Evenings at the Argentine Club (35 page)

“It’s not nonsense. We’ve outgrown each other.”

He scowled. “Stop all this crazy talk. I love you, Jaqueline. I always have. You can’t tell me you don’t love me.”

“I don’t know you anymore.”

“Yes, you do.” He took her hand possessively. “You’ve always known who I was and what I wanted.”

She looked down at the ground and nodded. “I know what you’ve wanted. The American dream. I guess I hoped you’d give up all
those fantasies.”

“They’re not fantasies. But they
are
dreams. And dreams sometimes come true.” Victor gazed in Jaqueline’s eyes as the sun began to set and the cool air blew her
hair. “They come true if you believe hard enough.”

She swallowed and nodded. “I hope so, Victor. I know how much you need to have success. Money…” She smiled. “I hope these
restaurants bring you everything you’ve always wanted. I really do.”

“It’s not about the restaurants. You don’t understand. I saw the opportunity to finally accomplish my goals and decided to
take it. I thought if I could make this happen it would mean I was finally a success.” He squeezed her hands and urged her
to grasp the importance of what he was saying.

“I know. But the problem is that without that success you refused to be happy.”

He shook his head. “No. Well… yes. But that’s because I’ve been stupid and blind. I didn’t appreciate that I’ve always had
what I wanted and needed to be happy. It’s you, Jaqueline. I swear it.”

“I was only part of the little packaged dream you made up when you were a young boy in Argentina.”

“You were the most important part. Jaqueline, nothing is worth it without you. I’ve always wanted to make you proud. To be
a man you could look up to. I know you could have married someone better than me. Someone more educated. Someone who wouldn’t
have dragged you away from your family and friends. I know I was a wild card. And I want this wild card to pay off for you.”

She looked stunned. “Victor, you’ve always been more than enough. I never wanted anyone else. And I’ve always been proud of
you.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I haven’t been proud of myself. I promised you so much and… gave you so little.”

She touched the side of his face. “You gave me a lot. A good life, two wonderful daughters, a nice home in a safe neighborhood.
A lot.”

He opened his eyes. “But not enough. Not the attention you deserved.”

“That’s true. But maybe I shouldn’t have expected you to be everything. I drove you away. To… women who weren’t so needy.”

“No.” He tightened his lips to keep from cursing the bastard he had been. “I was an insecure boy. When I didn’t see the appreciation
I needed in your eyes I went to find it elsewhere. I hurt you and me and our marriage, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

The hurt in her eyes was just as fresh as it had been years ago.

“I’ve needed to prove to you, to myself, to everyone that I was something special.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry.” He was so busy
being self-absorbed he didn’t have anything left to devote to her.

She brushed decoration ribbon off her sweater. “Your ambition is what I loved most about you. But after so many years… I just
can’t compete with it anymore. I want peace.”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he nodded. The last thing he was going to have in the next couple of years was peace. Not
with all the restaurants opening. “Jaqueline, I don’t know what to say. We’ve been married for so long. I’ve loved you since
I was a boy. I don’t know how to let you go.”

“You’re going to have a huge business to run and all this money to spend.” She paused. “I know you, Victor. You’ll be so busy,
you won’t think of me often.”

Oh, God.
He was going to be sick. He was actually light-headed. “Jaqueline.
Please
. Give me one more chance. Give me some time to show you I can be different. That I can do both—be a businessman
and
a husband. I’ll take lots of time off to relax from the pressures of the business world. We can get to know each other again.
Then if there’s truly nothing left, I’ll concede.”

A smile crept to her lips. “Don’t you ever give up on anything?”

“Yes, but not on you. I adore you, mi vida, and I’m so close to giving you everything I promised.”

“Victor, I don’t want—”

“I’m not talking about things. I’m talking about what I promised in our wedding vows. Love, fidelity, cherishment, my heart.
Let me try again.”

She didn’t exactly agree, but she didn’t disagree. And she didn’t bring up the terrible word
divorce
again. This gave him hope. And he’d take what he could get.

