Read Online The Boyfriend of the Month Club by Maria Geraci - Free Book Online

have to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation.
    Pop took his customary seat at the head of the table, opposite Mami. Grace sat next to Abuela, and Charlie sat across from them, in between Sarah and Phoebe.
    Mami passed around the arroz con pollo while Phoebe entertained them with a story that involved Charlie and a client from the firm. The way Phoebe told it made Charlie sound like the Clarence Darrow of tax attorneys. Mami and Pop listened proudly, while Sarah pretended to be impressed (Grace knew that was an act). Grace didn’t think she’d ever seen Charlie look so miserable.
    “These are the best tostones I’ve ever had!” Phoebe said, “Thank you, Mrs. O’Bryan, for having me over today.”
    “You’re very welcome,” Mami said, catching Grace’s eye. Grace tried not to laugh.
    Mami was a fabulous cook, but Abuela, who was fabulous herself (just not in the kitchen) had made the tostones . As usual they were dry as a rock, but no one in the family would ever think of saying anything to Abuela about it. The fact that Phoebe had singled out the tostones to compliment either meant that Phoebe didn’t know much about Cuban food or she was just really brown nosing. Grace would guess it was a solid combination of both.
    Abuela leaned over and whispered, “What do you think of her?”
    “She seems nice.”
    “She’s not the one,” Abuela whispered back. “I had hoped . . . maybe there was something. But no.”
    Grace just nodded, because there wasn’t anything else to say really. She wondered how long it had taken Abuela to figure it out. Probably less time than it had taken Grace. Abuela might be eighty-two but she didn’t miss anything.
    “What about you, Gracielita? When are you going to bring someone home to Sunday dinner?” Abuela asked, her eyes bright.
    “When I find someone as terrific as Pop.”
    Mami, overhearing this, smiled at Grace.
    Abuela reached for Grace’s hand and covered it with her own. “You’ve already met him.”
    “What? No, Abuela, I’m not dating anyone right now.”
    Grace tried to lift her hand to resume eating, but Abuela tightened her grip. “You’ve already met him, mi amor , trust me. I’ve seen it.”
    A shiver ran down Grace’s spine. Abuela had never talked like this before. Grace had told Brandon’s obnoxious friend Doug that her grandmother dabbled in brujería , but it was a lie, of course. Abuela herself scoffed at all that Latin mumbo jumbo. Occasionally, Abuela would do something crazy, like throw buckets of water out the front door at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s (to toss out evil spirits), but that was done in the spirit of fun. The only exception to this was Abuela’s belief in the well-placed curse. Abuela wore a black onyx around her neck—an azabache —to ward off the mal ojo , or evil eye. But deep down, Grace suspected the only reason Abuela wore the azabache was because her own mother had given it to her, not because she attributed any special powers to it. But gazing at her clear brown eyes right now, Grace could tell Abuela was one hundred percent, drop-dead serious about what she’d just said.
    “I had a dream,” Abuela said stubbornly. “You’ve met him, Gracielita, you just wait and see.”
    Grace laughed nervously.
    Mami set her fork down. “What’s wrong with your mouth?” she asked, frowning.
    Crap . Grace shrugged like she didn’t understand what Mami was getting at.
    “You don’t normally laugh with your mouth closed,” Mami continued. “Is there something wrong with your teeth? Do you have a toothache?”
    “Tomato takes after me. Never had a cavity in her life,” Pop said. “She has a beautiful set of teeth. Cost me five grand.”
    Sarah smiled impishly from across the table.
    Later, after dinner, she and Sarah were alone in the kitchen, drying dishes.
    “Why didn’t you just show everyone your chipped tooth? You have to admit, the whole thing is kind of funny.” Sarah automatically placed