Carole Gift Page - Cassandra's Song

Andrew slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Cass, let’s ask God to give us a great evening, okay? Then you go out there and play your heart out.”

They prayed briefly, then exchanged a quick hug. “I wonder if they’re here yet?” She peered out through the curtain at the audience, then looked back at her father. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll just do my best and leave the rest with the Lord.”

“That’s the spirit, honey. And I’ll be applauding you all the way.”

To Andrew’s relief the cantata went without a hitch. The choir sang with spirit and vitality, and Cassie’s piano solos were the best he’d ever heard. If anything, her performance exhibited a new gusto and passion. He felt a thrill of pride as he watched her deft fingers scaling the keys, filling the auditorium with the triumphant strains of a Mozart concerto. She accompanied the choir in several selections she had adapted from Beethoven’s Choral and Pastoral symphonies, then concluded the program with a moving Beethoven sonata.

As the audience broke into resounding applause, Andrew clapped the loudest, his eyes misting as he reflected silently, Oh, my dear Mandy, if only you could have seen our daughter performing this evening. You would be so proud, so very proud!

After the cantata, Andrew greeted his parishioners in the vestibule, nodding with fatherly pride as they complimented the performance. “Wonderful program…such talent…like a choir of angels…such glorious music gives us a little taste of heaven.”

“Indeed it does…yes, amen,” Andrew was saying when he spotted Cassie coming toward him with a handsome man on one arm and a very attractive woman on the other.

Cassie was beaming. “Daddy, this is Antonio Pagliarulo and his mother, Juliana Pagliarulo. Antonio and Juliana, this is my father, Reverend Andrew Rowlands.”

Andrew couldn’t take his eyes off Juliana. She was everything Cassie had described…and so much more. Exotic. Poised. Glamorous. Regal. Stunning. Her dark eyes flashed with vibrance and warmth, her flawless, bronze skin glowed, her black-velvet tresses shone. She offered her hand and he clasped it in both of his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Paglia—”

“Juliana, please.”

“Of course. Juliana.” The name seemed to dance on his lips.

“The pleasure is ours, Reverend. My son and I enjoyed the program very much.”

“Call me Andrew. Reverend sounds so…stodgy.”

“Andrew. A fine name.” Juliana’s smile enveloped him in its warmth. “And your daughter…she is so talented.”

Andrew realized suddenly, to his embarrassment, that he had neglected Antonio, who stood waiting to shake his hand. Andrew turned and gripped the young man’s hand perhaps a bit too hard. “Mr. Pagliarulo, my daughter tells me you are a very gifted man yourself.”

He returned the firm handshake. “Thank you, sir. Your daughter is very generous in her praise. And, may I say, she is a marvelous pianist.”

Andrew chuckled heartily. “Sounds like we have a mutual admiration society going on here, if you ask me.”

Cassie clasped her father’s arm. “Daddy, I told Antonio we’ll be having dinner at the Palazzo Ristorante on La Jolla Boulevard.”

“Yes, I think you’ll like it. The food’s great,” Andrew told Antonio. “It’s about six blocks from here. Would you like to ride over with us?”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Antonio. “I have my car.”

“You could follow us,” suggested Cassie.

“No, I know the restaurant. It’s one of my favorites.”

Cassie smiled. “I thought it might be.”

Andrew turned confidentially to his daughter. “Are your sisters joining us?”

“No, they both said they have previous commitments.”

“I’ll bet,” he said under his breath. He looked back at Antonio and Juliana. “Are we ready to go?”

During the brief drive to the restaurant, Andrew noticed a smile playing on his daughter’s lips. He hated succumbing to his suspicious nature, but he couldn’t help wondering if Cassie was anticipating a delightful evening with the handsome Antonio Pagliarulo, or was she conniving ways of pairing off her father with the lovely Juliana? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see who wins at this matchmaking game, he mused silently.

Palazzo was a quaint, dimly lit café with lots of greenery surrounding cozy tables with red-checkered tablecloths. A jug with a flickering candle and a slim vase with a single red rose graced each table. The walls boasted a series of bright, impressionistic paintings of Venice and Naples. Tantalizing aromas of garlic, olive oil and oregano assailed Andrew’s senses as the hostess led them to a table in a private corner. His mouth watered as he caught glimpses of plates piled high with steamy baked manicotti and fettuccini smothered in creamy alfredo sauce. To his surprise he was hungrier than he had felt in days.

“What’s good tonight?” he asked the waitress, a young woman with a pretty face and black hair piled on her head in an odd little twist.

“The linguini alla portafino is good if you like shrimp and clams in a rich cream sauce,” she said in a high, singsong voice as she placed a basket of garlic bread on the table. “And everyone likes the veal parmigiana. But my favorite is the tortellini calabrese.”

“And what is that exactly?” Cassie asked, looking up from her menu.

“Meat tortellini and sausage in marinara sauce topped with mozzarella cheese. It’s awesome.”

Cassie nodded. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

Juliana handed the waitress her menu. “I’ll just have an antipasto salad, please.”

“I’ll have the linguini alla portafino,” said Antonio.

“I’ll try the tortellini,” Andrew said. “And bring us an appetizer, okay? Some of those sauteed mushrooms and fried calamari. Might as well do this thing up right.” He looked over at Cassie and grinned. “Looks like I should have brought our bibs for a feast like this, right, muffin?”

Cassie’s face reddened. “Oh, Daddy, really!”

“Bibs?” echoed Juliana.

Andrew grinned. “We have these big, wonderful bibs we use at home on spaghetti nights. I’m as klutzy as they come, but those bibs work wonders.”

“Daddy, Juliana doesn’t want to hear about our bibs,” Cassie admonished.

“Oh, but I do. What a clever idea.”

Andrew chuckled. “You’ll have to come over for spaghetti sometime and try them out.” The words were out before he realized what he had said.

Juliana met his gaze for a long moment, her dark eyes flashing with merriment. “I’d love to, Andrew,” she said softly, her beguiling Mona Lisa smile curling the corners of her lips. Andrew couldn’t pull his eyes away from that smile, couldn’t stop the sudden roller-coaster tickle in his stomach. Maybe he was coming down with something, the way his heart was racing and his face was feeling flushed. Had to be a fever coming on. The flu maybe. You might know. He’d probably be sick in bed on his day off tomorrow.

Or maybe it wasn’t the flu at all. Maybe he was having an allergic reaction to…to Juliana!

He was more than a little relieved when the waitress brought their food. As he bit into a crusty slice of garlic bread, he resolved that he would have to watch his step around this woman. She had a way of making him feel like a bumbling, tongue-tied teenager again. Why did she have to look at him that way, as if she could see through to his heart and read his very thoughts?

“Andrew,” she said in her light, lyrical voice. “Andrew?”

He cleared his throat and stared at her. “Yes?”

“You were staring. I thought you were about to say something.”

His composure shattered, he groped for a suitable answer. “Yes, you’re absolutely right, Juliana. I was about to say—”