Evenings at the Argentine Club (13 page)

But after that old woman came bustling out of the shop in a cloud of perfume, he stood on the verge of entering and listened
to Victoria and Douglas discuss her future. His heart sank. He had no
idea
. No idea that Victoria had dreams. He’d always looked at her decorating talent as something of a hobby that came in useful
at the restaurant. He never knew that she loved doing it so much that she seriously considered it as a career. And listening
to her voice her fears made him almost physically sick. Not only should she have been having that discussion with him instead
of Douglas, but she should have done it years ago.

Reaching his Honda Civic, he leaned his arms on the car’s roof and gazed back in the direction of the shop. How could he have
become the kind of father that was blind to his children’s dreams? He’d always sworn that no son of his would ever have to
work even one hour at a job he disliked. He’d never have to sacrifice his dreams or curb his ambitions to please someone else.
Because he’d never had a son, those promises to himself had been forgotten. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that
women had the same desires of success as men. He felt like a stupid, thickheaded, outdated old fool. He thought he was being
a good father by taking care of her. Involving her in the restaurant enough to give her something to do, but not saddling
her with the headaches. Letting her be free enough to do nothing at all with her life.

Victor had turned away from that shop as fast as he could, before Victoria could notice him. Douglas had said all the right
things. Things he himself should have said. He wanted to be the one his children confided in and looked to for wisdom. But
Carmen always confided in either Jaqueline or Victoria. And Victoria, who he thought would turn to him, in the end found she
couldn’t.

He lowered his head and got in the car. A crazy empty feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to run into that
store and pull Victoria into his arms, hold her like when she was a little girl. He wanted to be her father again. The man
she needed and who never let her down. But he realized he
had
let her down, and the best thing he could do for her now was leave her alone. Let her stand or fall. Let her make mistakes.
As much as it killed him. As much as he ached inside to drive away from her, he knew it was way past time to admit that she
had to be allowed to spread her wings.

Eric wasn’t thrilled to see his father show up at the bank where he was finalizing the agreement for his house.

“I thought we might do this together,” he said, slightly out of breath, excitement evident in his voice.

Trying not to show his surprise, and his horror, Eric simply frowned. “Do what together, Dad?”

“Sign the paperwork. Flip this house together. You know, it’ll be our project. Together.”

“Dad, I don’t need a partner. I mean, it’s a nice thought. And if you want to help—”

“No, I’ve got a little money saved up. We can buy it together.”

Eric didn’t know how to tell his father that there was no way in hell he was going to go into a financial project with him.
“Down payment’s been made already.” He planted a hand on Antonio’s shoulder. “But why don’t we go to a soccer game while I’m
in town?”

“Well what about the expense of the remodel itself? You’re going to need help with that.”

Holding his frustration in check, Eric said, “Yeah, and I’ve got that covered. Really, Dad, this is my job, I don’t need any
money.” But maybe Antonio did. Maybe he was short and wanted to get in on the project to make some money. Eric hoped he hadn’t
gotten into trouble again. “Besides, you don’t want to risk your cash at this point in your life. Right?”

“Sure, you gotta risk a little to make a little.”

“I do. You don’t. Your house is paid. You’re happy. Mom’s happy. Why risk what you have?”

“I just though it would be nice to work together. I’m proud of all you’ve accomplished, Eric.”

“Thanks, Dad. Look, I’m going to hire a couple of subs. You can help out. I’ll pay you like I would them. We can hang out
together. But this is
my
deal. Okay?”

Antonio didn’t seem to like that, but tough. That was the way it was going to be.

Victor hired a manager for La Parrilla. A UCLA graduate who had run a chain restaurant for three years. The boy was sharp,
handsome, and enthusiastic. Even though it had caused Victoria to walk out on him, he couldn’t have made a better move. Victoria
didn’t have the heart to run a business like his. Besides, he never wanted her to have that kind of pressure. In the end it
would work out, hopefully, for both of them.

He was relieved to leave the operation of this site to someone else at this point, since he barely had time to think lately.
He was signing papers like crazy, working with contractors and architects to break ground next month for both restaurants
simultaneously, getting home late, going to bed, and getting up and doing it all over again.

Once he got the two new California restaurants up and running, the others would be easier to establish. The architectural
plans for the layout and design of all the La Parrillas would be identical. Later he’d get an interior designer to make sure
each restaurant was decorated the same on the inside, as well. He’d followed Eric’s advice and hired a market research firm,
which he would be meeting with this week to find the best locations for the new restaurants. The speed at which this was moving
was making his head spin.

But it seemed he had other problems on the home front. Jaqueline wanted to talk to him. Called him a few times and wanted
to know about the expansion. Now that things were under way, he feared that news would reach her. Too many people were involved.
But he hoped, probably unreasonably, that he could avoid a full discussion. He’d told her it was no big deal, and that he’d
talk to her about it soon. When she insisted, he’d told her he had an emergency to deal with and hung up.

Cowardly of him, but he couldn’t deal with sharing this with Jaqueline just yet. He had wanted to have all his financing in
place and the new restaurants under construction, at least, before he shared his news, or gossip reached her. The truth was,
he was afraid of her reaction and he would avoid the confrontation as long as possible.

So when she showed up at the restaurant, he was thrown off balance. “What are you doing here?”

“Nice way to greet your wife.”

“Sorry.” He pulled out a chair for her and kissed her cheek. “Un cafecito?”

“Bueno.”

