by Julia Amante
“I don’t like her going off by herself.”
Victoria turned to see the frown on his face. “Give me a break. She’s a grown woman.”
“My dad was a basket of nerves this morning. Didn’t you notice?”
“He’ll live.”
“That’s a shitty attitude to have.”
She opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind. Instead she turned around and strolled along port, enjoying the warm day and the awesome view of Long Beach. “My mom needs this break to relax and think about what she wants.”
Eric followed along, with his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. Marriages don’t stay together by people avoiding their problems. Leaving to spend time by herself isn’t going to fix your parents’ problems,” he said.
Victoria stopped walking. “Eric, give me a break. What do you know about staying around to work out problems? You’re the expert on leaving and doing what makes you happy, without one thought about the people you leave behind.”
His eyes narrowed and he frowned. “I didn’t leave a wife. I left my parents. That’s different. I went to create a life for myself.”
“Well, that’s exactly what my mother is doing. After all the years she spent being a mother and wife, she deserves to spend a few weeks on herself. And so does yours.”
“You talk like being a wife and mother is a jail sentence.”
“Maybe it is.” She turned away and headed to the car. The last thing she wanted was to fight with Eric, but he pissed her off.
He opened the car and got behind the wheel. “Want to hang out in Long Beach for the day? Not a fancy date, but a date just the same.”
“I don’t care.”
“I’m sorry we disagree.” He sighed. “But let’s not fight.”
She didn’t want to fight, either. “Fine.” Maybe she was just tired.
“And I did think about the people I left behind.”
Would he think about her when he left again? Of course he would. He’d have his damn pictures of her. Damn it—she couldn’t get the irritation out of her system. She was definitely tired. “I want to go home,” she said.
He reached across and touched her shoulder.
She pulled away.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll go home.”
Jaqueline and Lucia enjoyed a fabulous dinner and met three couples who were assigned to their dinner table. Jaqueline partly wished that she was on this cruise with Victor, but another part of her thought it was nice to be here with her best friend.
After dinner, they caught a lovely show with dancing and music in the lounge. Lucia seemed to be enjoying every moment. As they made their way back to their cabin, she couldn’t stop talking about the costumes.
Jaqueline nodded. “Gorgeous.” And those women had some bodies. Even when she was young she didn’t remember looking like that.
Lucia prepared her bed. “I feel a bit guilty. This is the first time all day I’ve thought of Antonio. I hope he had a good dinner.”
“Call him.”
“Good idea.”
Jaqueline went to the bathroom to take off her makeup, wash her face, and brush her teeth. When she returned to the room, Lucia was still talking.
“I love you,” she whispered, full of emotion, and disconnected. She sat on her bed with a gratified look. “Eric is such a wonderful son. He went to have dinner with his father.”
“Good. See, you didn’t have to worry about Antonio.”
“He told me not worry and to have fun. He and Eric ate Subway sandwiches and watched sports.” She giggled. “Men.”
She wondered what Victoria had done that night. They were obviously a couple now, though Jaqueline didn’t know the extent of their relationship.
“I’m so glad Eric is home. This is exactly what Antonio needs. Time alone with his son.” She undressed and pulled a nightgown over her head. “Antonio said that Eric seemed upset about me leaving him alone. Isn’t that adorable?”
“Victoria has always been like that with her father. She worries about him all the time. Until recently anyway. But it’s not the same as having a boy. I sometimes wish Victor had a son.”
“He has two wonderful girls. And he’d better open his eyes and see what he’s got before it’s gone,” Lucia said. “I haven’t said much, Jaqui, but after all you’ve done for him, he’s acting like un hijo de puta.”
“We’ve never been enough for Victor.”
“Then I feel sorry for him.”
They changed the subject and chatted about everything and nothing until about three in the morning, when they both finally fell asleep.
Victor spent the whole week in Newport Beach. The structure was really beginning to resemble a restaurant. He’d planned the new menus and, though the food would be pretty much what he currently had, he updated the look of the menu and adjusted the prices for the locale.
But as the weekend rolled around and he hung out at the original La Parrilla, still operating at full capacity and needing his attention, he found himself less focused than usual. He sat in his back office staring off into space. Victoria had stopped by early Saturday to pick up Jaqueline and take her to the cruise ship. His heart hammered in his chest as he peeked out of the garage and saw Jaqueline leaving. He worried for her safety and worried that she’d have too good a time without him. What if she decided she actually enjoyed the single life? What if even after working so hard to build his restaurant empire, Jaqueline didn’t fall back in love with him?
He decided to go to the Argentine Club on Sunday. Maybe he’d run into Victoria. He missed working with her. He missed seeing her and knowing what she was up to.
But he spent all afternoon at the club and Victoria never showed. Instead he wasted hours playing cards and losing money. He watched other families laugh and enjoy being together while his family was scattered all over the place. As he got ready to go home, he felt like a loser in more ways than one.
“I finally got lucky,” Antonio said, gathering his winnings.
