My Father's Glory Part 7.

By Chris Z.
email: zaldanachris@hotmail.com

The author claims all copyrights to this story and no duplication or
publication of this story is allowed, except by the web sites to which it has
been posted, without the consent of the author.

This story is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance to person's living
or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental.
Moreover, none of the actions of the characters in this story is meant to
condone, approve, or sanction their behavior.

All comments are welcome and if you wish to contact me, please feel free to email me at zaldanachris@hotmail.com

I would like to give thanks, to all the fans that have expressesed their opinions and whose words, have provided inspiration and encouragement.
 

"I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better."
                                                - A. J. Liebling (1904-1963)
 

"Antonio, what are you doing?", she walked towards him and caressed his attractive face.

"Nothing,.........just showing Dante, some of my old stuff.", and he started to put everything back in the boxes.

"You know how Dante, looks up to you.  I don't want him to emulate you in every way.....", and she lifted his face and gazed at his seductive eyes.

He tenderly gazed at her, smiled and said.

"He'll be his own man.  You, can't prevent him from growing up and making his own decisions.", he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Antonio, he's only 7.......soon to be 8.  Let him enjoy his childhood, you can't live your life through him!.", and she pulled her hand away.

"Who says I do?.  I was just spending some quality time with the boy, there's no need to over react about this.", and picked up the rest of the trophies.

"Fine.  I want to make myself perfectly clear, about this subject.  I, do not want my son to be involved in that barbaric sport, so don't be putting any ideas in his head!.", and she made her way to the door.

As she left the garage and closed the door, Antonio picked up the photo that Dante had found earlier, looked at it and said.

"We'll see.......", he smiled and dropped the photo in the box.

I was standing by the window and saw my mother come out of the garage and by the look on her face, she wasn't too pleased.  I ran to my desk and took out my Reading Lessons book, sat on the desk and opened it and if I knew my mother well enough, she would soon be paying me a visit.  A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on my door and my mother came in.

"Hi sweetheart.  How are those lessons coming along?.", and she pulled a chair and sat next to me.

"Fine, just reading the story of "Emily and the Enchanted Frog", I said and made a face.

My mother looked at me and laughed.

"What's wrong with the story?.", and she picked up the book.

"It's boring and stupid.", I said.

"Dante, c'on.....it can't be all that bad.  Let's see, let me hear you read.", and she snuggled close to me and we shared the book.

After reading for 10 minutes, I was to summarize in my writing book, the point and lesson learned (if any!) in the story.  My mother and I, shared an intense conversation about the protagonist in the story.  How Emily, the little girl in the story knows her fairy tales and discovers, that kissing this particular frog really does turn him into a prince.  The only trouble is, the frog doesn't like being a prince and greatly prefers his frog state and now she must kiss every frog, until she finds a princess for the prince.

I wanted to write, that Emily was a big retard!  If she knew her stories so well, then it was obvious that once she kissed the frog, he would then turn into a prince.  She should have stopped to think that perhaps the prince was a frog for a reason, maybe the prince had million reasons for wanting to stay a frog, but she was a selfish little girl, only interested in a happy romantic story with a happy ending.

 My mother looked at me in disbelief and said.....

"Dante.  You can't say that, what will Sister Anna Concetta, think?", she smiled and said.

"You're too young to have such cynic thoughts.", and kissed my forehead.

I didn't care what Sister Concetta would think, she didn't like me anyways or anyone for that matter.  Sister Anna Concetta, taught Reading, Writing and Theology, at my school, she was about 5'5" without her wooden, rubber tipped cane to prop her up and had a spongy, pale skin covering her full cold face and she couldn't wait for you to "make her day."  Sister Anna Concetta, is just one of many types of nuns that anyone who goes to a Catholic school will encounter and although most are sweet as sugar, there is always a rotten apple in the bunch and these rotten apples use insults/scare tactics, as frequently as we use air to breathe.

