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time.
 You want I should do that right now? Paulie s grin was unapologetic.  I told you, Ma, I m working
on it.
Pop still glared at me like I was poaching on his staff. I hastened to assure him,  I only need two
waiters, that s it. One evening.
 Two? I can maybe find you one.
 Uh. Plus I need a bartender.
 That s three. Not one. You re the college boy didn t they teach you math at Manhattanville? The
table jerked and wine sloshed in their glasses as my mother kicked him.  What? Why d you kick me?
 You should ask that boyfriend of yours, Paulie cut in.  I bet he could mix a drink or two. How hard
is it to make a Cosmo? He seems capable.
 Dan? Hah.
 What? He d do it. Just ask him.
 Dan? That s& he& that s& 
 He thinks you hung the moon. He d do it.
 I wouldn t go that far, but&  I leaned against the vibrant upholstery and considered my brother.
Inconceivable. Paulie was on to something. Dan would be in the apartment anyway, and he d want to blend
and lurk. Peep and Tom. Shift his eyes. Like he always did.
Maybe he was going to stand at the door like a hulking bouncer and check his list against I.D.s for
gatecrashers? I couldn t picture it. He d hire people for that kind of grunt work. I remembered all the times
Dan the chameleon had disappeared in plain sight, flying under the radar he was damned good at it for
such a big guy, and for this party? He d want to be in the thick of things with no one the wiser.
Paulie drank his Chianti and looked smugly back at me.
 Holy smokes, I said to him,  that s actually a great idea.
 Hey, don t look so surprised. He tapped my wineglass with his.  Salud. I still got it.
 You oughta use it on Donna. I winked.
Paulie sauntered back to the bar, and my mother smiled.  He s a good boy. I want grandchildren, and
he s dragging his feet.
 I don t think it s his feet he s dragging.
She pursed her lips and her keen eyes looked shrewd.  How bad you need the help?
 Bad. I m out of options because I can t hire anyone I don t know. Which left off enticing any staff
away from the competition.
www.samhainpublishing.com 53
LB Gregg
 Okay. I know who ll do it. She was brisk and pleased.  They re trustworthy as long as you tell
them not to take anything they won t tattle, and they re both free agents on Friday nights. They don t give
a fig about movie stars, either.
 Really? That sounds perfect. Who did you have in mind?
 Ellie. Pop looked pained.  Mia famiglia? You re not thinking 
 Tino and Vito. You won t have to pay them. And they ll maybe give Dan some guidance. Did he
introduce you to his parents yet?
Tino and Vito? She was insane.  How much have you had to drink?
She stared expectantly at me. What else had she asked? Oh God. Dan s parents.
I swallowed. This had become a bone of contention. Not between Dan and me because he didn t seem
to mind that I kept postponing week after week possibly he hadn t noticed. This was an issue between my
mother and me.  It s only been a month and a half. It s not& time for that. I m not marrying the guy, for
God s sake. My parents exchanged a look that wasn t at all discreet, and I knocked back my wine in two
swallows. Marriage. Holy ever lovin Christ. It wasn t even legal. Yet.  I was supposed to go to
Westchester on Saturday, but something came up.
 Something always comes up. You want me to speak with him? My tiny mother looked bland, but let
me assure you she was concocting a plan to drag me down the aisle.
I didn t look good in white, and something told me Dan wasn t ready for Italian in-laws. It had only
been six weeks.
My collar felt unusually tight.  No. No. No. Something came up with me, not with him. I gotta go.
But, thanks. That s a great idea about Vito and Tino. I ll call them tonight.
I d have the most memorable catering staff those gilded-lily actors had ever seen. The entire Days cast
would get a crash Uta Hagen workshop in method characterization. No one did Brooklyn Italian like the
Romanos well no one did and lived to tell about it.
The vision of Tino and Vito dressed in aprons, foisting tandoori chicken skewers on D-list actors
well? I had to admit, it gave me a touch of indigestion. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]