Chapter 131

ALEXANDROS Ophelia’s smile is so bright I swear it could light up the entire night sky. Happiness radiates from her and from all my boys too as we sit around the dining table about to devour the feast Malachi prepared. Such an ordinary scene, and one so at odds with the turmoil that surrounds us. While we eat, we keep the conversation light and pleasant. Xavier’s joy that the TV here has a sports channel, the surprising array of American foods at the grocery store, how the middle-aged store clerk watched Axl steal three bags full of groceries, staring at him like a lovestruck teenager thanks to the pleasurable bite he gave him. Whom out of Elpis and Anikêtos would be more likely to throw you off mid-flight and actually let you hit the ground if you had sex on their back. But despite the pleasant food and atmosphere and the feelings of contentment that have settled over us all, there is only so long that we can indulge in this fantasy that our lives are in any way normal. Only so long w