Page 37 of The Pretender (Mifflin County Mysteries #3)
Belleville
T HE FOLLOWING DAY , WHEN THERE still had been no word from Anthony, Rosa went to the phone shed to call him again. She felt relieved when he responded.
“Oh hey, Rosa,” Anthony said. “Sorry for not calling to let you know I made it home, but I misplaced my cell, and by the time I found out where it was, the battery had died; plus it was late. I did plan to call you this morning, but you beat me to it.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad to know that you made it back to New York. I’m sure it feels good to be home.”
“In some ways not so much, but I’m sure that I’ll feel better about things once I find a job.”
“What about your job at your parents’ restaurant?” Rosa pulled her jacket collar a little tighter to keep the cold draft off her neck. It was so chilly in the phone shed this morning that she could see her fog-like breath every time she opened her mouth to speak.
“The job’s been filled. My dad hired a young fellow to take my place, and the restaurant doesn’t get enough activity to keep three cooks working.” There was a pause, followed by a groan. “Oh, I forgot to mention—Pop did offer me a job—as a busboy, no less. Can you believe that?”
“Did you accept the offer?”
“Of course not! There’s no way I could work for lower wages, doing something I’m overqualified for. Nope. I turned the job down flat, so I’ll be heading out soon to see if I can find a chef’s position at one of the other restaurants here in the city.”
Rosa heard the frustration in Anthony’s voice. She couldn’t blame him for being upset. A chef who cooked as well as he did deserved to be doing something better than bussing tables, and she told him so.
“I agree,” he countered, “but that doesn’t change the facts.”
“I bet you’ll find something soon.” Rosa’s fingers felt so numb she could barely hold on to the phone’s receiver. “I’d better let you go, Anthony, so you can begin your day and find the perfect job. I’m sure that whichever restaurant you end up cooking for, the owners will be glad they hired you.”
“I hope so. And you’re right. I do need to get going pretty soon. But before we hang up, I’d like to know how things are going there for you. Are your folks still pretty upset about me pretending to be your husband?”
“I’m sure they are—especially my father, but Mom is a little more understanding and has been trying to offer me some support.”
“So you don’t have to worry about being asked to leave?”
“I don’t think so, but I know it’ll be an embarrassment for them when the word gets out that you and I were just pretending to be married.
” Her voice faltered, and she paused for a breath.
“They know you’re not my baby’s father, but I haven’t given them all the details yet about the affair I had with Jeff. ”
“Sorry I can’t be there to help shield you from that.”
“It’s okay. You’re not at fault, and this is something I’ll have to deal with. What I did was wrong, and I’ve confessed my sin to God. Next, I’ll be asking Mom and Dad’s forgiveness for that as well.”
“I’m sure once the baby comes and they get to enjoy the experience of being grandparents, things will be better and they’ll find it in their hearts to forgive you for anything they disapprove of.”
“I hope you’re right. I can’t imagine going through this without their support.”
“I believe my mom’s on my side, but I wish I had my dad’s support.” Anthony spoke quietly, almost mumbling his words. “Pop’s never been the understanding type, and it seems like his impatience and intolerance of me has gotten worse over the years.”
“You never know. Some things do improve with the passing of time.” Rosa shifted her body on the unyielding chair she sat upon.
It was getting more difficult to remain in the phone shed, but it was nice talking to him, so she had endured the discomfort.
“I’ll be praying for you, Anthony—that you find the right job and that things get better between you and your dad. ”
“Thanks. Take care, Rosa. I’ll let you know if anything changes, and I hope you’ll do the same on your end.”
“I will. Bye for now.” Rosa hung up the phone and swiped at the tears that had escaped her eyes and felt as though they were frozen to her face.
Anthony had only been gone a day, but she missed him already.
Part of Rosa wanted to suggest he come back to the Big Valley and try to find a job at one of the restaurants in the area.
But she reminded herself, yet again, that they were from different worlds and were not meant to be together.
“I need to forget about Anthony and the strong feelings I have for him. It’s best for both of us if we move on with our lives and focus on the paths we were meant to take.
” Rosa’s words were spoken out loud. Her throat felt clogged, and she swallowed hard as she uttered her final words before leaving the shed.
