“I know this, but they don’t keep me in the loop on everything. All I can say is that he had Gustavo following someone today. Not sure who or why, but I doubt it had anything to do with money.” He gives me a “what do you want me to do?” look, and I realize I’m talking to the wrong man. Papá is frustratingly good at diverting my attention from what I really want to know, so it’s impossible to get a straight answer from him, and Manny is far too loyal to betray my father even to me. Gustavo is the man I really need to talk to, but it might be difficult to win him over again after what happened last weekend.
Manny disappears inside, and I collect myself for a second to decide how to approach Gustavo. When I reach the dining table, our odd little family is seated, with my father at one end and Gustavo at the other. Manny and the twins fill out one side, and Elena sets one last dish in the center before taking a seat across from her sons, leaving the spot at Papá’s right for me. The end opposite Papá used to be my mother’s place, which sat empty for years. It’s only been recently that Gustavo has taken to sitting there when he stays for meals. I don’t like how entitled he behaves in our house, but I would feel like a petulant child if I brought it up with my father. If anyone has earned that seat, it’s me, not Gustavo. Mama was my father’s partner. Gustavo is his employee. On paper, I hold a higher status in the organization than he does.
I have to force myself to let those angry thoughts go for now. If I’m going to earn his trust, he can’t perceive any animosity.
“Where is your brother tonight?” Papá asks Manny. “You know he is welcome at my table too.”
“He had some business to take care of downtown,” Manny answers noncommittally. “But I’ll tell him you said so. Thank you.”
“Any friends of Elena’s children are welcome.”
Despite her status as our housekeeper, Elena has always held a special place in our lives, as have her kids. When Mama died, she stepped in and practically raised me from age eight. I’m grateful for her presence, which I think helped ease my father’s grief. I’ve even begun to hope that their affection for each other might evolve into something deeper, but they’ve never seemed more than platonic.
We join hands and Papá says grace, then Benny and Baz pounce on the food like hungry beasts. The table is silent for several minutes except for the sounds of food being served, then conversation picks up again.
“So,” Elena begins with a suggestive tilt of her eyebrow at Manny, “when are you going to make an honest woman of my daughter?”
All attention turns to Manny, who grins through a reddened face. “You think I’m going to give that away? You all are shit at keeping secrets.”
“You can tell me in private if you want,” Elena says. “I’ve kept a secret or two in my day.” She shoots him a devious smile.
If anything, Manny’s statement is the exaggeration. You can’t live in this house without being privy to dozens of secrets—some secrets I’m sure Elena will take to her grave.
Toni’s brothers toss some good-natured ribbing Manny’s way about keeping him honest. Manny’s reaction to the question makes me smile to myself though. Toni’s been in love with him for years, long before the pair became a couple. If he asked her to marry him, there’s no doubt in my mind she would accept. She’s always been like a sister to me, and I have to admit that I get some vicarious satisfaction seeing her so happy with him.
“You’d have to move to San Diego to be with her,” I say. “You know she won’t move her shop to LA, even for you.”
“If the woman loves him, she should move for him,” Gustavo chimes in. “Her place is where her husband is.”
Papá’s heavy brows draw in. “You should never ask a woman to choose between two things she loves. A good man would let her follow her heart. If it leads her back to him, then he knows he is worthy of her love.”
Gustavo snorts. “Don’t give me that ‘if you love someone, set them free’ bullshit. A woman will never respect a man who doesn’t maintain boundaries in the relationship.”
“Antonia would be a fool to leave San Diego and risk disrupting her show,” Elena says. “I’m sure she and Manny could work it out.”
Manny shakes his head and rolls his eyes at the rest of us. “She’d laugh at all of you trying to make this decision for us. Who the hell knows what the future holds? For all I know, she’ll want to move to Cabo and leave all you fools behind. Once we’re married, wherever she goes, I go.”
Elena claps her hands. “So you are going to ask her! I knew it!”
Manny groans as the table erupts in laughter and unsolicited commentary from the twins. Elena rises in the midst of it and clears the dishes. I pour another glass of wine and excuse myself, opting to skip dessert and take my glass into the library down the hall, where I prefer to work in the evening.
The french doors are open onto the rear patio, and a pleasant late-summer breeze coasts through. I open my laptop and log into the accounting dashboard. I click through to the real estate holding accounts, hoping to revisit my arguments for selling that building downtown. Guilt over my intention of displacing Maddox and his mom threatens to distract me when a shadow fills the doorway.
“Always working, even on the weekends.”
My head jerks up. Gustavo leans casually against the frame, his arms crossed.
I narrow my eyes at him when my heart stops racing. “You and Papá were engrossed in work when I got home. Any chance you’ll
