The Restaurant Critic's Wife by LaBan Elizabeth

Author:LaBan, Elizabeth [LaBan, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781503947757
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2016-01-05T08:00:00+00:00

On Monday morning at 9:35 the doorbell rings. It’s the FedEx man with the papers Ed promised. I am still in my pajamas, Hazel is watching television, and Henry is already taking his morning nap. The young, tan-even-though-it’s-been-a-long-winter man thrusts the thin envelope at me. Without thinking, I put my hands behind my back. He looks surprised, then smiles.

“Something you don’t want, huh?” he asks. “Or do you want to play rock, paper, scissors with me?”

“Neither, I think,” I say, smiling at him. He seems nice, like Sebastian. “It’s just that it might be more than I can handle.”

“I know that feeling,” he says, pushing the envelope toward me again. This time I take it.

“Thanks,” I say.

“Don’t mention it,” he says, turning to go down the stoop. “Good luck,” he calls over his shoulder.

I close the door and sit on the couch with the sealed envelope. I look at the front. It is addressed to me. The image of my suitcase comes to mind. I go upstairs and pull it out from under my bed, trying not to wake Henry, who is sleeping in the bassinet next to the bed. Then I sit on the floor, using the suitcase as a table. I open the envelope, read through the papers. Everything is in order, just as Ed promised. I’m not committing myself to more than a few weeks of freelance work. I am not signing on to be a full-fledged employee. This is a short-term contract. I’ll stay away from the media. As I look at the space on the first form that asks for my full name, I get a great idea. I should change my name! I could go back to my maiden name! Maybe Sam wasn’t so crazy when he suggested that before we moved to Colonial Court. If I had known this was going to be such a big obstacle, I would never have changed it in the first place. No, that’s not true. I want to have the same last name as Hazel and Henry. I don’t know what to do. Which is the bigger sacrifice? I am thinking this all through when the doorbell rings again.

I run back down and open the door. It’s the FedEx guy again.

“I didn’t realize,” he says, smiling. “That was a round-trip.”

“What?” I ask.

“It means that if the addressee answers, I’m supposed to wait and take it back to the sender,” he says.

“Oh,” I say, thinking how smart Ed is. “No, I know what a round-trip is. I’m just surprised—that’s all.” I am about to tell him that I’m not ready, that I have to decide about changing my name first, when it sinks in that it really isn’t going to make any difference. Even if I change my name back to Lippencott, Sam still isn’t going to want me to work. On the flip side, if he comes around, it isn’t going to be because I changed my name. It is going to be because he understands that having me stay home full-time is asking too much of me.

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