I felt myself weaken, but he transferred his strength into me.
“Be brave,” he whispered. “Remember, you are always potent, Lorelei. You don’t have to wait, and I don’t expect you will. The sooner you get pregnant, the easier it will be for you to have the future you want. Don’t disappoint me,” he added just as the song ended.
He kissed me on the cheek and held out my hand for Liam to take.
“Be good to her, Liam. She’s very precious.”
“I will, sir,” he said.
My father smiled, nodded at my mother, and walked off the dance floor.
Later, we celebrated more with Julia and Clifford, who had decided that their wedding would be exactly a year from ours. They thought it would be fun to have the exact same day for an anniversary.
My most moving moment came when Ken Dolan asked me for a final dance as the evening was winding down.
“You are truly very, very beautiful, Lorelei,” he began. “I must confess that when you came to me for the interview that first day, I was thinking ahead. Don’t ask me why, but I looked at you and thought, This girl will win Liam’s heart, but more important, she will turn him into a man. And you have,” he said. “You have. Welcome to our family.”
Was I crying? He was wiping away tears from my cheeks, tears I didn’t know were there. Was I crying because of the wonderful things he was saying and the happiness I felt, or was I crying because deep in my heart, I believed that I had deceived them all and would most likely betray my husband very soon? I had agreed to do just that, hadn’t I?
By the time the reception was drawing to a close, I felt drained. Liam also looked as if he was ready to give up. Daddy approached us with my mother to say his farewell.
“Enjoy your honeymoon,” he told Liam. “I understand you were there when you were very little.”
“Not old enough to really appreciate it,” Liam said.
“Yes. I’ve been to Capri many times, and I agree with what you’ve been told about it. It’s a magical place, for lovers especially.”
“Thank you, sir,” Liam said.
“Oh, please call me Dad,” Daddy told him. He looked at me and kissed me, stroked my hair, and whispered, “Little Lorelei, go forth and multiply.”
We watched them walk away.
“Well,” Liam said. “Now I know where you get so many of your great qualities. What a guy.”
“Yes, what a guy,” I parroted without feeling.
He was too foggy to notice. He tightened his grip on my hand and led me off. We were to be driven to Boston to fly out early in the morning. We’d sleep on the plane. All of our things were packed and ready. We said good-bye to everyone else. At the car, Julia hugged me.
“Make it good, marriage test pilot,” she joked. “Sisters,” she added.
“Yes, sisters,” I said.
I was willing to trade all of those I had for her, but she had no idea what that meant.
Someday soon, I thought, I will stop hoarding secrets. I live for that day.
We got into the limousine and were driven away. I gazed out the window as we went down the long driveway and saw Ava standing near a fountain on the front lawn. She was caught in the moonlight. Her skin looked like gold, her eyes like bloodred rubies.
No matter what she says, I thought, she is full of envy. She wishes in her heart that she were me, and that wish will haunt her for the rest of her very long life. That thought comforted me. I was ready to cuddle up in Liam’s arms and forget what waited in the darkness ahead.
In fact, I didn’t think about any of it until we were in Capri. That was partly because of our journey. We did fall asleep on the plane. After that, we were constantly moving. There was a car waiting for us at the Naples airport. The driver took us and our luggage to the Molo Beverello port, where we boarded a hydrofoil. It was a magnificent cloudless day with the sea relatively calm. We sat outside on the deck and laughed at the spray created by the boat speeding through the water, welcoming the wet coolness on our cheeks. We waved to people on other boats and watched in awe as the isle of Capri seemed to rise before us, its magnificent palisades inviting us to the awe-inspiring views we were soon to enjoy. At the port, we were greeted by hotel bellhops who took our luggage. We spent a few minutes looking at the restaurants and shops located right there and then hired a convertible taxi to take us up the hill to the square. From there, we had to walk to our hotel, because there were no cars on the narrow, picturesque streets with restaurants and elegant shops on both sides.
Despite our travel fatigue, we were both too excited to think of resting. We wanted to go at everything like two little children set free in a candy store. Finally, we decided to catch our breath and paused at the Grand Hotel Quisisana, where we sat on the large patio and had two cappuccinos while we watched an endless stream of tourists speaking different languages parade by, everyone excited, happy, and curious. Most of the time, Liam held my hand as if he were afraid he was really in a dream that would end or that I would disappear.
“I can’t believe we’re really here,” he said. “It seems like a storybook. I hope this never ends.”
“It doesn’t end, but it takes rests occasionally,” I joked. He liked that and sealed it with a kiss. Somehow, holding and kissing each other in the middle of all this didn’t seem odd. Anyone who saw us smiled, as if it was expected that everyone would hold hands and kiss there. Daddy was right, I thought. This was a magical place for lovers. Was he ever wrong?