The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
290
Apollonia was still wearing her bridal costume with a cloak thrown over it. Her trunk and 
case had been brought up to the room from the car. On a small table was a bottle of 
wine and a plate of small wedding cakes. The huge canopied bed was never out of their 
vision. The young girl in the center of the room waited for Michael to make the first 
move. 
And now that he had her alone, now that he legally possessed her, now that there was 
no barrier to his enjoying that body and face he had dreamed about every night, Michael 
could not bring himself to approach her. He watched as she took off the bridal shawl and 
draped it over a chair, and placed the bridal crown on the small dressing table. That 
table had an array of perfumes and creams that Michael had had sent from Palermo. 
The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 
Michael turned off the lights, thinking the girl was waiting for some darkness to shield 
her body while she undressed. But the Sicilian moon came through the unshuttered 
windows, bright as gold, and Michael went to close the shutters but not all the way, the 
room would be too warm. 
The girl was still standing by the table and so Michael went out of the room and down 
the hall to the bathroom. He and Dr. Taza and Don Tommasino had taken a glass of 
wine together in the garden while the women had prepared themselves for bed. He had 
expected to find Apollonia in her nightgown when he returned, already between the 
covers. He was surprised that the mother had not done this service for her daughter. 
Maybe Apollonia had wanted him to help her to undress. But he was certain she was too 
shy, too innocent for such forward behavior. 
Coming back into the bedroom, he found it completely dark, someone had closed the 
shutters all the way. He groped his way toward the bed and could make out the shape of 
Apollonia’s body lying under the covers, her back to him, her body curved away from 
him and huddled up. He undressed and slipped naked beneath the sheets. He stretched 
out one hand and touched silky naked skin. She had not put on her gown and this 
boldness delighted him. Slowly, carefully, he put one hand on her shoulder and pressed 
her body gently so that she would turn to him. She turned slowly and his hand touched 
her breast, soft, full and then she was in his arms so quickiy that their bodies came 
together in one line of silken electricity and he finally had his arms around her, was 
kissing her warm mouth deeply, was crushing her body and breasts against him and 
then rolling his body on top of hers. 

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