Evenings at the Argentine Club (23 page)

“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 finished 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.

“This was beyond delicious. Thank you.”

“Oh, I loved having you all. With my girls gone, and Victor busy with his business, I eat alone a lot. It was nice to have
company.”

He put a teaspoon of sugar in his cup and nodded, as if he understood.

“Call the kids in, will you? I’ll cut them a piece of flan each.”

Hugo took a drink of his coffee. “Mmm. In a minute. I want to enjoy the silence for just a few more seconds.”

She laughed. “I’d forgotten how nice it is to have a few moments of peace.”

“It never ends. After working all day, you have to go home to noise and more work. Then they wake up at night with bloody
noses and bad dreams.” He shook his head. “It’s damned exhausting.”

“It was.” She remembered. Victor never helped with any of those things. She hadn’t wanted to bother him, because he worked
hard. But he never once thought that she’d also worked hard all day.

He laughed. “Hell, I’m whining like a chick.”

“Sometimes you need a little girl talk.”

“Yeah,” he blushed. “My guy friends can’t relate. And women… well, I don’t want to… you know.”

“Show any weakness?”

“Right. I want them to think I’ve got it together. But I don’t.”

“You can call me up and whine any time you want, dear. And in fact, drop the kids off every once in a while. I’ll watch them
if you need a break.”

“I couldn’t impose.”

“It wouldn’t be an imposition. I’d really like it.”

He drew a breath, then released it. “Thanks. My mom is in her seventies and my sister is busy with her own kids. They’re both
great, but… thanks.”

She patted his hand. “You’re welcome.”

He went to call his children who were out-of-their-minds thrilled with the flan. They ate two huge pieces. Then they moaned
when they had to leave.

“I’ll bring you back sometime,” he promised. Then he hugged Jaqueline. “Thanks again.”

“It was dinner and a little chat. Nothing to thank me for.”

As she watched them leave, she was glad she’d invited them. And also glad, for some strange reason, that she was watching
from a distance. Child rearing was the most exhausting, pleasurable endeavor a person could undertake.

She returned to her kitchen to clean up in the silence of the empty house. Only the sounds of the refrigerator, the clock
ticking above the stove, and the water running into the sink filled the kitchen. Jaqueline smiled. This was nice. Quiet was
nice. A reward, she thought. And she enjoyed every second of it.

Antonio parked his car in the driveway of Victor and Jaqueline’s place Sunday after spending the afternoon at the Argentine
Club. Jaqueline and Lucia went inside to purchase their cruise tickets online, excited like little girls. He smiled as he
watched them, glad he hadn’t been selfish and told her she couldn’t go. She probably would have gone anyway—the woman was
so damned independent, and then they would have been angry with each other. Who needed that?

“I’m going to check on Victor,” he said, as they headed into the house. Victor hadn’t been back to the club since he and Jaqueline
had that fight.

He looked in the garage, where Victor had a nice setup with one recliner chair, a TV, and clothes hanging all around. “Che,
loco,” he said.

Victor looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?” He looked sort of pleased to see him.

“Just brought the women back from the club.”

“Mmm,” he grunted.

“I lost fifty bucks at poker today.”

“So what else is new? You can’t play.”

“I can play,” Antonio said defensively.

“Right. That’s why you always lose.”

Antonio sat on a box. “So how long do you plan to live out here?”

He shrugged. “I’m not home much these days, anyway. The restaurants are going up and I have to spend so much time away that
I stay in hotels.”

“Yeah, it’s so far for you drive back and forth from Santa Monica, right?”

Victor shot a cold glance his way. “
And
Newport Beach.”

“Look, I’m with you. I think our wives and our kids are a little nuts.”

“Why are the kids nuts?”

“In my opinion, moving in together is a little nuts. I’m surprised you let Victoria do it, actually. Don’t get me wrong, Eric’s
a good man, but… he’s a man.” He raised an eyebrow. “You know?”

Victor sat up straighter. “Victoria moved in with Eric?”

“Yeah. You didn’t know?”

“No,” he barked. “I didn’t know. No one tells me a damn thing.”

