The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz

Author:Brenda Janowitz [Janowitz, Brenda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-250-09556-5
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2016-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

Thirty-Seven

“I don’t feel like I have to give in to the man like the rest of you,” Henry said.

“You were so right,” Sarah whispered to Joe. He smiled back. “I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this.”

“Give in to the man?” Gideon repeated back with a laugh. “Is that what you think I do?”

“All I’m saying is I’m happy where my life’s at right now.”

“I’d be happy, too, if I could live off Mommy and Daddy’s dime,” Gideon said to Malika in a stage whisper. She offered an uncomfortable laugh.

“Gideon,” Alan said. “That’s not how we speak to guests in this house.”

“Sorry, Dad,” he said.

Valentina sidled up to Joe and Sarah and opened her eyes wide as if to say: Can you believe this? Joe shrugged in response and Sarah gave her the big open eyes back. No! I can’t!

“Nice of you to join us,” Sylvia said.

“I think that fake potato pancake made me sick,” Sarah said.

“Keep your voice down!” Sylvia chastised.

“No offense,” Sarah called in the direction of the kitchen.

“None taken,” Chef Michael called back.

“I think it’s great if you’re happy where your life is right now,” Gideon said to Henry.

“Thanks,” Henry said. Even though he didn’t have a job and didn’t go to school, Henry was smart enough to know that Gideon didn’t really mean it.

“So what do you do all day?” Valentina asked.

Valentina always said the thing that was on everyone’s mind. She wasn’t asking to be malicious; she was genuinely curious as to what he did all day. She’d worked her entire life, from the time she was fourteen years old, and the thought of sitting around doing nothing had never occurred to her.

“All sorts of stuff,” Henry said. He did not elaborate. “So, what do you do all day?” he asked Joe.

“Me?” Joe asked, laughing. How funny that Henry would try to deflect attention from himself by putting it on Joe. “I run my father’s shop.”

“Your shop,” Alan and Sarah said in unison.

“Yeah, it’s my shop now,” Joe explained. “So, I pretty much do everything. Fix cars, run payroll, hire new guys when we need it. And now I’m trying to expand the business into high-end body work.”

“You own a small business,” the Boyfriend’s father said. “I think that’s wonderful. Small business is the backbone of our country. You should be really proud of yourself for what you do for your community and the economy.”

“We’re all very proud of our Joseph,” Sylvia said, and for a second Sarah thought she must have misheard her. As far as Sarah knew, Sylvia was not, nor has she ever been, proud of Joe. But then she crossed the room and stood next to Joe, putting her hand on his shoulder. “So proud.”

“You should be,” the Boyfriend’s father said. “We all should be. It’s small business that built this country and it’s small business that will save it, too.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Sylvia said. Her hand did not leave Joe’s shoulder. “That’s what I always say.”

It was not what she always said.

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