“Oh my good Lord, Honeybee! All your sins are forgiven.” she declared, and Olivia pressed her head against hers.
“Your aunt is right. Where the hell did you find that piece of cake?”
“I already knew him... We met at the gym.” Fortunately, the man had enough muscles to sustain the lie. “He offered me a ride yesterday and I guess one thing led to the other.”
“And you ended twelve years of celibacy in the best way possible, babe!” My best friend laughed.
“What's his name, Daisy?” Aunt Lizzie wanted to know.
My kidnapper could remain unperturbed and calm, but I knew the conversation was dragging on too long. Worse, I couldn't say the guy's name. I decided to be creative, smiling with a hint of mischief.
“His name isPasquale Carmelo Filiberto.” Aunt Lizzie and Olivia frowned, and I almost burst out laughing when I heard the heavy sigh behind me.
Small victories.
“Uh, that's...?”
“Italian,” I replied with morbid satisfaction. “He's a veterinarian, you know?” My aunt and Olivia seemed impressed, until I added the following information, “He works in bovine insemination. He basically collects bull’s sperm, and has been working on one of the farms on the outskirts of our town.”
My aunt and Olivia seemed mortified. They exchanged looks, not knowing how to respond to that information. But I was getting deep pleasure out of it.
“He… wants me to go to Italy with him.” I finally announced.
“What?!” They yelled in unison.
“Like, today.”
They looked flabbergasted.
“Daisy, no.” Aunt Lizzie growled, shaking her orange curls. “I don’t care how hot thatTamale Caramelois…”
“Pasquale CarmeloFiliberto, Aunt Lizzie.” I corrected, fighting an overwhelming urge to laugh.
“Whatever. Don’t care how hot that fella is. You.don’t.know.him.”
“Your aunt is right, Daisy!”
“Guys…” I whispered, leaning in closer to the phone. “He’s not just handsome. He’s… big. Like, really big.”
They laughed like schoolgirls.
“Daisy, I don’t care—”
“Aunt Lizzie, he’s rich too.” I knew those were the magic words my aunt wanted to hear. As much as she loved Oliver now, for years, the indispensable quality in her idiotic lovers had been a fat bank account.
She peered over her glasses. “How rich are we talking about?”
“Aunt Lizzie, please!” Olivia scolded, interrupting us and dragging my aunt away from the phone. “Daisy, come home. Don't do this.”
“Liv...” I begged, as much as I wanted to do what she asked. “It’s just a week… okay?”
“Daisy, no.”
I heard a discreet clearing of the throat behind me and shuddered at the warning it contained. I knew I had to convince them, whatever it took.
There was only one thing I could say to convince them that I was really willing to travel with a man I had just met. So, with a heavy heart, I uttered the words.
“I haven’t felt this alive since Lester.”