Evenings at the Argentine Club Page 17

  “Not what I did.” That didn’t say much, and yet it said a lot.

  Eric took a new trash bag from the box on the ground, and refilled it with the contents he’d spilled.

  “For years I thought I should have forced you to stay home and go to that damn law school.” Antonio spoke quietly, contemplatively. “I should have had your tuition. I shouldn’t have lost the little I did have.”

  “Yeah.” Eric sat at the edge of the planter, his shoulders slumped. “But I didn’t want to go to law school.” He was tired of this old barrier between them.

  “It was our plan,” Antonio reminded him.

  “It was your plan. I was so thankful that you couldn’t afford to send me to school anymore. It set me free.”

  Antonio came to sit beside him. “You were spoiled and ungrateful, and you didn’t appreciate what we were trying to do for you.” He put an arm around Eric’s shoulders and looked at him. “You think running out on your own made you a man?”

  “Maybe I did.” He had been a spoiled, hotheaded fool who thought he knew best. Still, he had to mature his own way. And he had.

  “It didn’t make you a man. It made you an idiot,” Antonio said matter-of-factly. “It made you a menial worker just like me. You stupid boy.” He gave Eric a hard slap on his shoulder.

  “You think I would have been a better person if I’d become a lawyer, Papi?”

  “No, no. Of course not. But you would have had an easier life, hijo.”

  Yeah right. He couldn’t think of a more miserable existence than being cooped up in an office all day or having to wear a stuffy suit all the time.

  “And it would have made me feel good about myself,” Antonio continued. “So I could finally say, I did something good in my life.” His voice was rough. “I helped my son become a professional. A man others look up to.” He shrugged. “Stupid.”

  “Hell, that’s not stupid, Dad. I get it.”

  “When you have a child, you want so much for him. You want everything to be perfect.”

  “Perfect.” Eric chuckled. “You mean, your version of perfect.”

  “Probably.”

  Why was this so hard? Why had he always had to fight to carve his own path? Because he was the son of an immigrant, he decided. His father had something to prove. And the expectations for Eric had simply been higher. “I’m doing what I love, and I’m happy. It’s not always easy and I sometimes think I should have listened to you, but… that life you wanted for me wasn’t right. It wouldn’t have fit.”

  Antonio nodded and slapped Eric’s back one more time before standing. “I know.” He stared at the half-cleared planter. “So should we take those trees back?”

  Eric laughed. “That would be great.”

  “Let’s do that first.”

  “No, let’s finish with these plants before it gets any hotter.”

  Antonio opened his mouth like he was going to argue. “Bueno,” he said, instead.

  They finished clearing the planters. Eric shared stories of some of the places he’d been to, and Antonio shared his woes of the various jobs he’d held over the past seven years. And Eric decided his father could teach him something after all. He learned that working with his dad wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was good. They had a lot in common. And he loved the man.

  “So have you seen Eric naked yet?” Carmen asked.

  Victoria laughed into the phone. “Of course not,” she answered Carmen.

  “But you want to, right?”

  “Did you call just to harass me?”

  “No.” Her voice took a more serious tone. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m coming home after this quarter and not finishing the bio degree.”

  Victoria knew this wasn’t good. “Because?”

  “I can’t do anything with it unless I continue on to a master’s and a PhD. The field is saturated, and I can’t see myself continuing on for another four or five years.”

  “But you love science and you’re good at it. And you were going to continue on to med school. I figured we’d have a doctor or vet in the family soon.”

  “I have another idea. I need to talk to Dad about it when I come home for Christmas.”

  “Carmen, Dad’s going have a fit. You know that. Just finish what you’re doing. You don’t have to continue with a master’s, but finish out this last year. It’s just until next June.”

  “You dropped out before you finished.”

  “This is going to sound obvious, but you’re not me.” They both knew that their parents had different expectations for each of them. “Besides, I’m going back to school now.” She told her about the Institute of Design.

  “That’s fantastic.”

  “But I should have finished out the business degree. It would have helped me out. Don’t quit before you get your BS. Promise me.”

  “Vic, I don’t know.”

  “Carmen, you’ve come this far. Don’t do something you’re going to regret.”

  The line was quiet. “Okay, I promise. I’ll graduate, but then I’m coming home.”

  Having Carmen home thrilled Victoria more than she could let on over the phone. They had been right to apply for an away college for Carmen, but Victoria had missed her. “Good. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  She clicked the phone off and went to the kitchen, which was now completed. She started screwing switch plates around the outlets. Eric walked in and took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He drank the whole bottle and tossed it in a trash can. Then he smiled. “Plants are in.”

  She’d noticed that the trees were gone and in their place Eric and Antonio had brought in gorgeous leafy plants. “How do they look?”

  “Perfect.” He angled his head. “How are you doing?”

  “Good.”

  “Good?”

  She smiled and nodded. “Good.”

  “All right. Sorry about the screaming match out there. My dad has a way of driving me crazy, and I lost it.”

  “No need to apologize. I understand, believe me.”

