod and head with her to the parking lot. I have so many questions I want to ask her. We weave through the halls to the elevator banks.

“She texted me to bring her some of her jewelry, makeup, and a brush. She didn’t like the cheap plastic combs the hospital provided.” Mercy laughs. “She’s a rip.”

The elevator arrives. It’s packed full of people. We squeeze in. When we finally get to the parking lot, she searches for her car.

She extends out her key fob and pushes it. A blue Honda flashes its lights.

“There it is. I got here in such a hurry that I forgot to look where I parked.”

I go with her. Before she gets in her car and leaves, I need to ask the question that has been on the tip of my tongue ever since Halmeoni waved me into her room.

“Do Randall and I have a chance?” I blurt out.

She pauses before opening her car door.

“Define chance.”

“Halmeoni thanked me for taking care of Randall. I saw Tyler and Halmeoni laughing like they used to. Is it possible that our families don’t hate each other anymore?” I say it all fast to get it out before I regret it. “I need to know if you think that our grandmas will approve if we date.”

Mercy turns to me and sighs. “That’s a big question. Let me ask you something. Why does it matter to you if the grandmothers approve? People date other people all the time that their family doesn’t like.”

She leans against her car door. I stare at the ground.

“Randall won’t date me if Halmeoni says no. I need to know if she approves.”

Mercy raises an eyebrow. “Then, you should be asking Halmeoni.”

“I’m terrified of her.”

Mercy barks out a laugh so loud that a guy getting into his car a few spots away stops to look at us. Mercy waves at him.

“Hi! Everything’s fine! Go about your business.”

She faces me. “I won’t lie to you. I have no idea if Halmeoni is ready to forgive your family. And you’re right, she’s terrifying, but she also loves Randall more than anything. If Randall loves you, she will too. Just give her a chance.”

“Thanks, Merce,” I say, leaning forward to give her a goodbye hug.

She hops into the driver’s seat and starts her car. It rumbles. She clicks open her car window.

“You won’t know until you ask,” says Mercy, slipping on sunglasses. “Later.”

Mercy drives away. I stand in the parking lot, trying to convince myself to go back to the third floor and finally find out the truth. But my feet are cemented to the ground. My throat is dry and scratchy. I wring my hands together and they are slick with sweat.

I’ll go up in five minutes. I just need some time.

RANDALL

I sit up in my hospital bed while Halmeoni spoon-feeds me red Jell-O. I am completely capable of feeding myself, but whenever I’ve been sick, my grandmother feeds me. I find it comforting.

Only my grandmother would be in complete makeup with her plum lipstick color, blush, and black eyeliner and wearing her good jewelry. I’m just so relieved to see her feeling better.

After I take my last bite of cherry Jell-O, I lean back in the bed. My sides still hurt from vomiting so much yesterday. Halmeoni brings a small container of apple juice with the world’s tiniest straw to my lips. It tastes sugary sweet and also tart.

“Thank you,” I say.

She swats my hand gently. “Family never says thank you.”

“You look so much better than yesterday. How do you feel?”

She gives me a thumbs-up. I can tell something is on her mind by the way she’s unusually quiet. Usually she talks a mile a minute. But I know from experience that when she wants to tell me something, she’ll say it when she’s ready.

She goes to the end of the bed and starts massaging my feet. It feels nice.

I wonder how Julie’s grandmother is doing. Maybe I should’ve asked Mercy to check on both of them, but she’s long gone to her babysitting gig.

“Halmeoni, Julie’s grandmother is here. She also got food poisoning from the spinach.”

My grandmother nods. “I know. She’s in the room next to me.”

I swear my eyebrows fly up to the ceiling. How did they not start a screaming match in the hospital?

I haven’t ever asked my grandmother this question, but it’s on the tip of my tongue and I say it before I chicken out.

“Can you ever forgive her for what happened with the restaurant?”

Halmeoni takes a sharp inhale. I immediately regret asking.

She pats her chest. “My heart is not so sure. Our restaurant meant everything to me. It meant a future for me and money for you. It was supposed to be my big dream, but then it was just gone. If she were more careful. If she had checked, things could have been very different.”

