Beauty and the Feast (12 page)
“Aren’t you suddenly the social butterfly. I’ll get on it, boss.”
Gabe hoisted the files and stacked them on top of Marsha’s desk in a neat pile.
“Remind everyone to bring their swimsuits,” he instructed her. Then he added, “Marsha, what time do you think people ought to arrive?”
“
?”
“
it is, then. Oh, and have them RSVP by Wednesday so Eva has enough time to prepare.”
“Eva? You and your one-night chef on a first name basis already?”
Gabe winked at his assistant. “You might say that.”
“He wants you back!” Tom was all smiles when Eva showed her face in the office. “He wants you back this Sunday.”
“Uh… yeah, he, uh, mentioned something about Sunday,” said Eva.
“You nailed it, Eva. This is a big deal, a barbecue for his entire staff and their families. All day. You’re going to need us to help out. His assistant figured there could be as many as forty people there.”
Tom, you have no idea how close I came to nailing
it, Eva thought.
Actually, getting nailed would be more accurate.
“You all right?” asked Marcus, pointing to the black and blue mark on her forehead.
“Huh?”
“You know, your bike wreck.”
“How did you find out about that?”
“Gabriel Abbott’s gardener, Luis, brought your bike into the office this afternoon. He said you’d been in a bike wreck.”
“Where is it?”
“Over there.” Marcus pointed a finger over his shoulder.
Eva walked over to her bike. She knelt down to take a look. The front tire had been replaced and the bike had been repaired and cleaned. She figured that either Gabe or Luis had taken it to the bike shop this morning and told them to put a rush on it. Maybe Luis. More likely Gabe. Luis was far too polite to insist that a bike shop drop everything and take care of her bent rim, even if Gabe had instructed him to do so. She assumed Gabe had paid for the repairs. He was that kind of guy. She’d need to reimburse him.
“Do you mind if I leave it here until tomorrow?”
“Of course not,” said Tom, “Now let’s talk about this barbecue. Any ideas?” Eva could tell he was eager to get down to business and excited at the prospect of meeting Gabriel Abbott.
“Let me give it a little thought and I’ll have a plan drawn up for you by tomorrow afternoon. That should be soon enough. It’s not until Sunday. I may have to talk to Mrs. White again. She usually has big plans for the weekend too, and that will require a little juggling and some extra prep time from me.”
“We can send Miriam,” offered Marcus.
Eva smiled at him. “Won’t work. Jason will have a fit. Can you find out if Ruth will be available for Sunday? She makes a great hostess. And warn Byron and Jose. I’ll definitely need them for set up and take down.”
“Got it,” agreed Tom.
“Hey, guys, I’m wondering…” Eva hesitated for a moment. “I’m wondering if I could take a couple weeks off. I haven’t been back home in a year and I’m feeling a little homesick.”
“When?” asked Marcus.
“The beginning or middle of June? That sound okay?”
“Should be,” replied Tom. “Unless Gabriel Abbott books us for another shindig. His assistant indicated he may need you again.”
“Did his assistant, um, say anything about the dinner this weekend?” Eva asked after a moment.
“Not a word,” answered Tom. “Everything go all right?”
“Far as I know,” she said. “Just wondering.”
“I assume he liked your food or she wouldn’t have called us back. Don’t worry Eva. I’m sure you did a bang-up job, as usual.”
Eva felt her cheeks grow warm. She turned to leave. “All right, I’ll see you two tomorrow. Call if anything comes up.”
“Oh, Eva,” came Tom’s voice, “I meant to ask you, who was the special guest? You pick up any clues?”
“Not a one,” Eva answered with a smile.
* * * *
Eva headed Up Valley to retrieve the items she’d left at Gabe’s house. She’d toyed with the idea of begging Marcus to run up there for her but she realized that was just plain ridiculous. For one thing, Marcus wouldn’t recognize her stuff. For another, Gabe wouldn’t even be there. Besides, what was she afraid of?
I can answer that
, snorted Eva,
myself
.
Jumping his bones before I make it through the front door.
As Eva pulled into the long drive, she spotted Luis pruning a rose bush that had fallen over the roadway. She pulled to the side and turned off the engine. She climbed out of the car, heading directly for him so she could thank him for arranging to have her bike repaired and the tire replaced.
“
Hola, Luis, buenos tardes
,” Eva called.
“Muchos gracias por mi bicicleta.”
“
Qué
?” Luis responded. He pulled a pair of ear buds out of his ears.
Eva grinned at him. Even Luis liked his iPod.
“
Mi bicicleta. Muchos gracias
.”
“
Ah, sí
. It was my pleasure.
Señor
Abbott dropped it off at the bike shop this morning and he asked me to return it to you today. I didn’t have your home address so I took it to your office. I hope that was all right.”
“Yes, that was perfect. Thank you.”
“
Señor
Abbott has made a police report about the incident too, so you should expect a call today or tomorrow.” Luis’ expression grew stern. “You should have called the police immediately.”
“But I wasn’t badly hurt,” Eva protested.
“But you could have been,” Luis admonished her. “Besides, the driver was probably drunk.”
“You’re right,” Eva admitted. “That was really stupid of me. I should have called the police right away. No excuses.”
Luis shrugged and smiled in apology. He pointed to the bump on her forehead. “There’s your excuse,” he said.
“Why does everyone keep pointing at that?” Eva grumbled.
“Because it is very purple,” he said with a grin.
Eva grinned back at him. She thought of something she wanted to ask, but she wasn’t sure he’d answer her. “Luis, you know the dinner I made for
Señor
Abbot? For Saturday night?”
