"Abuela… He's waiting for you to say yes to him. He's holding out for you."
"Don't be foolish. He is not."
"He is. He's waiting for you to say yes, and he's never going to stop asking until you do. What do you have to lose by having dinner with a nice man who likes you?"
"I can't do that here. Everyone would talk. It would be mortifying."
I stare at her, incredulous. "Is that why you haven't said yes to him before now?"
She picks up the pace of her silverware rolling, but the set of her shoulders gives away the truth.
"If you say yes to him, I'll personally make sure no one says a word about it. I promise."
"Good luck with that in this family."
"I'll put up a firewall around you. I promise, Abuela. No one will say a word."
"But they'll still know."
"That two consenting adults ate a meal together? What do you care if they know that?"
"I can't bear to be the center of attention and gossip. I just can't."
"I'll put out the word that the topic is off-limits. I'll make sure of it, Abuela. Or I'll ask Mr. Muñoz to take you somewhere else."
"Somewhere else," she says with a disdainful huff of laughter. "There is nowhere else."
The curse of owning and working for a family restaurant known for its outstanding cuisine has made restaurant snobs out of us all.
"Say yes to him, Abuela. Please say yes."
Before she can reply, we spot early birds showing up at the hostess stand, and she takes off to greet them.
We start to get busy, but I keep an eye on her and watch for Mr. Muñoz, who comes at the same time he does every week, says a few complimentary words to Abuela as she shows him to his table—always C32, from which he can see the hostess desk—and asks her to join him. From across the room, I watch him gesture to the chair across from his. The hopeful expression on his handsome face touches me deeply. Please say yes, Abuela. I'm not sure if I think it or say it, but I watch them so closely, I barely blink or breathe in the full minute it takes for her to pull out a chair and take a seat.
It's all I can do to contain the joy that fills me as she settles into her seat and drops the napkin we rolled together across her lap.
The stunned look on his face is priceless.
Vivian approaches me from behind, taking me by surprise. "What's going on?"
I use my chin to direct her attention to C32. "Look."
She gasps at the sight of her long-widowed mother sitting with a man.
"You can't say anything about it to her. I promised her we wouldn't make a thing of it. Okay?"
"I, um, okay."
"Will you tell everyone else? I got the feeling she wanted to say yes to him but didn't want everyone teasing her about it. I promised her we wouldn't."
"I'll put out the word."
"Are you okay with it?"
"Oh, honey, of course I am. She's been alone for such a long time. After my dad died, I always hoped she'd find someone else, but she was so stubbornly determined to stay true to him. What do you suppose made her finally say yes?"
"I think it was Vincent telling her and Nona that they needed to find something to do besides work. And when I promised her I wouldn't let anyone tease her, that seemed to help make up her mind."
"That's wonderful, Dee. Well played."
"I'd better get over there and take their drink order before she starts critiquing the service."
Vivian laughs. "Good idea."
"You'll tell everyone to play it cool?"
"Yep. I'll take care of it, and I'll cover her hostess stand."
"Thanks, Auntie V." I head over to C32, where Abuela and Mr. Muñoz are engaged in animated conversation that stops when I get close to the table. "Hi there, welcome to Giordino's. I'm Dee, and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I offer you a cocktail?"
I know their drink orders by heart, but I play the role anyway.
Mr. Muñoz gestures to Abuela. "Marlene, what are you having?" His eyes sparkle with pure delight that makes my heart happy.
"I'd like a vodka Collins, please, with Absolut and two cherries."
"Coming right up. And for you?" He always gets Maker's Mark bourbon with branch.
"I'll have the same," he says, smiling at her. "That sounds delightful."
She blushes furiously.
Could they be any cuter? I go to the bar to get their drinks. When I return, his arms are on the table, and he’s hanging on her every word. After placing their drinks on the table, I run through the list of specials and take their order. She orders the ropa vieja, and he requests the picadillo.
"I'll be right back with salad and bread." As I start to walk away, Vivian brings another party to a nearby table without so much as a glance in her mother's direction.
Perfect.
Over the next couple of hours, they enjoy dinner, dessert and a bottle of champagne Vincent sends over.
Abuela is giggling and smiling and generally having a wonderful time. It's the best thing I've ever seen. They're still there when we begin to clean up for closing.
"Are we going to have to kick them out?" Vivian asks.
"Maybe."
But before we can do that, Mr. Muñoz stands to help Abuela out of her seat.
I walk over to say good night.
He hands me his credit card.
"Vincent said to tell you it's on the house."
"That's very nice of him. Please thank him for us."
"I'll do that."
He puts his card back in his wallet, withdraws a hundred-dollar bill and presses it into my hand. "Marlene tells me you're going to Phoenix to help your new boyfriend move to Miami. Use this for dinner one night on your trip."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Muñoz. Can I call a cab for you two?"
"I already ordered an Uber. I'll see Marlene home safely."
I kiss Abuela and whisper in her ear, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
She sputters and smacks at my arm, but as she walks away with her hand tucked into his bent elbow, she's as happy as I've ever seen her as if she's finally done something she's wanted to do for a long time.
I'm still high off the success of Abuela's "date" when I get home and jump in the shower. I throw in a load of laundry and pack for the trip to Phoenix before I settle in bed to call Wyatt.
He immediately accepts my FaceTime call. "Hey, beautiful. How was your night?"
"It was so great. You won't believe what happened." I tell him all about Abuela and Mr. Muñoz and how she finally said yes to him. "She was so happy. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen."
"You did a good thing giving her a push."
"I know what it's like to have everyone up in my business and how uncomfortable that can be. If all it took was a promise for no one to tease her, it was worth it. I'm so happy for both of them. He's just the nicest man. Vincent treated them to dinner, but Mr. Muñoz gave me a hundred dollars to take you to dinner on our trip."
"Very nice of him. I'll make sure you get some awesome Southwest food while you're here."