“Sorry.”

“Shit, what’s wrong with that girl lately?” He ran a hand up and down his stubbled face. “It’s my own fault. I told her to
move out, figuring she wouldn’t. She called my bluff.”

“Well… they’re adults.”

Victor snorted. “That makes me feel better. Thanks,” he said sarcastically.

“Listen, Lucia can get back home by herself. Why don’t we go out? Have a drink? Get out of this garage.”

Victor stared into the empty space opposite the TV and slowly nodded. “Let’s go.”

Antonio stopped by the house and told Lucia he was going out with Victor and would meet her at home. He handed her the car
keys. Distractedly, she kissed him good-bye and told him to have fun.

But Antonio and Victor drove around town, unsure what to do for fun. They hadn’t been single since they were kids. Every event
they attended was either at the Argentine Club or with their families. Work seemed to be their only solo activity.

“In Argentina, I used to go to the field to play soccer almost every day. And spend the evenings strolling el centro, looking
at the chicas,” Antonio said.

Victor smiled. “I can’t remember what I did before I fell in love with Jaqueline. I think she was the only girl I’ve ever
loved.”

Antonio gazed at him. He wanted to ask how he could let his marriage fall apart, but it was none of his business.

“And I spent hours learning English,” Victor said, as if he suddenly remembered what he used to do. Then he shrugged. “I knew
I wanted to come to America and that I wanted to marry Jaqui. That’s all I ever cared about.”

“Ever think you’re too focused?”

“Yeah,” he said. And pulled off the freeway in Newport Beach. He followed the busy streets to the beach. “Want to see where
the restaurant is going up?”

“See, too focused.”

Victor shrugged again. But Antonio couldn’t help being impressed with the location. This restaurant would have the most amazing
view of the Pacific Ocean. And not only that, but it was located in an area that catered to affluent vacationers and wealthy
residents in multi-million-dollar homes. Victor parked the car, and they got out to admire the shell of the new building.

“The entire west side will be windows, and these seats here will be reserved months in advance.”

Antonio nodded, his hands in his pockets. The late August heat hung in the air, but here by the beach the breeze tempered
the oppressive summer. Victor would easily get away with serving a heavy steak even at the peak of the summer heat. “You going
to remember your buddies when you’re a millionaire?”

Victor grinned and placed a hand on Antonio’s back. “You know millions would be great, but right now, I just want it to work.
I want Jaqui to see I was right to want this.”

Antonio was certain it would. Some people managed to make magic happen whenever they tried. Others, like him, couldn’t get
a break. But to be fair, Victor had spent years preparing for this move. Working his one restaurant, day and night. Saving.
Establishing himself. All the while, Antonio had been impatient, risking the little he had, hoping to make a fast buck. Taking
frequent vacations with Lucia whenever they had a spare dollar. Victor and Jaqueline never went anywhere.

If Victor succeeded, it was because he deserved it. “I hope it all works out for you, loco.”

“Me too,” he said, with just a tinge of concern.

In some ways, Antonio was starting to realize that even with all his mistakes and his failures, maybe he was wealthy in ways
Victor wasn’t. Lucia never made him feel he had to prove anything. Although he wanted to give her more, he knew she loved
him even if he didn’t. “Let’s go.”

They found a noisy, touristy bar, where they ate some sandwiches and ordered beers. “I’m not very thrilled with Lucia and
Jaqueline going on this cruise.”

“What cruise?”

“You really don’t know anything about what’s going on with your family, do you?”

“She’s going on a cruise?”

Antonio took a bite of his burger and nodded. “With Lucia.”

“You were okay with that?”

“No, but… she wants to go help your wife deal with the fact that you’re a bastard.”

“Thanks.”

Antonio sipped his beer and nodded, sending him a wordless
You’re welcome.
“You know, Victor, I’ve decided I’m nothing like my father. Back in his day, women did what men said.”

“And children, too,” Victor said, drinking his second beer.

“You can say that again. Children respected their parents’ wishes.”

“Women didn’t move in with men. They married them.”