When Sister Concetta, would call you up to the board, she would stand next to you and God help you, if you made a mistake.  She had such a short temper, that she would use her cane to hit the black board and point it out, the poor and abused blackboard was full of dents and marks, left from her wrath.  She would also call us,"cabbage heads" for making minor errors and "butterfingers" if you dropped the chalk out of fear.  Nuns are used by the Catholic school system to teach religion, enhance the Christian atmosphere and most essentially, save the school from having to hire and pay lay teachers.

In Catholic schools, the subject "religion" is required every single year.  Although, it wasn't one of my most favorite subject, the main purpose is to give students a better understanding of Jesus and the Catholic Faith.  By reading stories and fables in the Bible, students get a better idea of their purpose as disciples of God.  The memorization of countless prayers in Mass is also required and as you recite the prayers every day and go to Mass every week(supposedly), the words and motions become natural.  Through teaching religion, the school tries to teach students the main beliefs and values of the Catholic Church.

Discipline is strongly taught throughout a Catholic school education.  >From the first day you are told to sit up straight and fold your hands.  When a teacher enters the room, you are to cease all talking, if you decide to continue talking, you are asked to stay after school and do an assignment and as you get older, the punishments get tougher.  The discipline wasn't enforced to make us suffer but to teach us to follow orders and directions, something which you eventually have to do most of your life.

My favorite teacher was Sister Daniela Filomena.  She was 5'7, in her late forties, very pretty, with soft green eyes and rosy cheeks, I loved the soft scent of Jasmine that she radiated and her sweet and affectionate manner.  She taught Mathematics and History, two of my favorite and best subjects in which I excel.  Although attending a Catholic school can take its toll on a student, it can be beneficial to most in the long run, you learn good habits such as honesty and respect and if you chose to listen and understand what is being instilled in you, this type of school can bring out the best in a person.  So if you hear about the horrors of a Catholic school, keep in mind that the strict standards can make you grow stronger and more mature.

The school was governed, by Sister Carlotta Mariabella, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of the Holy Names.  When I was first enrolled in kindergarten, I was fascinated and mystified by the old habit, that they wore.  For those that don't know , the old habit is yards & yards of black serge fabric, that is box-pleated at the shirtfront, with starched linen band framing the face and a white wimple covering the head and a knee-length black veil over all, the only skin visible was the face & hands.

The school that I went to is called, St.Basil the Great.  It is a private school for boys, ranging in grades from kindergarten to grade 8.  The huge school, had been a monastery in the 15th Century but was closed in the 1800's , then the Catholic church sold the monastery to the city and the city in turn turned it into a private school for boys.  The school sits on top of a hill and can be seen from below the town and most people who visit St.Basil's, are attracted to the school grounds.  As you make your walk, from the parking lot, there are paths that meander through oak trees, sycamores, fruit trees, junipers, and little patches of flowers.  I remember, how happy and excited I was on my first day of kindergarten, I looked so dashing in my uniform and was actually looking forward to school, but when I learned that my grandmother wasn't going to stay with me, panic hit me and I started to cry.

As you walk through the main hall, you see photos of graduating students throught the years and next to a statue of St.Basil, there is a plaque that reads,

               St.Basil The Great, is fully committed to the creation and
               development of a faith-based community, charging all
               students to bear witness to the Love and Peace of Christ.

               We encourage each child to reach his full potential
               through knowledge, inquiry, faith and reflection.
              Our goal is to foster success and confidence in our
              students, teaching them respect for others and for
              themselves.

The school is segregated in age groups and each group has their own wing and floor.  My wing faces to the north and my classroom was on the second floor and through the high windons I could barely make out the ocean in the distance.  About the only place that you get to see or mingle with the other students is either at the library or in the chapel. The Chapel of the Crucifixion, is in itself quite breathtaking, the doors to the chapel are ancient and made of an alloy of bronze and silver.  As you enter the chapel, there is a bronze sculpture of St Francis with his disciples and beautiful frescoes cover the ceiling and walls, depecting scenes from the Bible.

