Whatever her reasons, she preferred to have no contact with him whatsoever.
I couldn't ignore how she'd managed to avoid seeing or talking to him since I'd become old enough to communicate with him directly.
"I saw a picture of Cary on the side of a bus yesterday," she said.
"Really?" I sat up straighter.
"Where?" "On Broadway.
A jeans ad, I think it was."
"I saw one, too," Megumi said.
"Not that I paid any attention to what he was wearing.
That man is fine."
The conversation made me smile.
My mother was adept at admiring men.
It was one of the many reasons they adored her - she made them feel good.
Megumi was more than her match in the guy-appreciation department.
"He's been getting recognized on the street," I said, glad that in this case we were talking about an ad and not a tabloid candid with me.
The gossips thought it was so juicy that Gideon Cross's girlfriend lived with a sexy male model.
"Of course," my mom said, with a slight note of chastisement.
"You didn't doubt he would eventually?" "I'd hoped," I qualified.
"For his sake.
It's a sad fact that male models don't make as much or work as often as the women do."
Although I'd expected Cary would break through somehow.
Emotionally, he couldn't afford not to.
He'd learned to put so much value on his looks that I didn't think he could allow himself to fail.
It was one of my deepest fears that his career choice would come back to haunt him in ways neither of us could bear.
My mother took a delicate sip of her Pellegrino.
The cafe specialized in cacao-laced menu items, but she was careful not to waste her daily calorie allotment on one meal.
I was less cautious.
I'd ordered a soup and sandwich combination plus a dessert that was going to cost me at least an extra hour on the treadmill later.
I excused the indulgence with a mental reminder that I was on my period, which was a carte blanche chocolate zone in my opinion.
"So," Monica smiled at Megumi, "will you be seeing your blind date again?" "I hope so."
"Darling, don't leave it to chance!" As my mom started doling out her wisdom in regard to managing men, I sat back and enjoyed the show.