Victor smiled. “Had to happen.”
“Going back to your garage?”
“Quiet,” Victor said, looking around to make sure no one heard Antonio’s big mouth.
“They’ve only been gone one day and I want to charter a boat and go find them. Want to go with me?” Antonio asked.
Victor shrugged. “Enjoy it. She’ll be back telling you what to do before you know it.”
Antonio rested an arm on his back. “Yes, she will.”
Victor grew uncomfortable. He headed to the door, waving good-bye to the others.
Antonio walked beside him. “Eric came over last night worried that I’d fall apart without his mother. I told him I’d be fine, and he said his mother never should have left me alone.”
“He’s right.”
“No, he’s not. And I told him so. He got into a fight with your daughter because he told her women had no business leaving their posts as mothers and wives.” He laughed. “I guess little Vicki let him know what she thought of that idea.”
Victor felt a hot flash of indignation at any man arguing with his daughter, even Eric. And he was proud she’d stood up for her mother and women in general. “Maybe we haven’t set the best examples as fathers.”
“I’ve always treated my wife well. I don’t know where he gets these things. I told him to go home and apologize.”
Victor scowled. He hadn’t always treated his wife well. He’d taken her for granted more than he cared to admit. What had he inadvertently taught his daughters to expect from men? In a way, he was glad Victoria wasn’t going to accept the same treatment from a man. “I might have some apologizing to do myself. To my girls. And to my wife.”
Antonio nodded. “When Eric left home to work as what I considered a construction worker, I didn’t talk to him for a whole year. And even after that, I kept him at a distance, to punish him, I guess. And because I was ashamed, because I’d failed him. But I lost a lot of years with him because of my st
ubbornness. If I had to do it again, I’d support any damn thing he decided to do, even if it killed my dream for him. No dream is worth losing your kid.”
Victor stared at Antonio. He swallowed a lump in his throat. “You’re right.” He took a breath and stood. “Take care, Antonio.” He went home. Correction—to a garage in the back of an empty house that used be a home. How the hell had his life come to this?
Chapter Eighteen
Victoria had her iPod firmly plugged into her ears as she poured over her books and design plans. And not because she was intent on ignoring Eric. Their argument had been long forgotten. He’d been a fool to tell a woman like Victoria, who was just now enjoying her independence, that women didn’t deserve some time alone once married. He was lucky she hadn’t packed her bags and left that night. But she hadn’t. She’d apologized to him, as soon as he got home from having dinner with his father. Even before he could tell her he was sorry. So they’d spent the night enjoying a late swim in the pool and talking. If that counted as their first date, it was perfect, because he learned tons of little things about her, like that beer made her throw up. And big things, like how many kids she wanted. And huge things about himself, like maybe he’d like to see what she looked like with her belly swollen with a baby someday. Crazy. Insane. But the thought had definitely been there.
So thanks to his father’s good advice, she wasn’t angry with him. But she was annoyed. Eric hired two guys to put up crown molding, and the constant hammering was driving her crazy. It wasn’t doing much for him, either.
He tapped her shoulder. She pulled out one of the earbuds.
“Want to go out to lunch? Get out of here for a while?” He motioned toward the door.
She sighed, turned her music completely off, and nodded. “Sure.”
All the large projects in the house were complete, but the finishing touches needed to be done before the open house. Crown molding was one of those details that made a house stand out.
“They’re awfully slow,” Victoria said, as they drove away from the house. “They’ve been at if for four days.”
“And when they’re finished, I’ve hired guys to redo the lighting in the backyard.”
“What? The lighting is fine. Why do that now?”
He pulled into the parking lot of a little family restaurant. “It’ll look better.”
“But the lighting is fine.”
“Fine is not good enough.” Besides, as soon as they were finished, the house would go on the market, and he honestly couldn’t deal with the fact of moving out yet.
“Then why didn’t you have the work done simultaneously? That’s going to add another week to your building time.”
He took her hand. “Next time I’m going to make you my project manager. You’re good.”
“Why aren’t you worried? You wanted to be done by the end of September and it’s close to the end of October.”
He pulled her into his arms and backed her against the truck. “I guess I’m enjoying myself too much to be worried. Just think, next time we go swimming, the lights in the backyard will be awesome. But maybe we’ll leave them off and swim naked. What do you say?”
She smiled. “I’m ready for you to see me naked, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He lifted an eyebrow. He and Victoria were having such a good time, he didn’t want it to end. Although he probably should have been worried about getting the house on the market—and he would be later—right now he couldn’t have cared less. “Let’s have lunch first. Then if you want to take your clothes off, I’ll kick those guys out.”
“No. Please. Let them finish.” She laughed. “But I’ll give you a rain check on that naked business.”
He kissed her and then, with a wink, pulled her toward the restaurant. “I’ll take it.”
Eric spent a week looking for new properties to renovate, but he didn’t come across anything promising. So he decided to put shutters in the extra bedrooms where Victoria had hung drapes. When she got home and saw what he was doing, she wasn’t pleased.
