Page 36 of Stay With Me

He pulls me into his arms, kissing me softly. “It will be great. You’re already family.”

We head inside, delicious smells greeting us as we come in the door, followed by his mom rushing to me.

“Elise! It’s been too long.” She switches between English and Korean as she ushers me into the house and to the dining room. Mr. Choi, Ji Hoon, and Ari are already seated at the table, but there’s still one empty spot. “We’re just waiting for Liam and then we can eat. Eat lots, I haven’t been able to cook for you in a long time.”

She eyes Young Jae who laughs and holds up his hands. “She’s busy, Eomma.”

“He’s right. I finally hired someone so I can reduce my hours. It’s going so well, I might consider hiring someone else in a year to take over the morning shifts and reduce my hours to baking and management.” I fill them in on what we’ve been doing at the coffee shop and my goal to semi-retire in five years.

Mrs. Choi listens, her expression proud. She’s watched me grow up and was always like the mom I didn’t have. I’m glad to still have that.

“That’s good. More time for you and Young Jae.” She approves.

My heart thrumming a little faster, I casually ask, “Have you and Mr. Choi thought about what you want to do when it’s time to retire? I saw a really neat tour company catering specifically to retired couples. They have a lot of options.”

Mr. Choi lights up, but doesn’t say anything as he glances at his wife. She looks over at Ari, who is busy on her phone, but I know she is attuned to the conversation.

“We have talked about it but haven’t decided when the time is right. We don’t want to abandon Ari with the inn, leaving her on her own.” Mrs. Choi watches as Ari stands up, typing on her phone.

Resting my hand on Young Jae’s leg, I tap my fingers as I try to think of the best way to encourage her without overstepping.

“I get that. My friend Adeline raves about the service she got when she stayed at the inn, she had nothing but good things to say about Ari and her experience.” Trying another approach, I feel like I’m failing.

Young Jae rests his hand on mine, linking our fingers. “I think Ari has it under control. She has great ideas. Besides, you and Appa retiring doesn’t mean she can’t ask for help if she ever needs it. We’ve all pitched in before.”

“I think we should retire. I’m tired and I want to spend time with my wife, not working,” Mr. Choi pipes up, crossing his arms as he meets Mrs. Choi’s gaze.

She frowns a moment, watching as Ari comes back in the room. “Perhaps you’re right. We can discuss this later, yeobo.”

The affectionate word softens the sharpness of her tone. Her wanting to stay on comes from a place of love, but also fear. They’ve been working so much of their lives, I can see how hard it is to let go.

Ari’s lips twitch as she tries to hold back her joy. And Mr. Choi nods, satisfied.

Before we can say anything else, the doorbell rings.

“That’ll be Liam.” Ji Hoon gets up and goes to let his friend in. “Impeccable timing, dude.”

“Sarcasm?” An Irish accented voice carries down the hall.

Ari freezes, paling a little as she turns her gaze to Ji Hoon and the tall, redheaded man following him into the room.

“This is Liam.” Ji Hoon introduces us all in turn.

No one else catches it, but I see him double take when Ji Hoon introduces Ari, his eyes going back to her as he takes a seat.

That’s interesting. Ari stares down at the table as we start eating, picking at her food until everyone is done.

“I don’t feel well, please excuse me.” She doesn’t wait for an acknowledgment before bolting out of the room.

Everyone gapes after her.

“I ran into her earlier today and she said she’s had a headache all day. I’m guessing it never went away.” I cover for her. Liam glances at her empty chair, his lips pressed into a firm line.

Ji Hoon shrugs it off, talking with Liam and his parents.

My stomach turns a bit, the nausea I’ve been fighting all day returning with a vengeance.

“You okay?” Young Jae notices my discomfort.

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