Stars So Sweet by Tara Dairman Read Free Book Online Page A

reviewer for the next few months?”
    â€œAn excellent question,” Fiona said, “and one I’ve brought up with our business department many times. However, it seems unlikely that they’ll budge. In the meantime, our second-string full-time critic, Natalia Bernstein, will be taking on extra reviews to help fill in, as will our freelancers. Which brings me to our final order of business: your new assignment.”
    Gladys sat up a little straighter. This was one part of the meeting that she
had
anticipated. Where would Fiona send her next?
    Fiona reached into her suit pocket and passed an envelope across the table. “You really seemed to enjoy the Chilean hot dog, the completo Italiano, that you discussed in your last review,” she said, “and it got me thinking about how much even we foodies tend to lump the cuisines of Latin America together, when actually they are quite distinct. So I’d like to see a series of three reviews comparing and contrasting theSalvadoran, Cuban, and Peruvian restaurants whose names you’ll find in this envelope. How does that sound?”
    â€œThat sounds great!” Gladys cried—but this time, it was her turn to get a kick under the table from Aunt Lydia.
Oh, right—Fiona wasn’t talking to her.
    â€œWhat I think Coraline means,” Aunt Lydia said through tight lips, “is that sounds like a great fit for
me.
She knows how much I enjoy those cuisines.”
    â€œOh, good,” Fiona said. “I’d like to start publishing these pieces within a month, starting on September twenty-fifth.”
    â€œNo problem,” Aunt Lydia said. “I can’t wait to get started.” She tucked the envelope into Gladys’s purse. Gladys smiled.
    Lydia and Fiona then spent the next few minutes discussing more details about the job offer. It seemed that a full-time critic reviewed at least one restaurant every week rather than one a month, which was Gladys’s usual pace. And as Gladys had suspected, she would also be given an office in the
Standard
building, where she would be expected to write her reviews and attend brainstorming meetings with the rest of the department. The offered salary sounded like a lot of money, but then again, she was used to writing her reviews for free. By the time Fiona signed their lunch bill, Gladys’s brain felt like a hot broth in whichendless number- and dollar-sign-shaped noodles were bobbing around.
    Fiona stood up from the table, and Aunt Lydia and Gladys quickly followed. Gladys was a little bummed that the executive lunch hadn’t included a dessert—but then again, she probably would have been served a boring dish of chocolate ice cream while the adults got something more interesting, like pomelo bread pudding or rosewater flan.
    On their way out, Fiona shook Aunt Lydia’s hand again, then reached out and gave Gladys an awkward pat on the head. “Well, good luck with middle school, Coraline,” she said, “and do try to persuade your mom to come work for us, okay?”
    â€œUm, I’ll do my best,” Gladys said.
    As they rode down in the elevator, Gladys pinched herself. The pinch hurt, which meant that the job offer hadn’t been a dream. But if it
had
been a dream, would it have been a good one or a nightmare?

Chapter 7
    PIE IN THE SKY
    O N THE TRAIN BACK TO EAST DUMPSFORD, Gladys opened the envelope from Fiona. The restaurants listed were all in Queens. She glanced across at her aunt, who was applying dark lipstick now that their lunch was over.
    Lydia had been quiet since they’d left the
Standard,
and Gladys appreciated that she hadn’t pressed her to talk about everything that had happened. Gladys needed time to think about Fiona’s proposal and her new assignment. She couldn’t accept the full-time position at the
New York Standard
—but she also didn’t want to lose her freelance job.
    Finally, Gladys cleared her