Aliens on Aventine Hill

Alice [Part 7]

Alice trembled as she held the Roman candle out towards the river, struggling to keep her arm stiff. Jimmy steadied her hand with a grin and lit the fuse. The spark disappeared into the red tissue paper, and a colored puff of fire came hurtling out not a second later.

She jumped and nearly dropped the firework, but Jimmy just laughed. She glared at him, but the look broke into a smile before she could help it.

Lisa and Marty were setting off bottle rockets a little way downstream. Her eyes were on the fireworks as they zipped up into the air; his eyes were fixed on her. He grabbed her waist from behind and their laughter rang out through the woods.

Heather was sunbathing on the hood of Jimmy's car, cigarette perched on her lips. Lisa and Mary danced over to her, and the three of them began bouncing flower batteries off a battered piece of plywood.

The Roman candle burned out. Jimmy dunked it in the river and reached for another, but Alice shook her head and pulled her jacket closer around her body. He frowned, shrugged and lit one for each hand.

Not twenty minutes later, Marty was lighting off fountains and aerials and mortars with little regard for the dry summer grass surrounding them. They gathered on top of the beat-up green Ford station wagon, the sparks reflected in their eyes.

Alice gasped as a mortar exploded into a brilliant burst of emerald and gold, and Jimmy looped his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him, and he shrugged cheekily, grinning that effortless, crazy grin of his.

Another shell exploded in a cascade of color, but their eyes were fixed on each other. He leaned down; she closed her eyes. It was a quick, youthful kiss—nothing more than curious—and then they withdrew, looking at each other again.

Jimmy's hand cupped the curve her neck, holding her close while she knit her fingers into his thick, dark hair.

A long, loud wolf whistle startled them apart. Alice whirled around to find a young man with a case of Coors in one hand and a box of fireworks in the other. His hair was dark and thick—slicked back like a mobster's. His face bore a strong resemblance to Jimmy's. He had the same bright blue eyes.

Jimmy slipped off the car, waving, "Hey, Joseph!"

Helping Alice down from the station wagon, he explained, "He's my cousin."

The young man set the case of Coors on the hood of the station wagon and reached into his jacket pocket for a cigarette. Heather leaned down from her perch to offer him a light. Taking a long drag, he slugged Jimmy, "How you doing, Kid?"

Jimmy swatted at Joseph's hand as he tousled his hair. Joseph's eyes landed on Alice, and he turned back to Jimmy, looping an arm around his shoulders and flashing sharp white teeth as he gestured to her, "This a new girlfriend of yours?"

Jimmy went beet red, hurriedly extricating himself from Joseph's grip and dusting himself off, "Girlfriend? Ha... Uh..." he glanced at Alice, who blushed and waved shyly at Joseph.

"Alice."

"Alice," Joseph bobbed his head, freeing a Coors from the cardboard and handing it to her, "Welcome to Aventine Hill."

Another young man stepped out of the driver's side of the cream-colored Country Squire and flipped back his hair. He too bore a strong resemblance to Jimmy and the other young man, but his hair was fairer and curlier.

He elbowed Joseph as he cracked open a Coors, "Quit cramping their style, Joe."

"Hey Lucky," Jimmy nodded appreciatively. He looped an arm around Alice as he looked around, "No Freddy or Gino?"

Alice saw Joseph bristle, but Lucky shrugged, "Don't ask me. I'm just here for the free booze, even if Joe is a cheapskate."

"Hey, I'm buying out of necessity," Joseph rolled his eyes, offering the cigarette to Lucky, "not generosity."

Marty took a hearty swig, leaving a layer of froth on his upper lip, "Tastes fine to me, Joey!"

"At least somebody has taste," Joseph grinned and gestured to the box of fireworks, "Those are for you, Pyro."

Marty rubbed his hands together with a mischievous smirk.

They were all on their second or third beers when the sun set and Marty got a chance to show them his handiwork. Jimmy had spread out an old felt picnic blanket for the two of them. Alice laid back, her hair spilling over into the grass and watched the colors sparkle against the twilight sky.

"Hey," Jimmy sat down beside her, offering her another can.

She held up a hand, "I don't want to get too drunk on our first date."

Jimmy blushed, "...date?"

"Is that not what this is?" Alice felt a beat of panic, worried he could somehow see the mark Christopher had left on her.

Jimmy took a moment, nodded and then pulled her close as the fireworks exploded overhead. She guided his hand to the bare skin of her side, a delightful shiver running up her spine. He bent his head towards hers. The words were a careless, starry-eyed sort of whisper:

"Now, where were we?"