  He nodded. “I’m going to go shower.”

  He strolled away and she watched him, thinking of Carmen’s question about seeing him naked. Ignoring the interest, she kept working. Seemed like the safest thing to do lately. With her father creating an empire, her mother returning to her youth, and Carmen probably wanting to come home because she was worried that her family was falling apart, contemplating anything where Eric was naked seemed too irresponsible. But it was there. In the back of her mind. And she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to keep the thoughts and building desires locked up. Didn’t the obvious always find a way of expressing itself?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Saturday was the only day that neither Lucia nor Antonio had obligations, so when Antonio got back from helping Eric they sat on the couch together and watched television. Lucia rested her head on his comfortable shoulder. He caressed her upper arm absently as he watched a cop show. Waiting for the commercial, she thought about how to approach the idea of the cruise with Jaqueline. She decided to just come out with it and hope he understood.

  “Antonio?” she said, the second the screen went from a murder investigation to a flashy new car.

  “Hmm?” He kissed the top of her head.

  “What do you think about Victor and Jaqueline’s marital problems?”

  “What marital problems? They had a fight.”

  “It’s deeper than that.”

  “Oh. Okay, I think you shouldn’t get involved.”

  She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. “I’m not getting involved.”

  “Good.”

  “Well, I did have one small idea.”

  “I knew it.” He drew a breath and focused on her. “What?”

  “I told Jaqueline we could take a little vacation together.”

  “Go on vacation with those two? Are you crazy? They’re not even talking to each other.”

&
nbsp; “Not the four of us. Just she and I.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Where would you go? And for how long?”

  “We decided on a restorative cruise.”

  “Oh, you decided?” He eased back so their bodies were no longer in contact. “What if I don’t want you to go?”

  “Antonio, don’t be a baby. Do you want our best friends to get divorced?”

  “I don’t care. That’s their problem.”

  “Victor is your friend.”

  “I don’t want to be his friend if it means I have to lose my wife.”

  She chuckled and kissed him. “You’re not losing me, amor. I think it would be good for me to get away for a little while. Spend some girl time with a friend, relaxing.”

  He frowned. “We don’t have the money for that.”

  “I knew you’d say that. Jaqui wants to pay for it all. She insisted.”

  “Great. And what about Eric? Now that he’s home you want to leave?”

  “Actually, I thought about that a lot. It will only be for a short time, and it will give you the opportunity to be with him alone. Do some male-bonding activities together.”

  “I’d rather bond with you.”

  She smiled. “Listen, I won’t go if you really don’t want me to, but I’d like to. Jaqueline is a little lost these days. And she was always there for me when people were talking about me being a bad mother at the club. Remember? She always stood by me.”

  Antonio gazed at her and she could see he was coming around. “I’m not going to tell you not to go if you really want to, but… we’ve never been on vacation without each other.”

  “I’m sorry, amor.” She snuggled in close. “I don’t like the idea of being apart from you, either. But some time off where I don’t have to cook or clean or do anything, even worry about you, sounds… I don’t know… nice? I know that probably sounds incredibly selfish.”

  “No,” he said. “You never do anything for yourself. I would never think you’re selfish.” He ran his fingers though her hair. “You should go,” he added reluctantly.

  Lucia slipped her hands around him and squeezed tight. “I knew you’d understand. You’re the best husband in the world.”

  He chuckled and kissed her. “You’re a good manipulator, Lucia.”

  “I mean it,” she said, full of love for the man she’d chosen so many years ago. “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better husband than you.”

  “You could have done way better.”

  “No.” She placed a finger on his lips. He was always too hard on himself. “I’m the luckiest woman alive, and if you say I’m not, I’m going to get angry.”

  He chuckled again. “Okay, okay.” He kissed her, and reached for the remote. He turned the TV off. “What do you say we go back to bed?”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  The board approved a Mexican fiesta and decided it would be next May in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Jaqueline was excited and called Hugo to give him the good news. He answered on the third ring. “Hugo, this is Jaqueline.”

  “Hey,” he said. “Hold on.” The line grew silent for a couple of seconds. “Sorry, I was inside an office, fixing a fax machine.”

  “Is that what you do when you’re not entertaining audiences?”

  “Yep. I work for the school district. Puts food on the table and lets me work pretty much the same hours as my kids.”

  Too bad the man wasn’t younger, Jaqueline thought. He would make Victoria a good husband after all. “Did you buy your daughter that dress?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, and she was beautiful. And I took pictures. Want to see them?”

  “Oh, well, sure.”

  “Are you at the club? I’ll stop by on my way home. I’ll have the kids with me, though.”

  “No, I’m on my way home.” Then impulsively, she added, “Bring them to my home. I’ll make them dinner tonight. No McDonald’s.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Sure.” She was tired of eating alone. And the idea of having children in the house again made her suddenly happy. “Take down my address.”

  He wrote it down. “We’ll be there. About five? Is that too early?

  “It’s perfect. See you then.”