“I am sure that after Anthony finds a job and moves forward, he will be glad that I’m no longer a burden for him.
” Truthfully, Rosa figured she would probably never hear from Anthony again.
New York City
Anthony entered his apartment and flopped onto the couch with a moan that reverberated off the walls.
He’d spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon looking for a job and finding nothing.
It was hard to believe that none of the restaurants he’d visited needed a cook.
In a city the size of New York, with its many eateries, surely there must be at least one chef’s position open.
I can’t stop trying. I’ll need to keep looking , Anthony told himself.
As he lay staring at the ceiling, Anthony’s thoughts went to Rosa and the conversation he’d had with her early this morning.
It had felt good to talk to her, and he appreciated her encouragement about finding the right job, as well as the hope of the relationship he had with his father improving.
Anthony wanted to believe her, but knowing how stubborn his father could be, he doubted that anything would ever change between them.
When Pop made up his mind about something, it wasn’t likely that he could be persuaded to change it—not even with Mom’s encouragement.
Why does life have to be so difficult? Anthony wondered. I always try to be a nice guy, and I took pity on Rosa when I heard she was expecting a baby and wanted to go home. And look where that got me—Rosa’s dad and mine are mad at me, and I’m out of a job.
Anthony sat up and plodded out to the kitchen in his bare feet to see if there was anything in the refrigerator he could eat.
It was the first time he’d bothered to check out the contents since his arrival.
This morning, in a hurry to start job hunting, Anthony had showered, gotten dressed, and rushed out the door.
His first stop was the neighborhood coffee shop, where he’d purchased a latte and one raspberry-filled donut.
He’d figured that would hold him over till he’d grown tired of job hunting for the day.
Anthony had also hoped there would at least be something in his refrigerator to get him by for a day or so.
When Anthony grabbed the handle and jerked open the door, he slammed it shut just as quickly.
“Phew! What a stench! I bet nearly everything in there went bad while I was gone.” He was in no mood to go grocery shopping right now or clean out the spoiled contents in the fridge.
However, the rumbling in Anthony’s belly spoke loud enough that he knew he had to make a choice.
He would pitch all the food that had gone bad and clean and sanitize every shelf, tray, and drawer in the refrigerator.
Once that chore was done, he would go to one of the fast food places nearby for a bite to eat.
After that, he’d stop by the grocery store and buy enough food to last him for at least a week.
“It’s a good thing I have some money saved up, or I might have had to let my apartment go and sleep in my car,” Anthony muttered as he opened the cupboard and grabbed a plastic garbage bag to put the smelly contents in before hauling it outside to the dumpster, located behind the apartment building.
Fortunately, while Anthony had been gone, he’d been able to use his cell phone to pay his rent and utilities via his bank account.
One thing was for sure: It would be a cold day in the hottest part of Arizona before Anthony would ask his folks if he could move in with them. Nope, that would never work out.
Seeing his duffle bag in a corner of the living room, Anthony picked it up and hauled it to his bedroom. After dumping the contents out onto the bed, he was taken by surprise when he noticed a black book that tumbled out among his clothes.
“What in the world?” He picked the book up, turned it over, and stared at the title: Holy Bible.
His lips compressed. “For goodness’ sake,” Anthony muttered. “I wonder how that got in there. Could Rosa have put the Bible in the bottom of my bag, thinking I might miss the time of morning devotions, when her father read a portion of scripture from the Bible before everyone began their day?”
Anthony put the book on his nightstand. He might open it one of these days, but not right now.
When there was a lull between the lunch and supper crowd, Lavera headed to the kitchen to speak with Herb. Upon arrival, she was glad to see that Billy was not in sight. She figured he had probably gone to the restroom or was on a late lunch or early dinner break.
Lavera spotted her husband across the room, standing near the stove, so she went over to him. “Herb, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Can it wait?” he asked without turning to look at her. “I’m heating up the new sauce I created and need to keep an eye on it.”
“It could wait, I suppose, but it’s important, and I would really like to talk about it now.”
“Well, spit it out, then, because I’m not gonna leave this sauce unattended.”