“Mr. Fuentes—” Her mother caught herself and smiled, nodding at Mr. Fuentes. “Uh, Frank is a friend of Ruben’s, from his days of doing long hauls to Nevada. He owns a casino in Laughlin.”
“It’s a work in progress,” Frank said, smiling. “More of a hotel making the crossover to casino.”
“Oh, but you said you got your gambling license and that’s the biggest hurdle isn’t it?” her mother said, with an over-sized smile.
Frank nodded in agreement. Grace glanced back and forth between them, wondering what, if anything, this had to do with her. “Anyway Grace, Frank stopped by while he was in town. He might have a job for Ruben in Laughlin.”
Grace’s heart sunk. “We’re moving?”
Her mother did her fake laugh and placed her hand on her chest. “No, no. It’s a driving job. You see Frank will need someone to drive fresh seafood to his restaurant in his casino every day.” Her mother squeezed her hand at the mention of restaurant. “We’re going out to discuss the details and I thought it’d be nice if you could join us.”
No way. Her mother had had some crazy ideas in the past but there was no way she’d go along with where she thought this was going. “I… I have to study.”
With another squeeze of her hand, her mother smiled at her then glanced at Frank. “She’s very responsible when it come to her studies.” Frank smiled and her mother turned back to her. “But I’m sure you can get it done tomorrow. We’ll only be out a few hours.”
She pulled Grace by the hand. “C’mon, I’ll help you pick something out.” She turned back to Frank. “We’ll only be a few minutes. Make yourself at home. Ruben, offer him another beer.”
Rose followed them into her bedroom. As soon as the door closed, Grace turned to her. “What are you doing? I don’t want to go out with that man.”
“Yeah,” Rose said. “That’s gross. He’s old.”
Her mother ignored Rose. “You’re not going out with him. We’re all going out together. He mentioned being a little lonely these days so I thought maybe if you came along he might sweeten his offer.”
“No!”
Rose plopped onto the bed and crossed her legs, watching them both.
“Graciela, for Christ’s sake, it’s only dinner and you won’t even be alone with him. Is that too much to ask? You’re doing your family a favor.” Her mother opened Grace’s closet. “Where is that dress you wore for your cousin’s quinciniera?”
“I thought you said this was just dinner? That dress is way too fancy.”
Her mother was unbelievable. Of all the stunts she’d pulled this one took the cake. Even though she said it was just dinner, Grace had a feeling there was more up her mother’s sleeve. Judging by the way she squeezed her hand at the mention of Frank owning a restaurant, she knew her mom was already scheming.
“Well, he’s taking us somewhere fancy. So you have to look nice. Did you not notice the man is wearing a suit?”
Exasperated, but aware she wasn’t going to win this battle, she walked over to the closet and pulled out the dress. “Isn’t it a little late for dinner?”
“Dinner, cocktails, dancing, whatever, it’s all the same thing. Just hurry up and get ready.”
Her mom walked out the room but not before mouthing “te apuras.”
Yeah, she was in a real hurry to go out with this guy. Grace turned to Rose who looked at her sympathetically. “At least you won’t be alone.”
Suddenly Grace remembered and smiled. “I got a job today.”
“You did?” Her sister’s smile matched her own excitement. “Yeah, at Moreno’s in La Jolla.”
Rose’s blank stare didn’t surprise her. Unlike Grace, her sister wasn’t up on all the area’s best restaurants. She didn’t read “Fine Cuisine” magazine and follow the reviews religiously like Grace did. “It’s one of the best Mexican restaurants in the San Diego area—in all of Southern California if you ask me.” That was saying a lot, especially since Los Angeles was only two hours north of them.
“Really? So you’re their chef now?”
Grace chewed the corner of her lip. “No, I’m bartending. But they said they’d give me a chance and let me cook sometime.”
For a second, Rose seemed disappointed but quickly snapped out of. She knew how much Grace had been going on and on about trying to get hired at a good restaurant. She only had a couple more months of school before she graduated with her Culinary Arts degree. With her foot already in the door and with the opportunity to prove herself she was sure she’d make head chef in no time.
“I knew you’d find a job eventually, Grace. You’re an awesome cook. Abuelita taught you well.”
Grace felt a dull pang in her heart at the mention of her grandmother. Rose’s cell phone beeped and she looked down at her hands. That phone may as well have been surgically attached to her hands the way Rose kept it by her at all times.
“Mom says to tell you to hurry.”
With a roll of her eyes, Grace began changing. Her own phone was in her bag in the front room. No doubt her mother had already tried her phone. “Can you believe her?”
“Of course. This is so typical of her,” Rose said, lying down, putting her hands behind her head.
She had a point. Her mother would stop at nothing short of prostitution and drug dealing to make an easy buck. Even then, Grace didn’t completely rule those two out. She’d seen how her mom dressed on a few occasions when she was just going to dinner with a few friends. She was surprised Ruben let her walk out looking like that.