Page 42 of The Waiting Game

Buds were beginning to pop out on trees and a few bulbs were poking their heads out of the ground.

“Good call on eating outside,” Felix said and Ji-min beamed.

The wooden dining table had a traditional Korean grill recessed into the center and Felix grabbed chopsticks, lifting a thin slice of marinated beef from a platter. He set it over the grates, then put some of the raw vegetables on to grill as well.

While Felix waited for it all to cook, he loaded his plate with rice and lettuce for wraps, then took healthy servings of the side dishes.

There were all of his favorites. Fermented cabbage and chili flakes made into kimchi, seaweed salad, spicy cucumber salad, Korean potato salad, and stir-fried zucchini.

There was even Japchae, a savory-sweet dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables, which made his mouth water.

“You did too much,” Felix protested but Grandma Ji-min shook her head.

“I can never do too much for my boys.”

“I think we’re going to have to invite the rest of the team over for dinner to finish this all,” Jonah teased.

She scoffed. “Ha! I know how much you two eat, eh. There won’t even be leftovers.”

They laughed. It was true.

But Felix had no complaints as he finished cooking his bulgogi beef and vegetables and assembled a lettuce wrap, drizzling it with spicy-sweet chili sauce.

He sighed with contentment as he chewed it, his earlier melancholy fading away.

Jonah shot him a smile and for a moment, everything was right in Felix’s world.

After he and Jonah had made a considerable dent in the food and Ji-min had eaten as much as she wanted, Felix kicked back, letting out a contented sigh. His belly was full, the weather was warming, and he was with his favorite people.

He let Jonah and Grandma Ji-min’s chatter about hockey wash over him as he stared into the backyard.

The sun was setting now, low in the horizon, and everything was washed in pink and gold, lending it a fairytale vibe.

Grandma Ji-min and Grandpa Cho had bought two lots and built their dream home on the property. The entire yard had been fenced and carefully landscaped.

Felix’s gaze traced the familiar shapes of the koi pond with the arched bridge leading to the small pavilion. Felix couldn’t count the number of times he’d raced across that bridge with Jonah on his heels. They’d flopped down there to catch their breath, laughing or tussling, before taking off again.

They’d been a menace, disrupting the tranquility of the gardens, but Grandma Ji-min had never scolded them for it. If they’d damaged something, they’d been expected to help fix it, but she’d understood that they were small boys with too much energy to burn.

Sometimes, she’d sent them to the neighborhood ice skating rink or—in the warmer months—handed them their inline skates and shooed them away to tear around the neighborhood streets.

Felix glanced over at her and Jonah—deep in conversation now—grateful for all they’d done for him over the years.

From the minute that scared little dark-haired boy had latched on to Felix in minor hockey, all Felix had wanted to do was look out for him.

But Felix thought, when it came down to it, Jonah and Grandma Ji-min had always done so much more for him than he’d ever be able to repay.

As if sensing his gaze, Jonah glanced over, shooting Felix an absent smile before looking back at his grandmother.

“Thank God Casey finally moved Yates to first line center,” Grandma Ji-min said, her voice rising. “It’s about time.”

“Dom’s just going through a rough patch,” Felix said, reaching for his water. “He’ll turn it around. He always does.”

Her lips thinned. “He’s thirty-nine years old. He’s slow. He’s getting too old for hockey. Yates is much faster. Better at splitting the D.”

She wasn’t wrong but Felix felt bad for Dominic. It couldn’t be easy watching your career wind down that way.

“If Casey had done it sooner, you wouldn’t have had to fight so hard for that wild card spot,” Grandma Ji-min argued.

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