I made a show of rolling my eyes. “So I can report you for spilling the punch.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, you’re right I wouldn’t.” I held out my hand. “I’m Alessio.”
He stared at it for a long moment, and just when I thought he wasn’t going to shake it, he did. “Marco.”
“Good to meet you, Marco. Glad you’re here.”
“Why?” he asked again.
“’Cause I could’ve used something like this when I was your age.”
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I thought you were an altar boy.”
“I was, and then I got older and decided adults were useless and I was smarter.”
“And then what?”
“Eh, maybe I was wrong. Shit’s just complicated when you grow up.”
He cracked a smile, though he still wasn’t sure what to make of me. “What do you do now?”
“I break into places I’m not supposed to be.”
“Wait…really? Like illegal stuff?”
I winked. “Depends on who’s asking.”
A full grin spread across his face. He was impressed now. “That’s kinda sick.”
“Nah. Most of the time it’s just sitting alone, staring at screens.” I swirled my punch around the glass and felt eyes on me, and not just Marco’s. I ignored it.
“Does Father Vitale, um, know what you do?”
My eyes shifted past Marco then to see the “father” in question looking at the two of us. But before I went back down that rabbit hole, I turned my attention back to the boy in front of me.
“He knows…me.” There, that was the truth without full implications. “He was actually an altar boy with me.”
Marco’s mouth fell open. “Shut the fu— Yeah, right.”
“Hard to believe?”
“Just a little. He’s so, like, you know…”
“Perfect?”
Marco frowned, but then nodded. “Yeah. Godlike, you know?”
Don’t remind me,I thought, really wishing for that vodka now.
“I can’t imagine him as a kid. He’s so stuffy and holier-than-thou. I always feel like I’m letting him down.”
“Yeah, I get that. It’s because he’s a”—I almost choked on the word—“priest. But trust me, you could never let him down.”
“How do you know?”
Because I’ve done a whole bunch of worse shit and he still seems to see some good in me.“’Cause that’s not God’s deal, and he’s like a one-way phone call to the big man upstairs. If you’re here, showing up to help the community, you’re good with the father, trust me.”