It was here, were we all marched for mass every friday and Abbot Ferrante Aporti, performed mass and afterwards, heard your confession.  The choir boys, were a bit more priviliged than the rest of the other students, they got to miss classes in order to prepare for mass or go on trips to perform for festivals or at different churches or any other special occasion.  >From almost every classroom, the few were selected by their talented voices and those that were picked, had the honour to sing as choir boys.  When I told my mom, that I wasn't picked as a choir boy, she was quite dissapointed but my father, just gave a sigh of  relief and very faintly said, "thank-God!."

After my mother and I were done with my lessons, she went to my closet and asked me if I had polished my black leather shoes for school.  She always inspected the uniform and wanted me, to simply look the best and be presentable for school.  The uniform, consists of a navy blazer, navy tie with white stripes and a gold stitched cross, a white straight collared shirt, either long or short sleeved, black or grey socks, grey cotton trousers and black leather shoes.  For gym classes, grey shorts(mid-thigh length, Bermuda style), white cotton shirt, white socks and plain white running shoes.

"Allright, Dante.  Now pleasant dreams and have a goodnight.", my mother tucked me in and kissed me on the cheek.

As she was about to leave, something caught her eye and when I followed her gaze, she was staring at my father's boxing gloves, that were hanging from the bedpost.  She then blew me a kiss goodnight and closed the door.  About five minutes later, my father showed up to say goodnight, kissed my forehead and said.

"So..... this week my little Prince, turns how old.?", he asked amorously.

"EIGHT!.", I yelled and gave my biggest grin.

"Dad, what am I getting for a present?.", I smiled and tried to read those enticing hazel eyes.

"Ha!, good one Sport!, but you know that I can't tell you that.", he gave me a warm smile, poked me in the tummy and then said.

"So, go to sleep and I'll see you in the morning", he rustled my hair and stroked my cheek.

"Allright, goodnight Dad.",and he walked towards the door, he waved his hand and closed it.

I felt excited about the coming week and eventually, I fell asleep and went into dreamland.

I was woken up by the stupid alarm clock, during the best part in my dream.  I dreamt that I was surrounded by a mountain of presents and just as I was going to unwrap the biggest one, the alarm went off.  I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a leak and then headed for my parents bedroom.  I heard my mother downstairs preparing breakfast and my grandmother was probably getting ready to take me to school.  I then knocked on the door and heard my father's voice in the bathroom.

"Morning, Sport. Come in.", he politely said.

As I walked to the bathroom door and opened it, there he was shaving that incredible sexy face and in his beat up, worn out soccer shorts.

"Morning Dad.", I walked up to him, gave him a hug and yawned.

"You're still yawning, Sport.  What's the matter, you couldn't sleep last night?.", and he playfully lathered my face with shaving cream.

"Nah, I slept perfectly.  It's just that the alarm clock woke me up in the best part of my dream.", and I paid careful attention as he shaved.

"Ahh, yeah that always happens.  So what was the dream about?.", he continued shaving and looking at me in the mirror.

"Well, I had received a mountain of presents...", he laughed and interrupted.

"A mountain of presents?", he then picked me up and sat me on the counter.

"Yeah, it was a huge.....mountain of presents and just as I was going to open the biggest one......BEEP....BEEP, the alarm went off.", I stared at his fine muscles and the massive muscular hairy chest.

Then as I turned my gaze to the impressive bulge in his shorts, I asked him a question that had been cooking in my head for a while, yet I always forgot to ask.

"Dad, how do you make babies?.", and as he was splashing his face with cold water, he had a puzzled look on his face, grabbed a towel and said.

"This you ask on a monday morning?." and he stood there dripping water on his awesome chest and the water then cascaded down his treasure trail and into his shorts.