“Si?”
“Why didn’t he… What happened? Do you have any idea? He told me it didn’t work out. I hope… I hope it had nothing to do with me.”
Luis rubbed his ear, considering her question. “I only know that
Señor
Abbott arrived here with a woman and left with the same woman a short time later. Around
he returned alone, on his motorcycle. The lights were on in the house until very late.” The look he shot her was perceptive.
Eva was fishing and she realized Luis knew it. “Just wondering,” she answered blandly.
“
Señor
Abbott enjoys the company of many women,” Luis volunteered. “It would be good for him to settle upon one.”
Eva wondered if the man was warning her or encouraging her, but she wasn’t in the mood to hear anything more specific, especially about the
many women.
“I’m going to the house to get a few things I left here.” Eva started back toward her car. “Oh… Luis… I almost forgot. Mr. Abbott has arranged for me to cater a party for his employees this Sunday. Can you meet me on the patio in a few minutes so we can talk about where I can set up a couple barbecue grills and I’d like a fire pit, if possible?”
“Of course,” he replied with a slight nod of his head.
“And Luis, I expect you to be there. As my guest.”
The man’s smile was wide. “May I ask
mi hermana
to accompany me?”
“Please,” Eva agreed, “I would love to meet her.”
“Thank you,
Señorita
Eva. I would be honored.”
“Just Eva.”
Gabe flew to
Chicago
Monday night. He’d received a call from his mother informing him that his mentor, Father Green had been rushed to the hospital over the weekend. He’d contracted a severe case of pneumonia. Gabe’s mother told him things weren’t looking good. Not only did Gabe admire Father Green tremendously, he was the closest thing to a real father Gabe had. He loved the man. So did his little sister. Gabe didn’t hesitate to drop everything and hop on a plane.
It was early morning when Gabe arrived at
Chicago
’s O’Hare, but he took a cab straight to the hospital. His sister waited for him outside the ICU. Elise seemed so tiny as he approached, but she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Gabe could tell she’d been crying.
“I’m not too late, am I?” Gabe asked.
“No. He’s actually…he’s a little better. I just hope this isn’t the last hurrah. You know…the calm before the storm. He’s been asking for you.”
“Will they let me in so late?”
“Yeah,” Elise answered. “Lucky for you I have privileges at this hospital.”
Gabe studied his sister for a moment. She appeared puny, the same puny she’d been the first three months of her previous two pregnancies. “You planning on giving me another niece or nephew, Lise?”
“That obvious, huh?”
“To me,” Gabe said. “You always lose weight the first couple months. When’s this one due?”
“November.”
“Mom know yet?”
“Yup.”
“Sis, you are a regular baby-making machine.”
“Well, big brother, somebody has to be since I don’t see any indication that you plan to settle down in the near future. Who’s your current flame? No, wait,” she added. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. She’s tall and blond and buxom.”
Gabe opened his mouth to speak.
“Hold on,” his sister continued, holding up a finger. “She’s Harvard educated. A professional. A lawyer maybe. An investment banker. Just once, can’t you date a woman who’s not
something
? Can’t you find a nice, normal woman for a change? Do you know how happy Mom would be if you could find someone and settle down?”
Gabe opened his mouth again but he wasn’t entirely certain how to respond. “I’m not dating anyone right now,” he said, feeling self-conscious.
Elise looked skeptical.
“I’m not, Sis. I’m interested in someone but we’re not dating.”
The look of skepticism on his sister’s face was replaced by a look of genuine surprise.
Elise teased him, “Interested, eh? Not dating? A woman who can resist the irresistible Gabriel Abbott? This sounds promising. Who is she?”
Gabe laughed. “A farmer’s daughter from
Avoca
,
“Oh my God, I like her already. She cooks for you?”
“Yeah, I hired her to cook for me.”
“Because she’s tall, blond and buxom?”
“No Sis, I hired her because her food is out of this world. She can cuss like a truck driver, and she has a deliciously round little ass and the sweetest pink—”
Elise stuck her fingers in her ears. “
bedded
her?”
“Quaint,” Gabe responded with a roll of his eyes, “No, I haven’t
bedded
her.”
“Really? Now this is interesting news. The great lothario, Gabriel Abbott doesn’t jump straight into bed with a woman? What a novel idea.”
“Sis,” replied Gabe, ruffling her hair affectionately, “give me a little credit. I’m not quite that bad.” He suddenly became serious. “I’m going in to see Father Joe. You coming?”
“No. I was with him just an hour ago. I think there’s something he wants to talk to you about. A young man he wants to make sure is taken care of if the worst happens.”
“Lise, what are his chances?”
“Well,” she thought for a moment, equally serious, “as of today, I’d say better than fifty-fifty. That’s a big improvement over yesterday.”
Gabe started for the door.
“Gabe,” his sister called after him. “Be prepared. The past few days have aged him.”
Gabe quietly entered the Intensive Care Unit; it was directly across from the nurse’s station. Gabe stopped in his tracks at his first sight of the sick man.
Father Joe Looked old. He wasn’t. Gabe had never considered sixty to be old. But the illness had turned the vibrant, indefatigable man into a pale husk. Another priest from the school sat by his side, praying. Gabe stood still in the doorway until he finished. The priest nodded at Gabe as he left the cubicle, Gabe took his place at the bedside and knelt down. He took Father Joe’s hand in his.
“Father, it’s me…it’s Gabe. I came to see you as soon as I heard.”
The older man opened his blue eyes. Gabe could see over the oxygen mask covering the priest’s mouth and nose that they remained bright as ever.