Part 31 (2/2)
”Yes.”
”She told me.”
”You know I thought it was Lilith.”
”I know. Don't sweat it. Everything she did, she did for me. I understand that.”
I smiled, slapped his cheek and backed away. ”You're a good man, Dominic. I hope Ursula knows that.”
He smiled back, and the mischievous gleam in his eye told me he had something more to say.
”What?”
He shook his head. ”Nah, forget it.”
”No. What? You can tell me.”
A bashful shade of pink wash over him in a wave. ”Well, it's just that....”
”Spill it.”
”You saw Ursula without any....”
”Clothes on?”
”Yeah.”
”I did.”
”Is there anything I should know?”
”Like what?”
”I don't know.” He shrugged awkwardly.
”Are you worried she has a p.e.n.i.s?”
”What? No. Good G.o.d, no. Why would you say a thing like that? I'm talking about tattoos, piercings and what not.”
I laughed. ”Come here.” I draped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him in. ”Dominic. Listen. All you need to know is that Ursula is an amazing woman. She's beautiful, smart, witty and s.e.xy. And the only thing you need to remember is that you are one lucky man. Cherish her always and don't let her go for all the stars in heaven.”
”I won't,” he said, and after a long pause, added, ”Thanks, Tony.”
I smiled thinly. ”You're welcome. Now what do you say we head over to the house? It's getting late.”
We left Spinelli's apartment just as the sun was setting. By the time we reached Lilith's house, bright orange rays lit up the western sky like searchlights on the horizon. In the east, a celestial changing of the guard saw a waxing moon tripping over the treetops in a pale blue crescent.
Lilith stood at the door waiting for us as we pulled into the driveway. She held her usual pose, arms crossed, weight s.h.i.+fted onto one hip. I remember thinking she must be angry with me, and how d.a.m.n s.e.xy she looked. We got out of the car and the first words out of her mouth were, ”You're late.”
I strolled up the walk with an unapologetic strut, slapped her on the a.s.s and kissed her on the lips. ”You look beautiful, Lilith. How do you do it?”
Her expression softened incrementally. ”Yeah?” She put her arms around me, rocked up on tiptoes and kissed me back. ”And thou art most handsome as well, Master Tony.”
”What? Oh, G.o.d. Ursula. I'm so sorry.” I looked at Dominic. His face grew pale as the moon. I turned back. ”Ursula. Honest, I thought you were”
”Relax, stud. You're all right.”
”Lilith?”
She smiled wickedly. ”Gotcha!”
”Oh, man you have no idea how”
She grabbed the front of my s.h.i.+rt and twisted it in her fist. ”Oh, I have an idea. You and me, pal. We have some talking to do later. Know what I mean?”
I knew exactly what she meant. ”No. Whatever do you mean?”
”Tony, do you really want to air it out right here on the front stoop?”
”Maybe. I might want a witness.”
Spinelli said, ”Look. It's Carlos.”
I turned around and eased a full arms length away from Lilith. ”It is. Well, what do you know?”
Carlos pulled in behind my car in a s.h.i.+ny new red Corvette. He hopped out, grinning like a fool and practically bounced his way up the drive.
”Everyone?” He said. ”Hope I'm not late.”
Dominic rushed to meet him halfway. ”Man, am I glad to see you? I was afraid you weren't coming.”
”What, and miss my best friend's wedding? Not a chance.”
I know that meant a lot to Dominic. The two embraced like old friends that had not seen each other in years. As they started up the drive together, Ursula appeared up at the door.
”Merry Meet all and love of mine.”
Spinelli and Carlos stopped dead in their tracks. I turned around and my jaw nearly hit the ground. Even Lilith gasped at first sight.
Ursula looked stunning. Her wedding dress, a hybrid of traditional and neo-pagan form, hugged her body in braided st.i.tching around her waist. Spaghetti straps rolled off her shoulders, spilling down the front in a v-shape neckline, plunging nearly to her navel. Ribbons of silk and lace lay feathered in layers, cupping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, cradling and coercing them gently together.
Below her hips, the dress relaxed in pleated freefall, drifting in the soft breeze squeezing through the doorway like a restless child. I thought of Lilith; imagining her in that same dress. In the years I have known her, I had never seen her in such feminine light. She is all that Ursula is and more, yet she keeps from me that which I need most. That which Ursula has and likely does not know it. A vulnerable innocence in need of protection.
My eyes were still taking in Ursula's inculpable beauty when Spinelli b.u.mped me in his rush to her arms. I shook my head, snapping free from a trance-like state of desire. I saw Lilith looking at me. And I knew she was looking at me looking at Ursula. I smiled, but she could see the guilty strings pulling the corners of my mouth upward. She was not buying any of it.
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