He sighed and said,

"I'll do my best to make this simple for you, Sport.", and stood right in front of me and crossed his powerful and sturdy arms.

"When a man and a woman, love each other, they take off their clothes and get close.  Each has special body parts that are made to fit together.  The man's parts are called a penis and testicles and a woman has a vagina. When the man puts his penis inside the woman's vagina, it's called making love, or sexual intercourse.  A special liquid called sperm comes out the man's penis travels to an egg inside a special place in the woman called a uterus and this is where a baby will start to grow.

He looked at me, with one raised eyebrow and tried to read my thoughts.  I then said.

"O.k so you make this special liquid, Dad?."

"Yes, Sport.  All mature males can make sperm, throught their lives.", he then closed the bathroom door, picked me up and took me to the shower.

"Allright, Sport.  Did I answer your question.?", he raised both eyebrows and smiled inquisitively.

"Yeah, .....sure.", in my mind I tried to picture, what I had seen my father do the day before.  As he watched my facial expressions, he continued by saying.

"Mmm......DanteSon, is there is more that you would like to know?", and he turned on the water in the shower.

"Well.......yeah.", then my father began to undress me and placed my pajamas on the towel rack.

I got into the shower and grabbed the soap, my father then pulled off his shorts, got into the shower and pulled the glass door.

As he stood underneath the warm water, he brushed his gigantically thick penis by my shoulder and I watched, as the virile male organ swung freely, like a pendulum.  He then started to scrub, his chisled muscular body and washed the firm and meaty pectorals, which were matted with wet curly black hairs, that narrowed and ran down the centerline of his sculptured abdominals fanning out again into a lush tangle of blue/black curls in the macho bush.

The huge, hairy balls, hung heavily from his crotch and the humongous cazzo, jutted out from between the sinewy thighs like some implaccable juggernaut.  I then jumped right in front of him, turned around and smiled at him, he softly stroked my cheek and let me have my turn under the shower.  As he turned around, to get the shampoo, I saw his rock hard butt, with a dimpled set of twin mounds, that rested in a moist and hairy crevasse.

I faced my father as he lathered my head with shampoo, I then took the initiative and grabbed his huge and hefty cock with both hands and pulled his foreskin back.  I then gazed at the over-sized, bulbous mushroom head and said.

"So, the what did you call it?.......it comes out from here, just like pee.?", I then placed my pinky finger in the opening of his pee-hole and looked up at him but with the shampoo and the force of the water,  I couldn't clearly see his face.

"Yes, Sport.  The sperm comes out from there and is made here (he then lifted his lemon sized balls and pulled his hairy scrotum, up to my face). The testicles, are the sperm-producing factories in a guy.", and as I was going to touch his hairy balls, he dropped the weighty, prodigious bull sack and said.

"Dante, we have to hurry up, it's getting late and Fabrizio will be showing up in a while.", he then slapped my butt and moved me aside.

He got out of the shower and started to dry himself off, he then extended his hand to me and as I grabbed it, he pulled me forward and gave me a kiss on my right cheek.

"Sport, go and get dressed or your grandma will be looking for you soon.", he wrapped a towel around his waist and then dried me off and we went into the bedroom.  As he walked to his closet and took out his clothes, I waved and walked into the hallway.

As I was walking into my room, I heard my mother yell out.

"Dante,....Antonio.  Are you guys planning on having breakfast anytime soon?",

"I'll be rightdown, Mom!.", and I hurriedly went into my room and started to get dressed.

I threw everything on, looked at myself in the mirror and looked very presentable.  I grabbed my "Phantom backback" and rushed downstairs.

My grandmother was reading the morning paper and drinking a cappucino.  I walked up to her and said.

"Bon matin, grand-mère.  Comment êtes-vous?."(Good morning, grandma.  How are you?)

I then gave her a good morning kiss and hug.