Jaqueline hurried home from the club because she’d promised to watch Hugo’s children while he did some last-minute Christmas
shopping. He had been dropping them off every once in a while, and she enjoyed it. The kids brought life back to the house.
She made them special treats and spoiled them, and pretended for just a little while that they were her own grandkids.

“Watch this,” Daisy said, showing off one of her ballerina moves.

August reclined in a chair, playing an electronic game.

“Very good, Daisy. I’m glad your father enrolled you in ballet class.”

“Me, too.”

Hugo was a good father. She wished Victor had taken this kind of notice of her girls. But he hadn’t had to. She had done it
all. And it had worked out. At least now that they were women, Victor paid more attention to them. She was sensing a change.
A thrilling change. Victor wasn’t just doing what he was supposed to do. He seemed to really want to spend time with his daughters.
He was so excited about working with Victoria again, and about Carmen coming home for Christmas in a few days.

“Miss Jaqueline, are you watching?” Daisy said as she spun.

“I’m watching,” she said, and applauded. She looked at the boy again and stood. “Okay, let’s go to the kitchen. We’re going
to make dinner together.”

Daisy jumped up and down, but August continued to play his game as if he hadn’t heard. Probably hadn’t. She ruffled his hair.
“You, too.”

“What? Oh, sorry,” he said, sitting up straighter. “Did you want me to do something?”

“Yes, help me make dinner.”

“But I don’t know how to make anything.”

“I’ll teach you. You’re a big young man. You’re father needs help around the house, and it would be great if you, too, could
help him by making dinner every once in a while. What do you say?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, not sounding every excited.

Jaqueline put the kids to work. “Okay, August, take out some potatoes from that drawer there, and bring them to the sink to
peel. Daisy, get the carrots out of the refrigerator.”

By the time Hugo came to pick them up, they had a warm shepherd’s pie, steamed vegetables, and a fruit salad ready for him.
He ate happily and thanked her repeatedly. When he was ready to leave, he stood in the living room with tears in his eyes.
“Merry Christmas, Jaqueline.” He presented her with a small gift. “Just a small thank you for all you’ve done for us this
year.”

“Oh, Hugo, that wasn’t necessary.” She pulled out a lovely scarf and a little angel pin from the gift bag.

“You’re our angel,” he said, and leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

She blushed. Just like a young girl. “Wait here,” she said, and brought back the gifts she’d gotten for the kids. “Take them.
Put them under the tree and open them on Christmas morning.”

The kids hugged her and left happily with their father.

Jaqueline went back to the kitchen and prepared a plate of food for Victor. They’d come straight home from the club and she
knew he hadn’t eaten. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to put her trust and hope in Victor again. She’d convinced herself
that divorce was the best option for the both of them. And that hadn’t been an easy choice. But she’d made it, and to back-pedal
now… Well, she just didn’t know. She put on a sweater and walked back to the garage. She knocked on the door, and he opened
it.

“Thought you might be hungry,” she said.

“I am.” He took the plate. “All I bought was a bag of chips at the store yesterday. Want to come in?”

“No, thanks.” It struck her as crazy to be invited into her own garage.

“Did you enjoy babysitting?” he asked. “I saw the kids leave.”

“Yes, but they’ve worn me out. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Victor smiled. “Hugo seems like a nice man,” he said.

“Yes. It makes me wish we’d had a son, Victor.”

He shrugged. “I like my girls.”

“Me, too, but a boy… might have been nice.”

“Should we try again? We’re not
that
old.”

That made her laugh out loud. “Trust me, I’m too old for that.” They gazed at each other with a smile on their faces. “Good
night,” she said.

“Good night.” He held his plate up. “And thanks for this.”

“You’re welcome.” The problem with divorce was that she still loved him after all these years.

No one celebrated Christmas at the Argentine Club. Christmas was reserved for family gatherings. However, on December 23,
the club had its own celebration. Eric went out and bought a new suit with a red bow tie. He got a fresh haircut and even
had his rough hands manicured. Not just because of the holiday celebration, but because he planned his own celebration for
tonight.

