Page 65 of The Waiting Game

“Well, they were out of Hobbies for Dummies books,” Jonah fired back.

“Why this?” Felix gave him a quizzical look, head tilted.

“Because I know you get bored and lonely and want something to do. Other than reading and eating Korean food, you don’t have many hobbies right now so I thought this might be good.”

“Oh, wow.”

Jonah winced. It had seemed like a good idea but maybe he’d touched a raw nerve. “I can cancel the subscription if you want—”

“No. No. I like it. I just … I hadn’t thought about that. You’re right though. I could use something to keep me occupied. That’s a good idea.”

“This one is a puzzle but there are a ton of different ones you’ll be getting. Some are cooking kits, some are art-based—I know you like doing those architectural drawings—and—”

Felix made a disparaging noise. “Those aren’t really art. They’re just stupid little sketches.”

Jonah shook his head. Only Felix would call the neat, detailed drawings he did with architectural precision, ‘stupid little sketches’.

“Well there’s all kinds of art projects,” he explained. “And I think there are some kits for building simple electronic stuff. Like FM tuners or whatever.”

“That sounds fun,” Felix said. “And thank you. That was really thoughtful. You’re right. It is harder now that I’m single—”

“Single? That’s not what JockGossip says!” Grandma Ji-min cackled. “I saw the latest article. You two had a moment in the waiting room.”

“Grandma, why do you read that trash?” Jonah said with a groan. But he felt momentarily guilty. He’d gotten so wrapped up in Felix he had forgotten his grandmother was right there.

Still, it was good to see her looking animated.

The past twenty-four hours had been worrisome.

“I read it for the same reason I watch this TV show.” She gestured to the TV that was still playing softly in the background. “I like watching people act stupid. It makes me laugh.”

Felix let out a strangled noise.

“Yes, but it’s weird when we’re the stupid people,” Jonah said and that only made Felix and Grandma Ji-min laugh harder.

“You know what I mean!” Jonah protested.

“I know. But you’re still funny, eh.” Grandma Ji-min gave him a cheeky grin.

“Ha-ha.” But he grew serious. “Look, Grandma, can we talk about what’s going to happen with you while I’m dealing with the craziness of the postseason? The SAPs are going to be bringing by some meals in the next few days and they’ve offered to help drive you to appointments.”

“I can still drive!” she protested.

“Uhh, not according to your discharge paperwork you can’t,” Jonah said firmly. “There’s too high of a risk of you fainting.”

She huffed. “Why are you so worried about all this? I’ll be fine.”

“But you’re not fine, Grandma,” Jonah said as gently as he could manage. “You have a health condition you need to deal with. You’re not young anymore and you need to take this seriously.”

Grandma Ji-min scowled. “I don’t like feeling old. Having a heart problem makes me feel old.”

“I get that,” Jonah said. “But it’s not just because you’re older. I couldn’t ignore the knee issue I had a few years ago either. And look at it this way, I dealt with it and I’m playing better than ever. If I ignored it, my play probably would have declined.”

“It was the same thing with my wrists,” Felix added. “I did ignore it for too long and that was the wrong choice. Not to mention my drinking problem. And all of the fucking baggage from my relationship with my parents and the breakup with Whitney.”

Grandma Ji-min and Jonah both winced and before Jonah could reply, Felix kept talking. “So let’s face this head-on. We need to figure out a plan for how to handle everything coming up.”

“You’re going to have a lot of doctor’s appointments,” Jonah urged her. “And some kind of procedure or surgery to treat the arrhythmia. I might not be home for that. Felix and I will feel better if you have someone around here regularly until we’re sure you won’t have a fainting spell again. You need to accept some help.”

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