"Bon matin, mon petit garçon, Comment êtes-toi?.", (Good morning, my little boy.  How are you?.), she gave me a tender kiss and hug.

Just then, my father came running down the stairs and when he heard me talk to my grandmother in french, he joked.

"Are you two talking about me?.", and mockingly bowed to my grandmother and rustled my hair.

"Hey, I just brushed that!.", I said and pushed his hand away.

He looked at me, winked and said.

"Now, you're going to have to do it all over again.!", and he stuck out his tongue.  He looked so adorable, when he was in a childish mood.

My mother came out of the kitchen, in her nurse's uniform and stopped the fun.

"If you two don't stop playing around, you'll make as all late.", and she pointed to the kitchen table, where our breakfast was waiting.

My father then looked in my direction, rolled his eyes and said out loud.

"Yes, Nurse Fang!", and sat at the table.  My mother, walked up behind him, pulled his ear and said.

"I hate it, when you call me that!", and gave him a kiss on the lips.  I then dug in for my cereal, when my father looked at me and said.

"Hey, Sport.  What's the difference between a nurse and a nun?.", he gave my mom a mischievous look and waited for my answer.

"I don't know......what?.", I smiled and giggled.

"A nun only serves one God.", and he winked and took a bite out of his croissant.

I laughed and looked at my mom, who was just rolling her eyes.

"I got another one, Sport.", he looked at my mom and she said.

"Keep them clean Antonio.", read the newspaper and took a sip of coffee.

My father, looked in my direction, cleared his throat and continued.

"A nurse dies and goes to heaven.  She is met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter who asks her questions about her life.  Over St. Peter's shoulder the nurse spots a man in a white coat sitting on a cloud with a stethoscope around his neck.  "Oh brother!", she cries. "Is that a doctor?" St Peter glances over his shoulder and says, "No, that's God. He just thinks he's a doctor."

I laughed so hard that I had milk coming out of my nose.  My mother then looked at the both of us and said.

"Antonio, you and your stupid jokes.  Dante, please go upstairs and get cleaned up.", and she grabbed a towel and cleaned my tie.

Soon, there was a car honk, in the driveway and it was Fabrizio.  My father finished drinking his coffee, took another croissant and went to get his coat.  On the way out, he kissed my forehead and tried to give my mom a kiss but she pushed him away and as he passed by the living room, he mockingly bowed to my grandmother, again and said.

"Allright everyone, have a good day and Dante, be good. Ciao!", and threw us a kiss in the air and went out the door.

I headed upstairs, brushed my teeth and with a wet towel, cleaned my tie.  I looked at myself in the mirror and was still thinking about the jokes that my father told and I especially loved it, when he acted like a child.  It was it was in his playful and sweet nature to be funny, affectionate and tender individual.

As I was coming downstairs, my mother gave me a pack of birthday cards and said.

"Sweetheart, give these cards to the other students in the class, they're birthday invitations.", and she kissed my cheek.

At that moment, she reminded how special this week was going to be and I got a very happy and euphoric feeling.  I took the cards and put them in my backpack, gave her a big kiss and then, she said.

"Allright, I have to get going.  My shift is going to start soon and I don't want to be late and please Dante, don't forget to hand out the cards!", and she ran out the door.

My grandmother, then grabbed her purse and we were also out the door.  When I got to my first class, I asked Sister Maria Angelina, if I could pass out the birthday cards.  Sister Maria, was a very sweet old nun and she taught Geography and Music,  she was also our home room teacher, where the daily attendance was taken.

At the end of the day, all the guys in my class were pretty excited and kept asking all sort of questions about my birthday party.  I ofcourse, did not have a single clue as to what was being planned, my parents had kept very quiet about the party and gave no clues, or showed any hint of preparation.

I went home that afternoon, with all sort of thoughts twirling in my head.  That night, I hardly slept and only wished that it would soon be wednesday April 16th, for my much anticipated birthday party.

