“Do you guys know how to play Backgammon?” Shaim asked Skylar and me. Skylar took a sip from her drink and looked at me.
“Maybe we can teach her before Shawn gets here,” I answered Sahim, looking over at Skylar to confirm. “Right, Sky?”
“Girl, I don’t even know if I’m able to teach Shawn this ancient board game,” Skylar said before getting up from her spot. “We’re playing UNO; sorry Sahim.”
“It’s all good,” Sahim said as he laughed. I was glad Sahim didn’t take Skylar’s comment personally and that he had a basic understanding of the type of personality she had. “Just know that I get busy in a game of UNO.”
“You must not know us Ashmore women well; we are competitive as fuck,” Skylar mentioned as she walked back to the table with the deck of UNO cards. “We also don’t play the made-up rules everyone swears by; we play by the book.” Skylar slammed the deck on the table in front of us; I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Just so you know, Sky was the UNO champion at her middle school,” I mentioned to Sahim. “She talks big game when it comes to UNO.”
“That’s right,” Skylar added. “So don’t let Grace distract you when I’m whipping both of y’all in this game.”
“Grace isn’t a distraction for me,” Sahim responded back. “She’s an inspiration.” I looked at him, slightly getting red in the face. He randomly placed his hand on my head before he spoke again. “If I just hold her head like this like a crystal ball, I’m for sure winning this game.” I swatted his hand away from my head, laughing along with him and Skylar.
“Man, that was good,” Skylar said as she tried to control her laughter. “Grace, come in the kitchen and help me get some of these snacks out here.”
“I’ll shuffle the cards unless Skylar has a shuffling superstition or something,” Sahim teased. I laughed as Skylar playfully rolled her eyes.
“Shuffle the cards, Joker, since you think you got jokes,” Skylar teased back. In the weeks that Skylar has been here, she has gotten to know Sahim better. He’s definitely opened up some more around her, which is a relief considering Skylar can be… intimidating at first. It’s kind of like getting the approval of your sister; instead, it’s Skylar.
We walked into the kitchen area of the place Skylar and Shawn were staying in. It was a cute Air BnB; much nicer than the hotel the production had us living in for the next year.
“So, where’s Shawn?” I asked, leaning on the counter as Skylar put platters of different snacks together. “Is he joining us tonight?”
“He should be,” Skylar said, not really adding more to her answer. “He said he was going to be back once he finalized everything for this weekend’s flight to Seoul.”
“You’re excited?” I asked, trying to get all negative thoughts out of my mind by focusing on Sky. I always had this weird feeling that Sahwn only tolerated me because I was Skylar’s cousin, but I felt like he avoided me as much as possible throughout their whole trip here. I wish I was able to be as comfortable around Shawn as Sky is with Sahim.
“A little bit,” Skylar answered shyly. “I’m mostly nervous since it’s just going to be me around his family in his hometown.” She looked up at me. “You wanna come and be my wingwoman?”
“Sky, I’m here for work; not pleasure,” I answered, helping Skyalr sort the snacks. “You know if my schedule wasn’t so packed, I would’ve come and spent a week with you for support.”
“I know,” Skylar agreed. “I hope his family likes me. God, what the fuck are they going to think of him: a native, Korean man, bringing home an American girl?” I understood where Skylar was coming from. I slightly felt that same pressure when Max and I were dating, let alone expecting Willow. But I know that this was different. It was different. It felt different when I met Jamie’s sisters back in New York.
“If their son is happy, then they should be happy for him,” I reassured Skylar. I knew that Shawn was the perfect man for Skylar. Since they started living together back in America, Skylar has seemed like she was maturing. She made more sense in the advice she gave, and the actions that she made, and she genuinely seemed so happy being with him. I know she’s going to end up marrying him if he ever proposes to her.
“But I’m the reason that their son doesn’t live here anymore. They are going to think I took their son away from them or something,” Skylar mentioned.
“Regardless, mothers and sisters are going to think that, especially if they are very family-orientated and traditional. But, every family is different. You don’t know what they will think of you until you finally meet them in person. And you even being here to do so shows a lot about your character and the amount of love you have for Shawn.” I could see Skylar holding back anxious tears by taking a deep breath in. She pushes it out before she looks at me again. I smiled at her; I truly wanted the best for Skylar. She fucking deserved it.
“Before this gets all mushy and shit, let’s get back out there so I can whoop some UNO ass,” Skylar said, taking the snack platters and walking towards the living room area. That’s my girl.
We entered the living room where Sahim was sitting. He had shuffled the cards and distributed them into three piles.
“About time you two got out here,” Sahim teased. I smiled at Sahim as I went to sit down at the table. Skylar placed the snacks on the table and immediately picked up her deck of cards.
“I’m about to whip y’all A–” Skylar said as a knock on the front door was heard.
“Who else is coming tonight?” I asked. Skylar got up from her seat and walked toward the front door.
“That’s probably Shawn, he’s always forgetting to take the damn key whenever he goes out,” Skylar said as she opened the door. “Shawn?”
“Hey babe,” I hear Shawn’s voice said. “If you don’t mind, I–“
“Shawn!” Skylar said out loud, not sounding excited or happy to see him. I turned around from my seat to face the front door. No. This can’t be happening.
“What? I told you I was going to bring–” Shawn walked in and noticed me at the table. His face turned completely white. Walking behind him was Jamie, who also turned completely pale when he locked eyes with mine. Nobody said anything, and by this point, Sahim also turned around to see what was going on. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The redness on my face now felt like molten lava.
“Well,” Skylar said after closing the door behind Shawn and Jamie. “This is gonna be something we’ll laugh about,” Skylar laughed, trying to lighten the mood. When no one laughed along with her, she immediately stopped. “In a couple of years,” she added.
Letters From Liz. 