  Jaqueline disconnected the call and realized she hadn’t even given him the good news about the Mexican fiesta. Oh well, she’d tell him over dinner.

  She hurried home and went straight to the kitchen. She pulled out slices of veal from the freezer, defrosted the meat as she peeled potatoes. Let’s see, she thought. Vegetables. What vegetables do children like? None, she decided, but she had to include some kind of vegetable, so she reached for carrots. She also took out the eggs to prepare a flan for dessert.

  A couple of hours later, she had breaded veal parmesan, mashed potatoes, honeyed carrots, and beautiful flan chilling in the refrigerator.

  Hugo arrived right at five with his two adorable kids standing on either side of him.

  “This is Augustine. We call him August, and he’s ten. And this”—he put his hand on his daughter’s head—“is Daisy, and she’s seven.”

  Jaqueline shook their hands. “Welcome. And thank you for coming to dinner.” She showed them inside, and Hugo told them to go wash their hands.

  He stood in the living room. “Nice,” he said.

  “Victoria decorated it all.”

  “Looks great. Is she joining us for dinner?”

  “No,” Jaqueline said. “I didn’t invite her.”

  “I thought she lived with you.”

  “Not anymore. Come to the kitchen.”

  The kids joined them, and were well mannered as they took their seats.

  “So tell me about your piano recital,” Jaqueline said to Daisy.

  The girl brightened. “I played Sonatina by Beethoven. And I didn’t make any mistakes. My dad bought me a great dress that went almost to my ankles and had beads in the front. I wore shoes that had a little heel even.”

  “Really?” Jaqueline served the mashed potatoes. “I bet you looked beautiful.”

  She nodded. “My dad brought pictures.”

  “I can’t wait to see them.”

  She put the veal and carrots in the center of the table. She served the children while Hugo served himself.

  “I made lemonade. Do you like that?”

  “Yes,” the kids said in unison.

  “And August, your father tells me you like soccer.”

  “Yeah,” he said. End of conversation. She’d never had a boy, but she knew they were more concise.

  “Do you enjoy it?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “He doesn’t enjoy getting kicked or losing,” Hugo said.

  “My team sort of sucks,” he said.

  Jaqueline smiled and finally joined them at the table.

  Hugo asked his son to say grace. The boy quietly obeyed. Then the three of them dug into their food. Jaqueline watched them for a second. They all ate like this was the first dinner they’d been given all week. She enjoyed that children appreciated her cooking again.

  Hugo smiled. “I don’t make anything this fancy. Lots of Hamburger Helper and sandwiches. Thanks for inviting us.”

  “Not true,” August said. “He makes great fajitas and carne asada. And grilled fish. You should try his fish.”

  “I don’t have time to cook on a regular basis, though,” he said.

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I didn’t always have the time when I was raising my girls, either. You do the best you can.”

  He smiled.

  “I called you to tell you that the club has accepted your program.”

  His eyes lit up. “That’s wonderful.”

  “In May. We’re going to have a Mexican fiesta. So I’m going to invite a couple of other performers.”

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Excellent idea. I can’t wait. Your club is really going to enjoy it.”

  “I’m sure we will. Can I get you more?” she asked the children, who had f
inished eating and were sitting politely. They both shook their heads. “Well, I have some flan for a little later. If you would like to play in the backyard or watch TV.” She glanced at Hugo. “Is that okay?”

  “Sure.” He told them to place their plates in the sink and they did. Then they hurried out to the backyard, following Jaqueline’s directions to the back of the house.

  “Wow,” she said. “They’re great kids.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You seem to be doing a terrific job raising them.”

  “I try.” He chuckled. “But it’s hard.”

  “Do you have any help?”

  “My mother and sister help out. They see their mother a couple of weekends a month.”

  Jaqueline was surprised that their mother wasn’t more involved. “Not much.”

  “No, not much, but enough. She’s not good for them.”

  “Why not? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “I don’t mind.” He leaned back in the chair. “She’s a performer, too. That’s how I met her. Unfortunately that’s how she meets most men, and the fact that she was married and had children didn’t seem to sink into her head. She still felt free to drink and take her costume off for anyone who interested her.”

  “How awful,” Jaqueline said.

  He shrugged. “I wanted to kill her, but I decided divorce was more socially acceptable.”

  Jaqueline smiled, even though the situation was sad. Some women didn’t appreciate good men when they found them.

  “Daisy was two when I kicked her ass out the door—sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “So, I’m over it. I wish the kids didn’t have to see her at all, but they’re stuck paying for my bad judgment.”

  “You’ve got two great kids out of that bad judgment, so it wasn’t all bad.”

  He grinned. “You’re a nice lady, Jaqueline. Where’s your husband, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Working late,” she said, not willing to share her marital problems as freely as he had. Not with another man, whom she hardly knew. Maybe that wasn’t fair since she’d delved into his private business, but she wasn’t divorced and she owed Victor her consideration. “Finished?”

  He nodded.

  She picked up his plate and cleared the table. Then she pulled out the flan and poured some coffee.