Read Online Four Times Blessed by Alexa Liguori - Free Book Online Page B

I’d rather he didn’t hear the story about how Groton’s boat ended up covered in cheese quite yet.
    “Come on, let me introduce you to Cassie. Cassandra,” I say.
    Thank the Merciful Virgin Mother, the boy gets up and follows me from the table.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                  We weave our way across the room that’s being lit by whispers of flames. I hold Andrew’s hand lightly. I’ve never gone around holding a boy’s hand like this before, but I think it’s right for us. His eyes are robin’s egg blue, I notice when I go to say something. My breath stops, so I guess that’s why my blood rushes forward, compensating.
    He’s waiting for me to talk. I giggle, sounding only slightly bizarre, “Don’t worry about remembering everybody’s names. Nobody can get them right. Just this week I got called Camilla, Cassia, Carolina, Cutie, Cumin, Charlie, which I don’t get where that one came from, and Hey.”
                  “I didn’t know there’d be so many of you.”
                  “I know it’s a lot,” I say by way of apology.
                  He pulls the hand that’s in mine down by his leg, and I stumble back.
                  “Let’s just assume right now that I won’t remember any of them tonight, what do you say?”
                  “Uh, ok.”
                  “Good. So then you can just go on and whisper each one to me when it becomes necessary.”
                  “Sure.” Weird, but sure.
                  He grins, and I manage to smile back.
                  We find Cassie and she’s rather shy when I introduce my future husband. There are too many people here for her tonight, I think.
    I start talking to her in a sweet voice, but her face stays down. I don’t know what to do. I catch Milo watching from across the room, and blink down at Cassie. He nods and starts making his way over. He comes and shakes Andrew’s hand and they mumble hellos at each other, then Milo claps Andrew on the shoulder far too hard and tells me to go off and have fun with my new boyfriend.
    I roll my eyes and drag the boy after me, this time with a firmer grip. I introduce him to a bunch of my boy cousins who ask us to go out front and play some kind of net game they just made up, while I try not to imagine kicking my brother in the shins.
    I decline to play their game, but tell Andrew to go on ahead and I’ll come and watch them in a minute. I just need to let my zizi know we’ll be outside. 
                  Which is a lie. Instead, I slide through the reverberating hall, go straight out the back door, and sit on the little porch. I stretch out my limbs. They’re stiff from my being so nervous all day.
                  It’s a clear night, but the hemisphere’s summer attitude makes the stars look like they’re underwater. I like it. I also like it in the winter when they’re all tight and crisp. But tonight is a night my mother would’ve loved to sit out here with me on her lap and ask me aren’t they beautiful? Then we’d have to go look out over the front porch, towards the ocean. We’d see the full moon just risen, in close to the earth, a mother’s breast as she bends down to kiss you goodnight. I can’t do that now, though, with everyone here.
    Of course, I’m not alone back here, either. There are ten or so of my little boy cousins out in the grass, along with a few little boys from Zizi Angie’s side. All playing a game of bocce where chucking the balls at your opponents and random bystanders is apparently an integral part of the game. I’d say something but they’re laughing a lot. I watch the stars in the