The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
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out the present. 
It was a heavy gold chain to be worn as a necklace, and it awed them not only because 
of its obvious value but because a gift of gold in this society was also a statement of the 
most serious intentions. It was no less than a proposal of matrimony, or rather the signal 
that there was the intention to propose matrimony. They could no longer doubt the 
seriousness of this stranger. And they could not doubt his substance. 
Apollonia still had not touched her present. Her mother held it up for her to see and she 
raised those long lashes for a moment and then she looked directly at Michael, her 
doelike brown eyes grave, and said, “Grazie.” It was the first time he had heard her 
voice. 
It had all the velvety softness of youth and shyness and it set Michael’s ears ringing. He 
kept looking away from her and talking to the father and mother simply because looking 
at her confused him so much. But he noticed that despite the conservative looseness of 
her dress her body almost shone through the cloth with sheer sensuality. And he noticed 
the darkening of her skin blushing, the dark creamy skin, going darker with the blood 
surging to her feet. 
Finally Michael rose to go and the family rose too. They said their good-byes formally, 
the girl at last confronting him as they shook hands, and he felt the shock of her skin on 
his skin, her skin warm and rough, peasant skin. The father walked down the hill with 
him to his car and invited him to Sunday dinner the next week. Michael nodded but he 
knew he couldn’t wait a week to see the girl again. 
He didn’t. The next day, without his shepherds, he drove to the village and sat on the 
garden terrace of the cafe to chat with her father. Signor Vitelli took pity on him and sent 
for his wife and daughter to come down to the cafe to join them. This meeting was less 
awkward. The girl Apollonia was less shy, and spoke more. She was dressed in her 
everyday print frock which suited her coloring much better. 
The next day the same thing happened. Only this time Apollonia was wearing the gold 
chain he had given her. He smiled at her then, knowing that this was a signal to him. He 
walked with her up the hill, her mother close behind them. But it was impossible for the 
two young people to keep their bodies from brushing against each other and once 
Apollonia stumbled and fell against him so that he had to hold her and her body so 
warm and alive in his hands started a deep wave of blood rising in his body. They could 
not see the mother behind them smiling because her daughter was a mountain goat and 

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