Page 148 of The Waiting Game

It was how anchored he felt. It made him feel closer to Grandma Ji-min, closer to his team. Closer to being the man he wanted to be.

They ate a pleasant lunch on the patio and when it was over, Felix did the dishes. Through the open patio door, he listened to Jonah talk with his grandmother, smiling at their banter.

After the dishes were done, they all spent a while soaking up the warm spring sunshine. Felix read a book Grandma Ji-min had bought him for his birthday, Jonah napped, and Grandma Ji-min returned to the book she’d been reading.

It was an easy, pleasant way to spend the time.

When Jonah was awake and Felix grew restless, he stood and asked Jonah if he wanted to help him weed the garden.

Jonah lifted his eyebrows. “Since when do you garden?”

“Since Grandma Ji-min said she needed it. You’ll have to show me which ones are the weeds though.”

“Ahh.” Jonah got to his feet. “Yeah, we can do that. Grandma, where do you want us to work?”

“What I want is for someone to let me work in my own garden,” she said with a grumble. “Nancy yells at me every time I try.”

“Good,” Felix said. “Remind me to buy Nancy something nice, Jo.”

Jonah laughed. “I’ll definitely go in on that.”

But Grandma Ji-min eventually pointed them to the kitchen garden bed and for a while, Felix sat on the edge of the raised wooden bed and pulled the small green plants that Jonah assured him were weeds. They looked pretty much the same as the baby lettuce plants as far as Felix was concerned but if Grandma Ji-min and Jonah were happy, that was enough for him.

He had to admit, the smell of the dirt and fresh green leaves was nice and it felt good to accomplish something concrete. He also liked the soft looks Jonah kept sending him.

“We’ll make a gardener of him yet,” Grandma Ji-min said with a satisfied smile when they were done.

“You’re the only two who could manage it, that’s for sure,” Felix said, stretching, his back cracking in a way that made him wonder if he’d permanently broken something.

“We should get cleaned up soon,” Jonah said with a sigh as he dusted off his palms. “We have that interview in an hour.”

“Ahh, crap,” Felix said. “I almost forgot about it.”

Funny. Felix was usually the one on top of his schedule while Jonah was the one who needed reminding.

“Grandma, will you be okay if we’re gone for a couple of hours?” Jonah asked, gathering up the gardening tools.

Grandma Ji-min shot him a disgusted look. “Of course I will. I’m going to get pedicures with Elena, Birdie, Natasha, and Charlie soon.”

Felix grinned. “I’m glad you’re making such good friends with the team SAPs.”

“I don’t know,” Jonah said drily. “I’m starting to worry that crew is going to get my grandmother arrested.”

She chortled. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Wait, what?” Jonah said, looking alarmed. “When were you arrested?”

“Oh … that was decades ago. Cho and I were at a protest that got a little out of hand.”

“I don’t even want to know,” Jonah muttered but Felix gave her a small smile. He loved how feisty she was.

“Well, try not to get arrested while you get pedicures,” he cautioned. “Then Jonah will have a heart attack and you’ll both end up in the hospital.”

“Oh, we’ll be good. You don’t have to worry about me getting in trouble with the SAPs. They’ve been wonderful to me,” she said with a small smile. “The fussing from you two drives me nuts but they all just treat me like a friend.”

“Yeah, but we’re family,” Felix countered with a smile. “We’re allowed to fuss.”

She glared, though there was no heat behind it. “Maybe I don’t want you as a son-in-law.”

---