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“He wasn’t always like that. I mean, I’d never heard him speak the way he spoke to us last Friday. But I wasn’t surprised, all the same.”
“You weren’t.”
“Luca grew up in the Bronx, in the nineties. It wasn’t such a nice place to be back then. And deep down, I think he’s still there, in some ways.”
“Do you think he’s really going to sue?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him. But then, I wouldn’t put it past anyone.”
“Why?”
“You can always rely on people to let you down,” I said, slowly emptying my glass and setting it down on the pristine, white tablecloth. “First they say one thing, then they do another.”
“But people can change, right? They can get better. They can surprise you—even if they’ve done something to hurt you.”
“Not in my experience.”
Lola looked a little downcast about that, so I decided to change the subject.
“You got any brothers or sisters?”
“Two brothers. What about you?”
I didn’t answer her. “Wow. Two brothers. That’s a hell of a lot of carnage for one house, huh?”
“Come on, Alex.”
“What?”
“I just asked you a question. About your family. And you skipped right over it.”
Damn.It wasn’t the first time I’d underestimated Lola. And now she was going to press me for details.
“It was just me, actually.”
“And your parents?”
“My mom.”
“Oh,” said Lola. She nodded politely, but I could see she was thinking all kinds of things.
“Is it true you grew up in Philadelphia?”
“Hey, look,” I said. “The waiter’s coming.”
He arrived and took our order. I asked for something high in protein, with vegetables. Lola asked for no anchovies. I looked suspiciously at her for a moment.
“No anchovies?”
“What?”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“No. I can’t stand them. They’re salty and fishy. Gross.”
“You never tried Gabriel’sbagna caudaat work?” My head chef’s anchovy sauce was legendary, and had been one of the first things reviewers picked up on when we opened.
“If anything could change my mind, it would be that, I’m sure. But they’re not for me.”
