Destined

Chapter 1-2

James parked his car and got out. It was a windy day in San Francisco, and the weather was just perfect. The sun made the temperature warm enough, but he didn’t feel its stinging heat at all. It was an awesome day all around. He could have put his car inside the garage, but he had a few more errands to run. He didn’t want to open and shut the sliding garage door multiple times throughout the day, so he simply stopped his car in front of his building. He owned the entire building anyway, so nobody would be inconvenienced.

The building only consisted of two levels, but it was wide and spacious. When he had discovered it a few months prior to his college graduation at twenty-two, it was rundown and hideous. However, he had fallen in love with it. He had always known he wasn’t interested in working for someone else, but he had no idea what he would do after obtaining his business degree. However, once he had gotten a tour of the building, he made up his mind to purchase it. He would live and work in the building. He had pleaded with his parents for a huge loan that would allow him to make a down-payment on the building.

His struggle hadn’t ended then and there. He had to clean and work on the building to make it liveable. He had to scrimp and save as he embarked on a new journey, which was a small catering business. He didn’t have the best culinary skills in the world. After all, he hadn’t worked in the kitchen in his parents’ restaurant often enough, but he would pick things up left and right, and he had succeeded in acquiring a few regular clients in his first year of starting the business. Word-of-mouth from his clients to their relatives, friends, and acquaintances helped expand his business even further.

It had taken him fourteen years to get to where he was now. He didn’t like to be dramatic, but his first few years were filled with days and nights of endless tears and sweat as he attempted to get the business rolling and surviving while working on the building whenever he could. When he finally had some savings to spare, he had hired a contractor to fix what he couldn’t do on his own. Nowadays, the building looked vastly different from what it was all those years ago. The ugly gray paint had been replaced with an assortment of other colors. His hand-me-down furniture had been donated. Instead, he had bought new pieces in the styles he preferred. Or he had called on some professionals to work on installing them into the building itself.

He rubbed the door handle in nostalgia as he took that brief trip down memory lane and fished out the key from the pocket in his pants. He unlocked the door and was about to enter when he heard the sound of another car stopping right in front of his building. He turned around immediately. Then he beamed at the sight of his parents alighting from the vehicle and walking toward him. He opened his arms widely and chuckled as his mother embraced him tight and hard enough to make him wince.

“Hey, Mom,” he greeted before glancing at his father. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, James. Lydia, for heaven’s sake. James is thirty-six years old. Can you not rub his hair down as if he’s still three?”

Lydia glared at her husband. “Can you not be a grouch for even one second? James is my son, and he will always be my baby no matter how old he gets.”

Thomas scoffed. “We have five grandchildren. You can spoil and pamper them if you need to, but leave James alone. He’s an adult now.”

James bit his lower lip in amusement as his parents proceeded to argue with each other. He was used to their behaviors, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to utter a single word in between, so he shut his mouth and let them continue with their silly squabbling as he watched and tried not to burst out laughing. His dad had a point, though. His younger brothers, Jeremiah and Jonah, were married and had two and three kids, respectively, but his mother would always treat him as if he was still a toddler. He used to be embarrassed by her coddling, but as he grew older, he appreciated her more and more. Or he was probably lonely. Being single sucked sometimes. He didn’t have someone to share his life with, and it was so much worse when he was going through a horrible day.

“Whatever.”

James was well-versed with that tone. It was his mother’s way of ending anything she refused to agree with. He was proven right when his mother tugged on his arm and dragged him into the building. He chuckled at his father and threw the key at him before pointing at the door. His father grinned and nodded in return. After that, he patted his mother on the arm and inquired how her day had been so far. He was also wondering why they were at his place instead of keeping busy at the restaurant.

“Your mother misses you.”

Lydia scowled. “I can speak for myself. Thank you very much.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

“I will.” Lydia then smiled at James. “I miss my son. Can’t a mother visit her son whenever she wants to?”

“Of course, you can.”

Lydia shot a triumphant grin at her husband. “Did you hear that, Thomas? My son loves me and welcomes me anytime.”

“He’s my son, too, and he didn’t say those words at all.”

“Not explicitly, but the sentiment was definitely implied.”

Thomas harrumphed. “In your head maybe.”

“What? How dare you! Just so you know…”

James rolled his eyes and removed his mother’s hand from his arm before tuning out both of his parents and heading toward one of the cabinets to grab three glasses. The majority of the first floor of the building had been converted into an enormous kitchen and working space where he could prepare the food for his clients. The remainder of the first floor housed a storage room and a large garage for his two cars, one of which was a van to deliver the food. The other was the one he used on a daily basis. Naturally, the garage and the storage room were separated from the kitchen by a concrete wall.