“The drapes looked good and were inexpensive,” she said, pointing out the absolute truth.
He seriously needed a new project. Instead he’d cooked dinner and convinced her to play board games with him. His mother and Jaqueline had been gone ten days. And when he looked around the house, he admitted that he could have gotten all those minor fixes done in a couple of days. And he shouldn’t have put the shutters in. He’d wasted two weeks. Hell.
But as Victoria raced around the Monopoly board, he smiled. Their relationship had gotten better and better every day. And that was worth the extra house payment he’d have to make. “I’m going to hire a Realtor. I think we’re ready.”
“Sure you don’t want to redo the fireplace? Marble might look good,” she teased.
“No, smart-ass. I’m done.”
“You also owe me two hundred dollars for passing Go.”
He shoved the board aside. “How about two hundred kisses instead.”
“Sorry, I’ve got work to do tonight. I spent all my free time playing this game.”
He ignored her and crawled across the floor, climbing over her. “Victoria?”
She smiled. “What?”
“You’ve done a great job with this house. And with my room at my mom’s house.” He studied her pretty face. “Thanks.”
She kissed his lips in a feather soft brush. “You’re welcome, Eric.”
Tonight was Halloween. Eric waited excitedly for her to get home from school so they could attend the Argentine Club Halloween dance. Unfortunately, the holiday fell on a Tuesday night and she had classes. He rented a knight suit to surprise her. The darn thing was hard to get into, too.
When he heard her car pull up, he positioned himself by the front door. Victoria walked inside, bags and backpacks hanging from her arms, and when she spotted him, she screamed. Then she started laughing and dropped all the bags on the floor by her feet. She reached forward and lifted his face mask. “Oh my God, I love it.”
“Your knight in shining armor, ma’am.”
“Mmm.” She ran her hand up and down his chest, which was covered in soft spongy stuff that looked like metal. “You are one sexy knight.”
“Careful, ma’am. This costume is tight and I can’t risk having it stretch in the wrong places.”
She gave him an evil look from the corner of her eye and her hand traveled down. But much to his disappointment she stopped at about his navel. “I’m going to go get dressed,” she said. “Stay put.”
“I can’t move. Don’t worry.”
She laughed and disappeared down the hall and into her bedroom. When she came back, she was wearing a short white dress with an apron like the ones home store employees wear, with the words The Home Wrecker written across the chest. The front pockets held a variety of plastic tools. On her head she wore a matching scarf, and her legs were encased in knee-high boots.
“Wow,” he said.
“You get it?”
The only thing he got was instantly aroused.
“I couldn’t find anything that went with being an interior designer. But this was pretty funny.” She pulled out a robe. “I’m going to wear this at the club, too, because the outfit is a little bit revealing.”
Not revealing. Sexy. And short. “You are the best home wrecker I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
She laughed. “Well after seeing you, I sort of wish I’d chosen a princess costume.”
“I could tear all this off, get in a pair of jeans and a baseball cap and spray sweat all over my chest, and go as a sweaty construction worker.”
She narrowed her eyes. “There will be children at this event. I think we’d better save that look for my private enjoyment.” She slipped the robe over her costume, adjusting the apron over the robe. “There we go. Better.”
“I don’t agree.”
“Come on,” she chuckled. “Let’s go. I feel guilty that I didn’t help set up this y
ear. I usually spend all day before Halloween making sure things look great for the kids.”
Eric couldn’t remember enjoying anything more than he had this corny Halloween party at the Argentine Club. The women had the entire meeting hall decked out with spooky spiders and webs, and black and purple streamers. And on the tables were various games that the kids could participate in. They stationed him with a couple of other guys at a bowling table. He had a great time encouraging the kids. The little monsters, goblins, and princesses ran from booth to booth, picking up goblin tickets that Victoria said they would cash in for prizes at the end of the night.
During the dinner break, after all the games had been picked up, he sat beside Victoria at his parents’ usual table. For tonight everyone brought simple salads or finger sandwiches and, of course, empanadas in a major potluck. No one cooked, and they used paper plates, which made it nice for everyone.
“That was a blast,” Eric said, and discreetly kissed Victoria on the cheek.
“Victoria created all these activities years ago,” Antonio said with obvious admiration. “The kids look forward to Halloween night all year.”
“So what happens after dinner?”
“Costume contest onstage,” Victoria said. “Adults included.”
“The winner gets the witches’ brew,” Antonio explained.
When they’d arrived, every person donated five dollars to the witches’ pot. There were a couple hundred people here tonight. Eric widened his eyes as he looked at his father. “So the winner gets about a thousand bucks?” he asked in amazement.
Antonio leaned across the table. “Yeah and last year little eight-year-old Mariela won. She was so excited. The women all made her mother promise that Mariela could use the money any way she wanted. Can you imagine being a kid and winning all that money?”
Eric grinned, sitting back and enjoying the night. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if his mother was here, too. She and Jaqueline would be back that weekend, and he knew his father was counting down the days.