“Joshy! I finished it!”
“Hey! Great job, kiddo!” He stands from his seat, walking over to his little brother, and takes the Lego set from him with caution. “It looks good!”
The boy smiles proudly with a gap in his front teeth and crooked bangs lining his forehead. He looks at the table and gasps. “Where’s my cake?”
“Mom’s got it in the fridge,” Josh explains, looking over the table to find it sans cake. “We gotta eat first.” Josh sets down the Lego set on a nearby table, making sure that it sits sturdily before walking his brother to the table. “Andrew, this is my friend Everett.”
I wave a hand, and Andrew gives another wide grin before taking the seat next to mine.
“Okay,” I hear Josh’s mom call as she appears with a large silver pot held by potholders. “Sorry for the wait. I was just finishing up themiyeok guk.”
Teeny follows, carrying a stack of bowls. She’s laughing at something her dad said, looking at him with her hands full and for some reason, it makes me smile too. When she smiles, everything about her lights up. Her twinkling eyes, her glowing skin, her rosy cheeks. Even her golden-yellow dress, covered in teeny tiny flowers hanging off her shoulder with capped sleeves and a hem that reaches just above her knee, instantly brightens up the room as she enters. Her hair is half up, two braided pigtails trailing the side of her crown, and she tosses it back at the same time her smile transitions into a full laugh, making a warm, fuzzy feeling spread through my chest.
Teeny sets the bowls next to the pot her mom brought out and settles into a seat right across from me. She gives me a smile, flashing me those endearingly charming teeth, and waves her hand in my direction.
I’m about to wave back when our silent exchange is interrupted. “Everett, have you ever had Korean food?”
I look at Teeny’s mom, a long ladle scooping some kind of dark, slimy stew from a pot to a bowl.
“No I haven’t,” I answer. “But I’m not picky.”
“Good.” She extends the bowl she just served to Andrew and moves onto another empty bowl like an assembly line. “We don’t eat Korean food every day, butmiyeok gukis reserved for birthdays. It’s seaweed soup, and it’s a common Korean tradition to eat on birthdays. And Andrew’s favorite,” she adds. “It was all he ate as a baby.”
I catch Teeny eyeing me curiously, observing me in a studious way as I take it all in. The genuine laughter and prattle that fills the table while the food is being passed around is infectious, just like Teeny’s smile, and I find myself mirroring the teasing uptilt of her lips every time I look at her.
“Josh, did you send in your application to UCI yet?” Josh’s dad asks, his voice cutting across the table.
“Yes,” he answers politely. “I sent in all my applications last month.”
“Good,” his dad responds. “As soon as you hear from UCI, you let us know.”
“You applied to San Diego State too, right?” his mom chimes in, and Josh nods. “It would be nice if you don’t have to go to school too far from home.”
Another respectful nod has Josh’s head bobbing up and down, not giving any dispute about his future, much unlike me and my dad.
“But make sure you keep UCI in your top three options.” Josh’s dad pauses before gesturing a fork in my direction and asking, “What about you, Everett? Do you have plans for college after graduation?”
I feel my ears grow warm with the attention suddenly on me. “My dad wants me to go to UC Davis. It’s fairly close to our home in Sacramento, and he’s hoping I’ll play in college.”
“You play?”
I nod at the same time Josh jumps in. “He just made the team,” he tells his parents excitedly.
“Congratulations!” Josh’s mom says enthusiastically.
“Thank you.”
“Mommy! Can I have a Death Star piñata on Saturday?” Andrew exclaims with barbeque sauce on the side of his mouth, interrupting our conversation.
Josh’s dad shakes his head. “I don’t know where we’re going to find a Death Star piñata in three days.” Andrew sulks and he adds, “But you have the very nice Luke Skywalker costume Mommy got you.”
“Everett,” Josh’s mom says, calling my attention. “If you and your mom are free this weekend, we’re having Andrew’s birthday party. Nothing fancy. Just some hotdogs and hamburgers. And a jump house if either one of you is into that.”
I smile. “I’ll let her know. Thank you.”
After an inharmoniously sung rendition of the happy birthday song with Andrew’s eyes shining brightly against his candles and cutting the chocolate cake, I’m hovering over the kitchen sink with Teeny standing at my side. I’m helping her load the dishwasher as she hands me plates from the sink after she was assigned the task, and I volunteered to help. Josh’s parents are putting things away in the fridge and making multiple trips from the dining room to the kitchen to store everything, and Josh has been assigned with trash duty.
“Congratulations.” Teeny’s gaze is on the sink where she’s meticulously scraping at a dried piece of food on a fry pan. Our hips brush, magnifying how closely we’re standing next to each other. “On making the team.”