He grabbed the bottle of orange juice, which he had squeezed out himself earlier that morning, from the refrigerator and led his parents toward the island counter. He waited for them to sit before passing one glass each to his parents and sipping on the third one himself. There was a momentary, blissful silence. He beamed at his parents as he tapped his fingers on his glass. His parents might argue often enough, but he was aware how devoted and loving they were toward each other. Their relationship was the kind he yearned for. He might have found some success in his professional endeavor, but his personal life was anything but. It was more of a train wreck.

His first serious relationship had fizzled out after less than a year. He was only twenty-four back then. The next one had ended after he caught his ex-boyfriend cheating on him. He had thought they would be together for the rest of their lives. After all, that relationship had lasted for almost four years. His third one wasn’t as terrible as the second one, but that ex-boyfriend was too whiny, clingy, and needy. He shuddered as he remembered the final days of it. There had been plenty of tears and snots. That had put him off dating, and he had been single for the last two years.

“How’s the business going, James?”

James smiled at his father. “Great. I’m fully booked all the way until August.”

“That’s wonderful. Really glad to hear that. I’m sure your father will agree with me.”

“It’s all thanks to you both,” James said. “Without that loan from you, I wouldn’t have been able to start this catering business at all.”

Thomas shook his head. “We’re your parents. We will always support you.”

“Thanks, Mom, Dad.”

“Enough about that!” Lydia exclaimed while waving her hand. “Are you seeing someone new?”

“Mom, I—”

“You’ve been single for way too long,” Lydia interrupted. “Your father and I are worried about you.”

James snorted. “I have Jeremiah and Jonah, and their wives and kids, too. I’ll be fine.”

Thomas sighed. “It’s different, James. Your brothers and their families will always be your families, too, but there may come a time in your life when you need to talk to somebody, only to discover you can only confide in a spouse.”

James nodded. “I guess. It’s not as if I’m not searching for the right person, but I’ve just been unlucky so far.”

“Is it possible you’re being too choosy?”

James chuckled. “No, Mom.”

“Is there anyone you like?”

James was rather taken aback to hear his father’s question, especially when an image of a blue-eyed redhead immediately popped inside his mind. He sipped on his orange juice before putting the glass back down onto the counter.

“Is there?” Lydia prodded. “James?”

“Yeah. Kind of.”

“Kind of?” Thomas repeated. “What does that even mean?”

James blushed. “I like this guy. His name is Joshua Wallace. He’s a redhead with the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

James pondered carefully about how to reply to his mother’s question. “He doesn’t know how I feel. I’m also not sure if he’s gay or if he’s into me.”

“Ask him then.”

James almost laughed out loud. “Dad, it doesn’t work like that. I can’t go up to Josh and inquire about his sexuality. That will be rude and invasive.”

Lydia scoffed. “You young people are making everything so complicated. You should come up with a plan.”

“A plan?”

Lydia nodded. “I heard about those gay dating apps on your smartphones. Can’t you just download one of them and leave it open on your phone while pretending you’re unaware of it? If Josh comments on it, then you’ll know. Right?”

James stared at his mother in awe. “That’s brilliant. You’re so smart, Mom.”

“I know.”

Thomas huffed. “Please don’t praise her again for the rest of this year. Her ego is massive enough as it is.”

Lydia glared at Thomas. “You’re just jealous you can’t come up with such a genius plan.”

“Whatever. Anyway, James, your mother and I are here because we want to bring you out for afternoon tea. We haven’t done that in a while.”

“Sure, Dad. Sounds great to me.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

The three of them finished the orange juice and placed the glasses in the sink before making their way toward the door. Along the way, James was reminded of his father’s birthday.

“Dad, isn’t your birthday coming up next week?”

Thomas smiled at James. “Yes. Don’t plan anything extravagant.”

“But you’ll be turning seventy years old.”

“It doesn’t matter. Keep it simple.”

“Nope. I’ll talk to Jeremiah and Jonah later. We will arrange everything.”

“But—”

“Hush, old man,” Lydia interrupted. “Let your sons handle everything. They love you enough to plan and celebrate your birthday. Just be grateful.”

Thomas frowned. “I am, but there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.”

“Seventy is an important milestone, Dad,” James insisted while opening the door for his parents. “Don’t worry about a thing. You simply have to come to the party and enjoy yourself.”

Thomas grinned. “Fine. I’ll be waiting for it then.”

“Sure thing.”

After that, James locked the door and led his parents to his car. He knew where his parents liked to have their afternoon tea. He would drive them there and spend an hour or two with them before bringing them back to his place. Then his parents would go back to their own house. They had done this often enough in the past. It was, more or less, a routine for them.

Along the way, he participated in the conversations with his parents, but a part of him was also considering what he had to do to get the ball rolling with Joshua. He liked the man. He had been crushing on Joshua since the first time they bumped into each other. However, he didn’t quite know how to ask Joshua out without coming across as weird and creepy. He might have to use his mother’s tactic, after all.