Once Upon a Project Read Online Free PDF Page B

pallid imitation of the long hair Susan and Grace had when they were eight. Dresses with Nehru collars the year they were ten, ankle-length maxicoats at twelve, formfitting popcorn blouses at thirteen, and the platform shoes and painter’s jeans and bodysuits that were popular during their high school years. Those bodysuits never rode up, which was great if you were wearing hip-hugging jeans with them, but my oh my, if you had to pee you had to be damn quick about unsnapping those crotches.
    She opened her eyes, and they fell on an entry on the pad that made her gasp. Mr. and Mrs. Enrique Suárez.
    My God. Ricky was coming. And bringing his wife. She’d never expected him to show up. Why had he decided to come? Did he want to rub it in her face that she’d become what used to be called an old maid?
    Sure, success stories like Ricky’s were what she was after, but nonetheless, Pat cursed herself for sending Miriam Suárez an invitation. Ricky must have heard about the luncheon through his mother. If she hadn’t made sure Mrs. Suárez knew about it, she wouldn’t be stricken with panic now to see his name on the RSVP list.
    But even as Pat pretended to be indignant, she knew she wasn’t being fair. She’d run into Miriam Suárez about seven years ago at the Moo and Oink on Stony Island Avenue, and she’d been shocked when Mrs. Suárez had revealed—after going on and on about how well Ricky’s downtown restaurant, Nirvana, was doing—that he had recently gotten divorced.
    â€œAh, these women today, they’re never happy,” Miriam had snarled, her pretty features momentarily unattractive. “My son worked so hard in his restaurant so his wife could live in a nice home and drive a nice car and have plenty of spending money in her pockets. But instead of being grateful, she complained all the time.” Her mouth twisted unbecomingly as she imitated her former daughter-in-law in a whiny voice. “‘He never spends any time with me or our daughter. He’s always at work.’ Hah!” she’d said, reverting to her normal manner of speaking, a youthful voice with just a faint hint of a Spanish accent. “She didn’t have sense enough to realize the link between his long hours and the comfortable life she lived. I would have given anything to have a husband who loved me and took care of me instead of one who left me with two babies to support.”
    Miriam had moved into Dreiser as a single parent, her husband having taken off, leaving her to fend for herself and their two sons. “When Ricky found out she had a boyfriend on the side, he got his lawyer to cut her loose without a dime, plus he got custody of my granddaughter.” She laughed triumphantly. “I’ll bet that new man of hers can’t afford to keep her in the style my son did. She’s probably buying her clothes at Wal-Mart now instead of Lord & Taylor.”
    As Pat listened to Mrs. Suárez’s contemptuous description of her former daughter-in-law, she could barely hide her delight at the news that Ricky was available again. She was convinced it was kismet for her to run into Ricky’s mother. The plan came together in her head before she and Mrs. Suárez parted.
    Even after seven years, Pat still remembered how hopeful she felt that day shortly after the encounter with Mrs. Suárez. Accompanied by one of the other ADAs from work, she dressed in her nicest suit and went over to Nirvana, where Ricky served a menu of steaks, chicken, and seafood with a Mexican twist. Normally she would have brought Grace, but she didn’t want Grace to know how much she longed for another chance with Ricky, how her heart still ached, even after all this time. If it all worked out, then she’d tell her. No point in putting the cart before the horse.
    She’d asked for him through their server, and he came out to say hello, looking even more handsome in