When the alarm clock, hit 7:00 a.m on April 16th, I woke up and found my father was sitting on my bed.  I was all groggy, from the sleep and there he was, with a birthday hat on his head and a wide grin.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPORT!", He gave me a big hug and kissed my cheek.

As I rubbed my eyes, he put a birthday hat on my head, that had the number 8 in gold colour.  I smiled and gave him another big hug in return and he handed me a big present.

"Now, you can open this one now.  I've cleared it with Nurse Fang, and she said that it's fine.", He looked so excited, like a little kid and said.

"Hope that you like it, Sport.", and he sat on the floor and crossed his arms.  At that moment, I heard my mom yell out from her bedroom.

"WAIT!.  Dante........honey, I need to get the camera ready.  Don't open it yet!", and she was talking out loud and asking my father, where he had last seen the camera.

My father just rolled his eyes and said,

"Forget the camera!.  Dante, open it........open it.!", and winked at me.

I looked at him and laughed.  He looked so hilarious, with a child's birthday hat on and I was quite surprised that he was actually wearing a robe.  This particular robe, my mother had given him as a Christmas present two years ago, it was a very nice, blue silk Armani robe but my father preferred his old, beat up and worn out black soccer shorts, than any expensive and as he called it "girlie robe".

Just then, my grandmother came in and as she gave me a kiss on the head, she said.

"Joyeux anniversaire, mon petit garçon!"(Happy Birthday, my little boy!), and she gave me her present, to which I responded.

"Merci, grand-mère.!"(Thank you, grandma!), and gave her a big hug.

My father looked at us both and said,

"Are you two, talking about me?", and winked.

At that moment, my mother finally walked into the room, with camera in hand and said.

"Allright, Dante.  You get to open these two presents now and the rest for later, o.k", she prepared the camera and told me to smile(like I needed a reason!).

I opened my father's huge gift first, and unwrapped it like a child possesed.

"Wow!.  Dad, this is a awesome!.", My father, had given me an action figure playset of "The Phantom".  It was a set composed of a cave and came complete with Devil the loyal wolf and Hero the spirited white stallion and ofcourse "my hero",
The Phantom.

My mother, was going nuts with the camera and there were flashes every 2 seconds.  I got up and jumped on my dad and gave him like a million kisses, all over his face.  I then put my father's cool present on the bed and opened my grandmother's next, the wrapping paper was very nice but I was a little bit suspicious, especially since the wrapping paper had a logo on it.  The letter "A", in gold was all over the place and when I got to the box itself, there it read........"Emporio Armani".

I already guessed what it most likely was and I wasn't too happy about it.  Knowing my grandmother, it was either shirts, pants, or the most dreaded ........a suit!. Amidst the flashes of the camera, I heard my mother gasp and say.

"Oh.....Maman, c'est magnifique!"(Mom, it's wonderful!), and she practically took the box from me.

My father, then coughed and said.

"Ahh.......look Sport, another suit!", and politely smiled.

My mother, just glared at my father and she touched the soft fabric of the suit.  And it was indeed, another suit and my grandmother then displayed the suit and went into complete detail.  My mother, just couldn't stop taking photos.

"It's a handsome dark olive neat pattern suit.  You'll have a look of distinction, when you wear this suit, my precious little boy.  It has classic 2 button modeling and is made of 100% wool blended fabric, making this a fabulous suit for any occasion.",

My mother, then gave the brilliant suggestion of "trying on the suit" but my father came to my rescue and said.

"Boy, will you look at the time!.  We all have to get going, he can try the suit in the evening.", he then got up and gave me another kiss on the cheek and carried me to the washroom.

As I was brushing my teeth and he was shaving, he looked at me and said.

"Well, Sport......you can't win them all!", and sprinkled cold water on my face, and then said.

"Do you like the playset?.", and splashed cold water on his face.