He waved at the guy behind the counter and signaled him to bring two coffees. “So what I meant was, what brings you by?”

“I wanted to talk.”

“As long as you make it quick. I’m busy.”

She looked around. At three in the afternoon, not many people crowded his tables. “I can see how busy you are.”

He frowned. “I mean I need to plan for tonight.”

The coffees arrived.

“I won’t take much of your precious time. What I want to know is why are my friends telling me that you’re asking them for
money to expand the restaurant? What are you planning to expand? It’s plenty big.”

“I didn’t ask our friends for money.” He gazed at her. Maybe she didn’t know the whole story after all. Did she think he was
just planning to enlarge
this
building? Didn’t she realize he always thought bigger than the obvious? “It’s an investment opportunity for them. I just
mentioned it and they wanted in. No big deal.”

“Why would they want to give you money?”

“They’re not giving me money. Look, vieja, that’s the way business works. People invest money, and they get a share of the
profits. Okay? Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course I worry. If we need money, I mean if we are struggling, I can come back and work here. You can let a couple of
your guys go and I can come in and—”

“No, no, no. We don’t need money. We’re doing fine. Great, in fact. That’s why I’m expanding.”

She looked unsure. Victor couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she’d
been a great wife. Loyal, helpful, forgiving, understanding, sexually amazing, and supportive. She’d also given him the best
children a man could ask for. Both girls were intelligent and loving and strong. And soon, he’d be able to turn over an empire
to his kids and give his wife anything she wanted.

He placed his hand over hers as she held her coffee cup. “I know I’m working a lot right now, but once I get my plans off
the ground, we’ll be able to take a little vacation together. Would you like that?”

“A vacation? Together?”

Why did she look so surprised? Just because they hadn’t had time to do much traveling in the past didn’t mean he wouldn’t
have enjoyed vacationing and sightseeing, or simply relaxing by a pool with his wife. And it wasn’t too late now that the
girls were grown. Might be nice. Get to know each other again. He pulled his hand back. “We’ll talk about it when I get things
straightened out here.”

“There’s always a ‘when’ for you Victor.”

“What do you mean?”

“
When
we move to America we’ll make millions and be happy.
When
we start the restaurant, we’ll be secure enough to buy a house.
When
we have enough money saved, we can move back to Argentina.
When
the restaurant is self-sufficient, we can take our children on a cross-country vacation.
When
they graduate and leave home, we can spend more time together. When, when, when. Well, the kids are grown, and we never made
the road trip. We never took them to Argentina, either, like we promised we’d do. And soon, we’ll both be dead and there won’t
be anymore ‘whens.’ ”

“That’s life, Jaqueline. The years go by and… you do the best you can.”

She shook her head. “I’m asking you to be my husband
now
, not when it’s more convenient for you.”

“I
am
your husband. What are you talking about?”

“I mean a husband who wants to share his life with me. One who notices I’m alive.”

“You’re talking crazy, Jaqui.”

“No, I’m not. You’re always here at the restaurant. You come home to sleep. That’s it.”

“I’m doing all this for us.”

“No, Victor. I don’t believe that anymore. You’re doing it for you.”

He drew a breath and ground his teeth. “Fine. I’m doing it for me. For once, I want to do something for myself.”

“For once?” She shrieked. “It’s always been about you and
your
dreams and
your
plans.”

That made his blood boil. She was the one who wanted kids, and a house, and even the restaurant because it would bring in
stable money. “I thought it was
our
plans.”

Jaqueline scoffed. “I never wanted any of this. It was just a way to give you some of the success and independence you wanted.”

Wonderful. Just what he needed to hear. She’d suggested he slave away at a restaurant all his life to make him feel
successful
. Was she kidding?

She spoke again, this time barely a whisper. “All
I
wanted was you.”

A sharpness cut into his heart, but deep down he knew that she was right. She’d hung around and supported his dreams because
she loved him. But, he had to be honest. “Men need more than just a wife and children.”

She looked at him like he’d slapped her.

“I didn’t mean—,” he tried to correct himself.

“That’s okay.” She stood and took her purse, which had been hanging on the back of the chair. “See you at home whenever you
feel like dropping by.”

Long after she’d walked out the door, he sat in the same spot. Finally, he slammed his fist on the table, making the coffee
cups bounce and spilling the coffee that was left. He
was
going to follow his dream. Even if he had to do it alone. In the end, Jaque-line and Victoria both would understand what
he’d sacrificed for all of them. They would see. And they would forgive him.

A
lmost two weeks after agreeing to work with Eric, Victoria returned to the remodel to begin with cleanup and demo and found
that Eric and two other guys were already working. A box of doughnuts and empty coffee cups littered the counter, which would
be coming out today. A large Dumpster now sat at the curb in front of the house. In the kitchen, Eric had boxes of gloves
and face masks. After saying hello, he told her to put on both. “There’s going to be a lot of dust.”

“So where do we start?”

“Getting rid of all the trash.”

“Fun.”

He grinned. “Okay, follow me.” He covered his mouth and nose with the mask and winked as he headed outside.

The three guys he hired started throwing trash into the Dumpster. Victoria joined in. She tossed in pieces of broken CDs,
old lamps, chairs, and tons of clothes.

“Leave the heavy stuff to us,” Eric said, as he walked by carrying a dirty, warped stroller.

A little later she had raked glass and small pieces of other trash into a pile.

“Victoria,” Eric called. “Careful with that glass. There’s a shovel in the—”