Things may be looking up for Lamar Odom. On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the troubled athlete, 33, was spotted enjoying a long, leisurely lunch with friends in Glendale, Calif.
Dressed casually in a white shirt and sweats — and with his wedding ring firmly in place on his left hand — the NBA free agent spent five hours at Armenian eatery Gavar Cuisine. He was joined by a couple of close pals.
At one point during the meal, the star (married to Khloe Kardashian) was spotted cuddling a baby belonging to one of his companions. He also chatted briefly with the restaurant owner, whom he thanked before he left.
"He is trying to show Khloe that he's changing and he wants to make it work," a source tells Us Weekly of Odom, who made headlines this summer for his drug use and marriage troubles. "He is working out and looks really good and is happy again. It's so nice to see him getting better."
Indeed, the athlete had a lot of people really worried for a while. During a recent episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians — filmed prior to Odom's estrangement from his wife, 29 — Khloe expressed her concerns about her husband's well-being.
"There are a lot of emotional issues I think that Lamar has," she told sister Kylie. "I do want to help or cater to Lamar, but also, there is only so much anyone can take. Lamar is a very depressed person, which is sad but understandable with everything he has been through in his life."