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I stepped off the boat while Louis secured it in place. We walked off the dock onto solid ground, but it felt like I was still floating. He left the key in a drop box and when we arrived at the car, he came around to open my door, as always. But before he did, he put his hands on my waist and looked down at me with a tender smile. My heart did little flip flops as he leaned down to kiss me again. He was taking advantage of the fact that I'd broken the kissing barrier. I wasn't complaining.
"Thank you so much, Louis," I said after his soft kiss. "This has been the best day of my life. The best weekend of my life, even."
"You can call me Lou if you want to," he said leaning his forehead against mine.
"Okay, Lou," I whispered, and then I stood on my tiptoes to press my lips against his once more.
The night was a crazy mixture of sleeplessness and giddiness. I'd never felt like this before, and I wanted to savor it. I didn't care that I'd only slept a few hours by the time Louis knocked on my door in the morning. I leapt up to get it, but I hid behind the door when I realized I'd forgotten to put on my robe.
"I'm going to Mass with my family, and I wanted to see if you'd like to come. You can stay here and sleep if you'd like, but I wanted you to know that we're going."
Mass. Oh yeah, that's what they called the Catholic service.
"I'll come with you," I said. I closed the door, took a shower and got ready quickly. I'd only been to church once before. It was a long time ago, and I don't even remember why I went. All I remembered was that the pastor read something about rich people not being able to go to heaven. He said the only way for the wealthy to get into heaven was for them to sell everything they had and give all their money to the poor. I found the idea absurd. Surely it must be easier to make God happy.
We rode with Louis' brother to the St. Thomas the Apostle in downtown Ann Arbor. I was stunned when I laid eyes on the absolutely gorgeous stone building. As we approached, I noticed three large, rounded wooden doors; they looked like the doors of an old castle. An enormous, round stained glass window made the doors look small in comparison. The bell tower rose high above the church while smaller turrets with rounded roofs surrounded it.
"How old is this church?" I asked, a bit in awe.
"Built in 1899," he said proudly. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yeah," I sighed.
The inside was just as breathtaking as the outside, with vaulted ceilings supported by marble columns. Stained glass windows lined the upper walls, casting a warm glow throughout the church. At the front of the church, there was a massive structure that held some kind of shrine.
Louis practically dragged me along as I marveled at the intricate details. We sat down and he held my hand. I continued to inspect the shrine; it looked to be completely constructed of gold in an unbelievably intricate pattern.
