The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
139
They were so beautiful it broke his heart. Their faces were shining and clear, their eyes 
alive with curiosity and the eager desire to run to him. They wore their hair braid 
old-fashioned in long pigtails and they wore old-fashioned frocks and white 
patent-leather shoes. They stood by the breakfast cart watching him as he stubbed out 
his cigarette and waited for him to call and hold his arms wide. Then they came running 
to him. He pressed his face between their two fresh fragrant cheeks and scraped them 
with his beard so that they shrieked. Ginny appeared in the bedroom door and wheeled 
the breakfast cart the rest of the way so that he could eat in bed. She sat beside him on 
the edge of the bed, pouring his coffee, buttering his toast. The two young daughters sat 
on the bedroom couch watching him. They were too old now for pillow fights or to be 
tossed around. They were already smoothing their mussed hair. Oh, Christ, he thought, 
pretty soon they’ll be all grown up, Hollywood punks will be out after them. 
He shared his toast and bacon with them as he ate, gave them sips of coffee. It was a 
habit left over from when he had been singing with the band and rarely ate with them so 
they liked to share his food when he had his odd-hour meals like afternoon breakfasts or 
morning suppers. The change-around in food delighted them– to eat steak and french 
fries at seven in the morning, bacon and eggs in the afternoon. 
Only Ginny and a few of his close friends knew how much he idolized his daughters. 
That had been the worst thing about the divorce and leaving home. The one thing he 
had fought about, and for, was his position as a father to them. In a very sly way he had 
made Ginny understand he would not be pleased by her remarrying, not because he 
was jealous of her, but because he was jealous of his position as a father. He had 
arranged the money to be paid to her so it would be enormously to her advantage 
financially not to remarry. It was understood that she could have lovers as long as they 
were not introduced into her home life. But on this score he had absolute faith in her. 
She had always been amazingly shy and old-fashioned in sex. The Hollywood gigolos 
had batted zero when they started swarming around her, sniffing for the financial 
settlement and the favors they could get from her famous husband. 
He had no fear that she expected a reconciliation because he had wanted to sleep with 
her the night before. Neither one of them wanted to renew their old marriage. She 
understood his hunger for beauty, his irresistible impulse toward young women far more 
beautiful than she. It was known that he always slept with his movie co-stars at least 
once. His boyish charm was irresistible to them, as their beauty was to him. 
“You’ll have to start getting dressed pretty soon,” Ginny said. “Tom’s plane will be 

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