"I love it Dad, I can't wait to play with it!", and gave him another hug.  He then playfully messed up my hair and told me to jump in the shower.

I turned on the water and stood there, watching my father take a long and major piss.  He then shook, the last remaining droplets of piss from the huge Italian sausage and took off his shorts.  As he got into the shower, the colossal thick snake, almost came close to touching my lips, my father then grabbed me by my shoulders, slapped my butt and placed me under the warm shower.  With my back, resting against his muscular frame, he scrubbed my head and I playfully rubbed my hand on his towering, strong hairy legs and I told him that I loved him.  He softly stroked my right cheek and said.

"I love you too, Sport.  When you are happy, then I'm happy.", he then lowered down to my level and I gazed at those alluring, beautiful hazel eyes and he gave me a small kiss on the lips.

I felt my head spin and for a brief moment, I think I sorta passed out........'cause I can't really recall, how many minutes went by.  The next thing I knew, my father slapped my bottom and I heard him say.

"Sport..........Dante!.", he was snapping his fingers at me and then I came to.

"Dante, we're really falling behind on time.  We have to get out of the shower or we'll get the wrath of your mother.", and he turned off the water.

I nodded and still in a deep trance, grabbed a towel and dried off.  I was still thinking about the kiss and WOW, that was some kiss.

I was taking my sweet time drying off, that my father then gave me a slap on the butt with his wet towel and I jumped out and finally came out of the hazy daze.  He looked at me, smiled and said.

"Dante, go get dressed, I mean it!." and at that moment, my mother hollered that Fabrizio, had arrived.

We both looked at each other and I heard my father swear and he dashed into the bedroom.  I quickly took off and head out for mine.  As I was leaving my parents bedroom, my mother walked in and said.

"Oh my God, we're all running lateAntonio, Fabrizio is already downstairs and waiting for you and Dante, for heaven's sake!  Go and get ready for school!", and she pushed me out the door.

I ran into my room and with all the exciment, I didn't know what to grab first.  When I was finally finished, I ran downstairs and there was Fabrizio, smiling and looking as handsome as ever.

"HEY........it's the birthday boy!", and he opened his arms for me.

I ran to him and gave him a big hug.  He then told me to close my eyes and extend out my hands.

I did as he said and I could feel two presents in my arms, I then heard him say.

"O.k .....Little man, open your eyes!",

As I opened my eyes, there were camera flashes in the living room and it was my mom, taking photos and heard my mother say.

"You can open one, now Dante.  The other one later.", and she was then whispering to Fabrizio.

At that moment, my father came running down the stairs and said 'morning to everyone.  He bowed gracefully to my grandmother and she just glared at him, kissed my mother's hand and as he pulled Fabrizio's hand to kiss it, Fabrizio pulled it
away and said.

"Idiot, stop goofing off.  We're running late.", then kissed my mother on the cheek and said.

"Well, I'll see all of you later after work.", and as he was walking out the door, he looked at me and said.

"I hope you like the gifts, Dante.", he patted my head and headed to the car.

My father was right behind him and stopped to give me another hug and said.

"Be good in school and I'll see you in the afternoon.", and as he kissed my forehead, he whispered in my ear.

"I'd check your closet real good if I were you.  Just keep it between the two of us, Sport!", he winked and ran out the door.

My mother then grabbed her purse and said to me.

"Allright, sweetheart.  Have a good day in school and please be good, and Happy Birthday Prince!", and dashed out.

My grandmother went to grab her purse and I told her that I had forgotten my backpack upstairs.  I ran up the stairs with Fabrizio's presents in hand and headed towards my bedroom.  I placed the gifts on the bed and went to look in the closet,
as I opened the door, there on the floor was a big box, covered in red wrapping paper.  There was a card on top and as I read it, it said.

