Page 75 of Play With Me

“Eily closed her eyes and remembered,” he read, voice going rough halfway through the page. His eyes blinked, and he took his glasses off, dragging a hand down his face. “Jaysus, Liam. Ye know it’s proper Irish when a children’s book has yer old man blubberin’,” he chuckled, handing his glasses to me. “Yer turn, lad.”

We unloaded the plastic bins of pots.

“Take the truck tomorrow, okay? I’ll drop it off.” I said, stacking the last one just inside the door. “You warm enough in here? I can walk you back to the dorm.”

“Oh—no. I’m good here. Are you okay?” she asked, concern gentling her voice.

God, she is beautiful.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Just thinking about my dad.”

Louisa’s eyes softened. I leaned in and kissed her moonlit cheek. Her breath caught as I passed her lips, and I lingered a second too long, my mouth pressed to her skin.

Her head tilted toward mine, flyaway hairs brushing my face. “Are you going home?” she whispered. She was holding the hem of my shirt.

I smiled, just on one side. “I’ll spend a few hours in the garage. Got some sanding to do.” She let go as I stepped away. “I’m happy I met you, too, Louisa.”

35

The Baptism

Boston, MA

Will

Marisol opted to have Christian Jr. baptized at St. Cecelia’s during mass on Christmas Eve, so I drove my mom and sisters in my truck. Eilidh met us there so she could take them home after.

Ortiz had also invited our friend group, but everyone had family obligations aside from Hasan and Louisa… and Trench Coat Mike.

“Ortiz, why the fuck did you invite him? You don’t even know him!” I hissed.

“Bro, you said you wanted us to keep an eye on him. I’m keepin’ an eye,” he said menacingly. On the surface, you’d think he didn’t have it in him, but Christian Ortiz was a lot more like his wife than he let people know.

I hid my surprise when I saw Louisa come in and genuflect before entering the pew, facing the Tabernacle and everything.

“I didn’t know you were Catholic,” I whispered.

“I’m not,” she said simply, “Vivian is.”

I’m not very religious, but I’d consider myself culturally Catholic. As the mass progressed and Louisa followed along with all of the rituals, I wondered if she felt the same way or if this was a performance she’d learned for Vivian’s sake. She must have gone to church with her fairly often to have it memorized.

When the time came for Christian Jr. to be baptized, I stood up to slide out of the pew, and caught her eye. The strongest feeling I couldn’t really place hit me when I looked at her then. In a church in my town, with my people. At the baptism of my godson. Would she always be here?

I made the sign of the cross on Christian Jr.’s head, and I held his baptismal candle, and I said ‘I do’ when I was supposed to. I always did what I was supposed to do.

Sometimes ye need to do what keeps you standin’, not what looks good on paper.

The reception that followed was massive, which was a helpful distraction. I hadn’t realized how large the Ortiz/Delgado family was, but I was happy to discover I actually knew quite a few of them from the neighborhood. I had one eye on Mike the whole time. Awkward fuck. I was relieved when he left early.

La Rosa de Bayahibe was out in full force—speaking confidently in Spanish, corralling unruly children into organized games. God, she was good. Louisa playing with kids was dangerously sexy, and the way I took that innocent image of her and just immediately debauched it in my brain was honestly shameful. I couldn’t look Father Michael in the eye.

“I hardly recognize her.” Eilidh bumped me with her shoulder. I must have been staring. Things were wrapping up now, and I checked my watch to see if I still had time to get back.

“I know. Did you know she went to Brown?”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Ciara downloaded her app on my phone.”

“It’s badass, right?” I finished my drink and stacked Eilidh’s empty one on top.