I’ve never pushed my grandmother beyond what she’s comfortable with, but after being stuck in the hospital, I decide it’s time.

“But what if you talked to her and worked things out? I understand the dream might look different than it was before, but it doesn’t have to end.”

She places her warm palm on top of my cold hand. “Why is this so important to you?”

It’s now or never.

“I like Julie a lot. I’d like to date her. I know we kept it secret at first and that was wrong of me to not to tell you, but I want her to be my girlfriend.”

There. I’ve said it, and my heart is beating wildly. My fingers can’t stop strumming along the edge of the bed. But I finally admitted the truth and it’s such a relief. I can’t look up yet because I don’t want to see her disappointment.

She lifts my chin up with her hand. We are eye to eye. Her brown eyes are on me, radiating love through me.

“Randall, I like Julie too.”

“Wait. What?”

“She took care of my Randall last night. She stayed with you in the ambulance. Julie checked on you. I am grateful she was there for you when I couldn’t be.”

“You were so sick, Halmeoni. Of course you couldn’t be there for me.”

I hug her so tightly. She folds into my arms. She kisses my cheeks, planting plum spots on me.

“Sorry, my Randall. I know you don’t like makeup.” She scrubs her lipstick off my face.

“So you’re okay if I date Julie?”

My grandmother nods, and my heart leaps up in excitement. And then I remember that Julie won’t date me if her grandmother doesn’t approve. I can’t celebrate just yet.

“But her grandmother might not be okay with it.”

Halmeoni wraps her arm around me. “Then, we should go talk to her about it.”

And that’s how I find myself in front of Ahma’s hospital room. I can hear Julie and Tyler playing cards with her in the room. They are laughing and taunting each other.

Halmeoni nudges me forward. Okay, she practically pushes me into the room.

“Oh, hey,” I say, giving a goofy wave.

My grandmother is still standing in the hallway.

“Just one second.”

I pull her into the room with me. She resists a little, but then steps in. Julie, Tyler, and Ahma are all struck silent. Tyler even drops his hand of cards on the ground.

Halmeoni gestures for me to speak first. I’m really going to do this. I clear my throat. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Then, I walk straight over to Julie and hold out my hand. She places hers in mine.

I face Ahma and tell her what’s in my heart. “I would like to date Julie. She’s incredible. She’s kind and funny and she is a good person. Would that be okay with you?”

Julie squeezes my hand. We both watch Ahma for her reaction. She has an amused grin on her face.

She looks over at Halmeoni and cracks a smile. “Can you believe these kids?”

Halmeoni swats the air. “So serious about love.”

Ahma turns her attention back to me. “Why don’t you ask Julie? It’s her decision.”

Julie still has her hand in mine. I look up at her. This is the least romantic place in the world, but also the most amazing place right now.

“Julie, would you like to be my girlfriend?”

“Of course.”

This would be the part where Julie and I kiss, but given that her brother, her grandmother, and my grandmother are also in the room with us, it feels completely icky to do that. So we awkwardly watch each other with the most ridiculous smiles on our faces.

Ahma clears her throat. “Everyone out. I’m very tired. I’d like to get some sleep.” She winks at Julie, who giggles.

“Come, Halmeoni, I want to make sure you get back to your room safely.” Tyler ushers my grandmother back to her room. He holds her hand steady. Julie mouths a thank-you to him. He waves her off.

“We’ll let you rest, Ahma,” says Julie.

Julie and I walk hand in hand down the hallway until we find one corner of the hospital that is quiet and empty. A vending machine is our only companion.

She tugs my hand against her chest. I rain kisses on her cheeks until I reach her lips. She runs her fingers through my hair and then her hands stop along my back.

“Is this really happening?” whispers Julie as she places her lips on my earlobe.

I shiver slightly. “Yes. It’s not a dream. I can check.”

I pinch my arm, then hers.

“Ouch,” says Julie. I kiss where I pinched, then along the rest of her arm.

“Definitely real,” I say.

She pulls my face close to hers and we kiss like we are running out of time.