They arrived around nine that night. The dinner would be formal. Instead of the customary Argentine dinner, turkeys and hams
were served by hired waiters. Everything smelled delicious. Christmas lights twinkled from the various decorations. “Silver
Bells” played softly from the speakers. Everything was perfect.

The joy he felt inside, he almost couldn’t process. This club held everything he loved. His parents, Victoria, bits of history
that made him who he was, and a community that had always considered him one of their own—a lost son, but their son.

He found himself smiling every time he looked at Victoria, who was dressed in a beautiful dark blue gown with gold lacy trim
molded to her body and flowing to her ankles. The missing parts of his life could only have been put together by this woman.

During dinner, his parents and hers sat together, because they knew Eric and Victoria would not be separated. The evening
flowed with synchronized perfection.

So later that night when Eric pulled Victoria out to the dance floor, he knew it was the perfect time to break his surprise.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

“Victoria?”

“Hmm.”

“Are you happy?”

She lifted her head, a soft smile on her lips. “Very happy.”

“How happy is that?”

“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say a nine point three.”

“Not bad. But I want it to be a perfect ten.” He pulled a gift from his coat pocket. A small box he didn’t bother to wrap.
A squashed red bow sat on top. He held it in the palm of his hand. “For you.”

She sort of smiled in a confused way. Glanced at the box and at him with a question.

“Take it. Open it.”

She quickly scanned the dance floor, appearing hesitant to take the box from his hand. But she reached for it and held it
between them. Her fingertips caressed the soft velvet; her eyes studied the outside as if it would give her a clue to what
was inside.

“Open it,” he urged again, whispering in her ear, hoping that she liked what he picked out. Wondering if maybe he should have
let her choose.

With shaky fingers she flipped open the hinged lid. The two-karat diamond winked at them both as the lights from above caught
each cut and angle. They had stopped moving on the dance floor, and some eyes were on them. Victoria stared at the ring without
speaking. Time seemed to stand still the longer she was silent. Then she snapped the box closed rapidly, and walked off the
dance floor without a word.

Victoria couldn’t breathe. Oh God, what had Eric done? She pushed past other dancers. Felt like the crowd was closing in on
her. Needed some space. A quiet spot to look at this ring. To look into Eric’s eyes and try to understand what he was thinking.

As she finally burst through the heat of bodies, and ignored a few people who called out to her, she reached the back room
where school was usually held. She drew in a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Eric was
not
going to ask her to marry him. And if he was, then this would become the most wonderful day of her life. But it would not
be with everyone from the club watching her reaction. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around.

Eric frowned as he stared at the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen in his life. She had a hand to her heart and didn’t look
like she was breathing too easily. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. It’s a nice ring. Thanks.”

“Nice ring? It’s an engagement ring.”

“I know.”

He smiled, trying to ignore the knot that had begun to grow in his stomach the second she walked away from him. “Well, you
didn’t wait around for the question that goes with that ring.”

“Eric…” She shook her head. “It’s Christmas.”

Christmas music still played out in the main hall—only the faint melody of “Everybody’s Home Tonight” floated into the back
rooms.

“Victoria, I know. Listen, I decided I don’t want to sell our house. I want to live in it with you and buy our own furniture
and decorate it, and live together in it for as long as we want, as a married couple.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, seeming unable to take in what he was saying. He’d shocked her, but not in the joyous
way he’d expected. Why not?

“And so you went out and bought a ring, and decided to propose? Here? Tonight?”

“Sure, it’s a special night. And a special place. What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. Her hands gripped the small blue velvet box tightly in front of her, putting strain
on her knuckles. “Eric, I’ve wanted to tell you something for a couple of weeks and kept putting it off, because I figured
it wasn’t a big deal. But… I sort of got a promotion at work.”

“You mean at the design firm? I thought you were finished with them as of this week.”