THE HAPPIEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE
On the day of my First Communion, my godfather told me, “Today is the happiest day of your life,” and gave me a hundred-euro bill. “What would you like to drink?” my mother asked him. “A glass of brandy,” he said. My father opened the cabinet door, took out a bell-shaped bottle, and poured the brandy into a glass that looked like a balloon. My godfather held the glass up to the light, took a sip, and closed his eyes. “Sherry brandy,” I heard him say. When they left to say goodbye, I made sure no one was watching and dipped my index finger into my godfather’s glass. I let a drop fall onto my tongue, closed my eyes just like he did, and reached into my pocket to make sure the hundred-euro bill was still there.
Hermenegildo Altozano García-Figueras
