“What about you and Alejandro?” Olivia asked.
Elise smiled. “It was like the barren months had never happened. It turned out that he was the cook. Diego was the manager. He told the men to set the table and get out serving bowls. Alejandro and I were at the stove and I followed his directions. It was...” She closed her eyes for a moment. “It was wonderful. All of us were working together and I was part of it. I got shouted at in two languages for doing things wrong—and each time, Alejandro told them in English to back off.”
“Because we have the best curse words,” Kathy said.
“And he can use them!” Elise smiled. “Fifteen minutes before Kent and the guests were to arrive, Alejandro told me to go get dressed for dinner. I was a mess and said I didn’t have enough time. He said that even one minute was more than enough time to make myself into the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Awwwww,” Kathy and Olivia said.
“And he told me to wear red—but more of it than I usually did. Meaning—”
“Your tiny red bikini,” Olivia said. “I like your Alejandro.”
“Me too,” Kathy agreed.
“The dinner party was lovely and delicious. I was in such a good mood that I was an excellent hostess. I entertained and fed them and made sure their wineglasses stayed full.”
“I’m curious as to how Kent reacted to this,” Olivia said.
“He didn’t like it. He was barely above a sulk all evening. And whenever anyone gave me a compliment, he made a snide remark, hinting that I was usually inept. He made it clear that what I’d pulled off that evening was quite unusual for me.”
“Any guest comments?”
Elise smiled. “Oh yes. They took my side. One of the women cut Kent a couple of times. She and I clinked glasses across the table. It was a magical evening.”
“All because of Alejandro,” Kathy said.
“That summer, every laugh, every good happening, was given to me by him.”
Olivia and Kathy looked at each other, then back at Elise. “Was that the last time you saw him before he left the country?”
“Oh no,” Elise said with a grimace. “The next day I managed to make him so angry I thought he was never going to speak to me again—or me him.”
“Anybody want more wine?” Kathy asked. “We may need it because I want to hear every word of this story.”
“Fill ’er up,” Olivia said. They leaned back to listen.
Chapter Ten
As she made dinner, Elise kept looking at the little shopping bag. Kent was going to be very angry when he saw the bill. So far, she hadn’t come up with a plausible explanation. She didn’t think “I wanted to thank one of the gardeners for being so nice to me” would calm him down. She could almost hear him. He’d talk in that kind, patient voice. He was a wise guru and was teaching her about life. “Elise,” he’d say, “you do not buy a five-thousand-dollar gold watch for the gardener. A tip of, say, fifty dollars would be more than sufficient.”
As he lectured, his voice would rise. He’d tell her how she didn’t understand the value of money because she’d never had to earn it. “Everything has always been given to you. My parents and I have had to work for what we have.”
This is where Elise would have to bite her tongue to keep quiet. Her father was the moneymaker. He had an eye for a deal. When he got married, he was aware that his wife was a package deal with her best friend and her husband. Since the foursome got along well, it hadn’t been a burden.
It was Elise’s mother who insisted her new husband give a job to their friends. “So we can buy big houses next door to each other.” Kent’s father was dubbed an executive vice president and put in charge of... Well, no one was sure of what exactly. But he was paid well and the two men were good friends.
Whenever Kent brought up what a hardworking family his was, Elise knew she couldn’t say anything. To stand up to him with the truth made Kent go into a rage—then leave. One time he stayed away for three days.
Tonight she was preparing his favorite meal: meat loaf and mashed potatoes. For all his illustrious ancestry and an Ivy League education, his tastes tended toward the ordinary. Kent’s idea of a good time was a football game and buffalo wings.
She took the meat loaf out of the oven just as she heard his car drive up. She grabbed the shopping bag and shoved it under the pot holders in the towel drawer.
He entered, frowning, and Elise went to him to kiss him hello. “Don’t start on me. I’m not in the mood.”
She stepped away. He’d been this way since the dinner party. Angry, sullen, and as though he was deep in thought about something.
In the past, she would have tried to coax him out of his bad mood, but tonight she didn’t feel like doing that. She went to the kitchen, made herself a plate, then went outside to sit on the little patio to eat alone.