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

throat. “Thanks so much, Aunt Lydia, for everything,” she said. “You were terrific today.”
    Her aunt shook her head as shesnapped her lipstick case shut. “I can’t believe how nervous I was. I would have failed utterly without all of your quick thinking. Thank
you.
”
    Gladys smiled. “We make a good team.”
    â€œWell, I meant what I said in there,” Aunt Lydia said, her voice starting to sound more enthusiastic. “I bet we could find a way to do this full-time job together. We could both visit the restaurants; I could be the one to go into the office, and you could help me write the reviews. You were talking about my getting a job here in New York,” she added. “Well, this could be it!”
    Gladys paused to consider. Could it really work? This was certainly the most excited she had seen her aunt get about anything since arriving on the Gatsbys’ doorstep. But still, critiquing restaurants had always been Gladys’s job, and Gladys’s alone. She wasn’t sure she was ready to share.
    â€œI didn’t know you were interested in becoming a restaurant critic,” she said.
    â€œWell, my pie-in-the-sky dream would be owning my own café,” Aunt Lydia replied, “but you need savings to start your own business, and if I had any savings . . . well, I wouldn’t be living in your parents’ guest room now, would I?” A sad little laugh escaped her crimson lips. “So maybe ‘restaurant critic’ isn’t a job I thought I’d ever be doing . . . but I think I’d be happy as long as I was working with food.”
    Gladys thought hard. She needed a way to get to those three restaurants over the next few weeks, and her aunt certainly had time to take her. They could partner up for these freelance assignments, and see how it worked out . . .
    â€œI’ll think about it,” Gladys said. “In the meantime, though, how would you feel about an outing to eat Salvadoran food in Queens?”
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    As they walked home from the train station, Gladys and Aunt Lydia passed Mr. Eng’s.
    â€œI remember this place!” her aunt exclaimed. “It has that wonderful refrigerator filled with cheeses from around the world. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”
    â€œLet’s stop in,” Gladys suggested. She wanted to scope out the Latin ingredients section, anyway—maybe they could try out some Salvadoran recipes together before visiting that first restaurant.
    There weren’t
so
many people in the shop today—maybe five or six—but Gladys could tell immediately that Mr. Eng was still overwhelmed. The light in the cheese refrigerator was out, the shelf of canned tomato products was a mess, and a half-open cardboard box of cinnamon bottles by the spice wall suggested that Mr. Eng had been interrupted while restocking.
    Suddenly, an idea came to Gladys. “Mr. Eng!” she cried when she spotted him moving down an aisle.
    â€œOh, hello, Gladys!” He hurried forward. “How can I help you?”
    â€œThis is my aunt Lydia,” she said, indicating her aunt. “You met her once before, a long time ago.”
    â€œNice to see you both,” Mr. Eng said, though his eyes were already cutting over to the disarrayed shelf; it was clear he didn’t have much time for pleasantries.
    â€œAunt Lydia is new in town,” Gladys continued. “She has a lot of experience in the food industry, and she’s looking for a paying job. And
you
look like you could use some help around the store.” Gladys glanced between their surprised faces. “Sooo . . . what do you think? Maybe she could be your assistant?”
    â€œGladys!” Aunt Lydia cried. Her cheeks were turning red enough to match her lipstick. “How could you put this nice man on the spot like that? I didn’t put her up to