"To my wonderful and beloved Son.  I hope you like them, your loving father, Antonio.", I tore the paper to shreds and opened the box.  Inside the box, there were two red coloured Everlast boxing gloves in my size, the gloves were super awesome and even had my name stitched in gold letters.  I tried them on and then boxed against my shadow, as I had seen my father do before and then I heard my grandmother, call my name and I hid the gloves back in the closet.

I didn't care if I was going to be late for school and stopped to open, one of Fabrizio's present.  I opened the most colourful one, and couldn't wait to see what he had gotten me.  The presents were getting better and better, inside the box, there were at least 10 Phantom comic books, a Phantom t-shirt and a plush stuffed animal of Devil, the Phantom's loyal pet wolf.

My grandmother then called my name a second time and I took off downstairs, like a bolt of lighting.  As we dashed to school, I couldn't wait for the schoolday to be over and rush home so that I could play with all my toys.

I was daydreaming in my last period class, when Sister Daniela Filomena, who was teaching Geography told us to put everything away.  Everyone in the class gave a low moan and thought, that she was going to give us a surprise quiz but then I was really surprised when my grandmother walked in, accompanied by the prioress Sister Carlotta Mariabella and four clowns!.

The whole room, went nuts and the other boys started clapping and whistling.  I was speechless and stupified at the same time, prioress Sister Carlotta Mariabella, quickly stopped the rowdyness with one look on her face and said.

"Today is a very special day for one of our beloved students, Dante Alessandro Martinello.  This young man, turns eight today and thanks to the generosity of his parents, you will all be entertained for the remaining of the period by clowns, cake and soft drinks.  Now boys........please try to keep the noise level down for the remaining students.  That's all I have to say.......now, enjoy!", she smiled and talked with my grandmother and Sister Daniela Filomena.

The clowns were by far the best and their names were, Tickles, Wiggle and Giggles.  After about an hour of party games, balloon animals, face painting, juggling, candy and delicious chocolate cake, the boys in the class were given "party loot bags", that were filled with candy and toys.  My grandmother, must have used at least two rolls of film on the camera and everyone in the class, had an awesome time.

The last thing to do was to open the presents and most of them were cool, I got a water gun, train set, remote control car and ofcourse clothes.  We then got ready to go home and all the guys in class, were patting me on the back and telling me that they had an awesome, kick ass time.

I gave Sister Daniela Filomena, a hug and we were on our way home.  When we got to the parking lot, I noticed that my grandmother had driven the Fiat Panda and she then, put all the gifts in the trunk.  She asked me, if I had enjoyed the clows and the cake, my answer was a big hug and kiss on her cheek.

When we got to the house, my father and Fabrizio, were outside and talking in the driveway.  I ran out the car and made a bee line for my father and jumped in his powerful arms.

"HEY SPORT! Well look at you, what are you supposed to be?", and I forgot that I had my face painted.

"I'm a TIGER!.", I yelled out.

"Ahh......a tiger, then you're my little cub.!" and he gave me a big kiss on the cheek.

I looked at Fabrizio, smiled and said.

"Fabrizio, thank you for the gifts!......they were awesome!", he looked very happy and he said.

"I'm very glad that you liked them, what about the shirt.....did it fit you?", my father then put me down and I went to give Fabrizio, a hug.  He gave me a strong hug in return and messed up my hair, I then said.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it will fit and I love Devil, he's cool.!" and then looked in my father's direction and I said.

"Dad, I loved the gloves!", and he looked at me an shook his head.  Fabrizio, then looked at my father and said.

"Gloves, what gloves?.", and he had a serious look on his face.

Just then, my grandmother yelled out,

"Is anyone going to help me carry all these gifts, inside the house?.", and waved at us.

My father had a nervous look on his face, cleared his throat, smiled and said.

"Oh look, your grandmother needs help.  I'll be right there!", and ran to help her.

Fabrizio then looked at me and gave me an inquisitive look.  I smiled and "remembered", what my father had said, about keeping "it", to ourselves and also took off to help out.

To be continued!