hair." He put his nose to my head and then kissed my
forehead. "And I can look into those terrific eyes. You
know you turn me into jelly, don't you?"
This time, I had to laugh. "Don't you mean
cranberry sauce?" I asked.
That brought a wide smile to his face. His blue
eyes seemed to sizzle as they blazed down at me.
"You're smart as well as beautiful. A rare jewel." He
kissed me on the lips, but I was so tense I thought he
would hear my nerves twang.
He gazed at me with a curious smile, then he
leaned over to his right where he had a cloth bag. He
produced a bottle of vodka and two glasses. Then he dipped his hand into the bag and came up with a jar of cranberry juice. "How'd you know I had cranberry
juice? Some little bird at school whisper in your ear?" "I didn't know."
"It's a great drink with vodka. My father's
favorite. Let me fix us a couple."
"I don't like drinking whiskey," I said quickly. "This isn't whiskey. It's vodka. Doesn't stink on
your breath as much, and when you cut it with the
cranberry juice, you hardly notice it. But it sure makes
you feel good. I'm sure you've had it, right?" "Of course," I said, even though I never had.
All I had ever tasted was Mommy's gin and I never
could understand how or why she liked it so much. After he made the drinks and handed me my
glass, he tuned the radio to a station that played softer
music.
"Let's make a toast," he said tapping his glass
against mine. "To us. To good times and good
weather forever."
I took a sip. He was right. It didn't taste as bad
as Mommy's gin.
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