“Nulla di ciò che si può vedere.” The response was so low that I strained to hear him. He had saidnothing that you can see.
I said his name, calling him to me, encouraging the confession.
“Io non l'ho ucciso,” he said. “Ma siete ancora preoccupati per lui.”I didn’t kill him. But you are still worried about him.
“No,” I said. “I’m worried about my husband. His soul is my only concern.”
Brando’s body was of now, but his blood was vintage, old fashioned to a detrimental degree. Family and honor kept him upright. When he finally spoke, he did so in the language of his people. “I’ll not speak of what happened; that rests between him and me. Hear me when I say this. He is no friend of the female species.”
“How do you know that?” I whispered.
“Talk comes easy in a bar. I heard stories. I saw the woman he was with.”
“Oh.”
“La tua faccia. Il tuo bel viso. Ho continuato a vedere i suoi lividi su di voi.”Your face. Your beautiful face. I keep seeing her bruises on you.He ran a tender hand down my cheek, in a way that made me believe he was doing it to be sure that I had no bruises, that I was whole and still his. “Lascia che ti dica le cose.”Let me tell you things.
“In the same way I tell you?” I bit my lip.
He came forward and used his teeth and lips to release mine. I responded to him, hungry, almost high off the contact. “For you, I will,” he continued in Italian.
I nodded, feeling an internal glow so hot that I could've been a star in the sky blazing in a black, fathomless canvas; I wondered if someone watched me burn from a distance. “Please,” I said, answering in his language.
His fingers splayed as he worked them up my back, making me shiver, until they rested on each shoulder blade. He put his mouth to my heart so I could feel his words.
“Non ci sarebbe alcun onore più grande che dare la mia vita per la tua, e in cambio, voglio morire tra le tue braccia.”There would be no greater honor than to give my life for yours, and in return, I want to die in your arms.
“Il vostro tempo e attenzione sono gioielli inestimabili. E voglio rubare il loro come un ladro.”Your time and attention are priceless jewels. I want to steal them like a thief.
“Voglio essere un uomo si può essere orgogliosi.”I want to be a man you can be proud of.
“Voglio che il linguaggio del mio amore per essere l'unico a capire.”I want the language of my love to be the only one you understand.
“Voglio e io, questi sono i miei voti a voi.”I want and I will. These are my vows to you.
“Il mio corpo onorerà sempre solo il tuo,Non amerai mai invano.”My body will always honor only yours. You will never love in vain.
He sealed his vows with a soft kiss against my chest, and my heart sped up. His words held me captive. Those words, those extraordinarily romantic, heart-shattering words, came from my husband inthiscentury.
“Brando…”
“Shh.” The sound came out drunkenly. “Just remember.” He wiped the tears from my cheeks, rubbing his fingertips along his lips.
I kissed each of his fingers, his forehead, above the wound on his brow, each of his eyes, his nose, his lips, and then I put my mouth to his neck, finding the life there a strong and steady reassurance. “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” I forced him to look me in the eye. “Thank you for rescuing my shoe. And me. Thank you for rescuing me, my husband.”
* * *
A shift in the night seemed to settle us both, bringing peace. We rested together as we had been, facing each other.
“When you were little, I fed you cereal.”
I heard the words, but it took my brain a few minutes to comprehend.
“You have the most beautiful breasts,” he said, placing his face in the space between. I twisted my body, wanting more. “Tell me what you want.”
“More. Of that. But—ah…tell me about the cereal.”
His mouth closed over a nipple, his teeth skimming as he slid away. The pink skin glistened with the wetness from his tongue. “You were a picky eater. You’d only eat after I did. I shared with you out of my lunch box.”
