The Recessionistas by Alexandra Lebenthal

Author:Alexandra Lebenthal [LEBENTHAL, ALEXANDRA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000
ISBN: 9780446568890
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard

On Saturday morning, Renee woke up early to get a few things done before her 9:00 a.m. breakfast with Bitten and Grigsby. She couldn’t wait to see if Grigsby had imparted her social graces to her daughter, not to mention if she embodied the values about which Grigsby had waxed prolific.

She decided to go for a run before breakfast so she wouldn’t feel too bad about having the Goldie Lox scrambled eggs with sausage and a pumpkin muffin. Dollops of cream cheese and lox in her eggs along with gobs of butter and jam on her muffin were worth an hour of running.

Central Park was glorious in the fall. The colors of the trees were starting to change from yellow to orange to red. The air was crisp, and runners and bikers were taking advantage of the park and everything it had to offer, knowing that bitter winds and chills would soon set in. She decided to run the full six-mile loop and was struck by how particularly beautiful the north end of the park was, even though the hills were killer up there.

When she got back to her apartment, she took a quick shower and took the subway to 96th and Lex and walked to Sarabeth’s on 92nd and Madison. During the weekdays, Sarabeth’s was fairly quiet. Mothers planning school benefits met there and a few low-key business meetings took place, but it was on the weekends that it came alive as a well-known brunch spot. From 9:00 a.m. when it opened until midafternoon, a steady stream of people made their way there for its well-known menu. Renee knew if they went anytime after 9:30, there would undoubtedly be a wait because of the no reservations policy. It wasn’t unusual later in the day for there to be a forty-five-minute wait, but at 9:00 they could sit right down.

She arrived at the restaurant exactly at 9:00 and, not seeing Grigsby there yet, went up to the hostess to say they would be three. The woman at the desk said, “Is your entire party here?” and Renee responded, “Not yet.”

“Okay, well, let me know when they are and we will seat you.”

Renee sat down in the waiting area, a narrow pathway in front of the bakery case. Muffins, cookies, and brownies stared at her plaintively, saying, “Eat me!” She assumed that Grigsby would be there in a minute or two since they lived only around the corner. Even though Renee didn’t have kids, she knew it must be difficult getting out the door first thing on Saturday morning. She looked at her watch and realized it was almost 9:10. She noticed a few more people coming into the restaurant, but no Grigsby. Tables started filling up. At 9:17, she thought maybe Grigsby had gotten the day wrong and thought they were meeting Sunday, not Saturday. She thought maybe she should call her but realized she hadn’t gotten Grigsby’s cell phone or home phone. When Renee called her mother at work, she always called Donita’s cell phone.

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