Chapter Thirty

THE TRIP TO the cemetery had been poignant, as it was when she and Janice followed Benito there two months before. She learned that Benito’s mother was the shopkeeper’s daughter who her great uncle Ephraim had fallen in love with while he was stationed in Naples during the Italian campaign in World War II. He left Naples for the battle of Anzio, which is where he was killed in February 1944. Elena never saw him again. She bore his son without knowing Ephraim’s fate, but finally believing the worst had happened. When Roberto Gianelli came along, Elena decided he would make a good father for her son and she made a life with him.

Although it could never be certain what Ephraim would have done had he lived, it was certain how Elena felt about him. Upon her death, with her second husband preceding her to the grave, she had placed Maggio or May in her name as if she had married Ephraim before his death. Annie wondered if maybe she did marry him in the best way they knew how.

Couldn’t a couple still say vows to each other and before God, marrying each other until the legal aspects could be filed later when a war wasn’t raging? The details of their love were lost to time now, with Benito as sole legacy of what had been.

They had made their way inside the U-shaped cemetery, lined on three sides with vaults from the ground to around twenty feet high. Each grave was marked by a white marble square in the wall with the name, birth date, and death date, along with a picture of the deceased and a vase holding real or artificial flowers.

Benito led Beulah by the hand to the vault, two stones up from the ground, where Elena’s body rested.

“Mamma,” he said, pointing to the inscription, Elena Caivano Maggio Gianelli. N. 5 Settembre 1924—M. 17 Gennaio, 2000.

A respectful silence had settled over the group as they watched Benito and Beulah stand in front of the vault. They left in silence, leaving Elena in her resting place.

After the cemetery, Paola, Janice, Lindy, and Annie went to the chapel to approve the planned placement of candles and chairs.

“I think we need some greenery around the candles,” Janice said.

“Yes, I think so,” Paola said. “The cypress trees will make nice cuttings and they have tiny cones we can use for decoration.”

“It’s a good thing we’re on the move so much today,” Lindy said. “I haven’t stayed up that late talking in a long time.”

Janice put her arm around Lindy. “You can sleep when you’re dead. For now, we are in Italy.”

Bundled against the cool weather and armed with scissors, the girls scrambled around the hillside below the medieval walls. They snipped cypress branches and gathered the tree’s small cones in baskets provided by Angelina.

Paola proved to be an artist as she directed the placement of the greenery and cones around the simple, white candles that lined the aisles and provided a backdrop to the altar.

“Perfect,” Annie declared, and stood back to admire the work.

“Basta, enough,” Paola said. “Andiamo a Montepulciano.”

“I need to change clothes,” Janice said. “Lindy, do you have the room key?”

“Here you go. Will you grab my purse? It’s on the bed.”

Lindy turned to Annie. “Have you heard from your dad?”

“When I call, it goes to voicemail. He could be in the air.”

“Maybe he’ll be here by the time we get back from Montepulciano tonight.”

“Rehearsal is not until tomorrow night; he still has time. How do you think Grandma’s doing? I’ve hardly spent time with her since we arrived,” Annie said.

“Beulah tried to plug in her hot rollers. Evelyn stopped her before she burned them out and gave her a converter. She was mystified that we all don’t have the same electric voltage,” Lindy said.

“I forgot to tell her that.”

“She used her new bank card at the ATM machine in the square, although the euro conversion is a challenge,” Lindy said.

“For a woman who stashes cash in a coffee can in the freezer, this is a big deal,” Annie said. They laughed and then Lindy grew serious.

“Gosh, Annie, can you believe you’re going to be married in a couple of days?”

“In some ways, I can’t, but in other ways, it’s like I’ve been heading toward this day all my life. I am nervous,” she said. “It’s a life-altering step, but one I can’t imagine not taking.”

***

“Want to ride with me and Vincenzo to Montepulciano?” Jake said. He held open the car door.

“Sure do,” Annie said as Janice slid into the front with Vincenzo. Tom drove the van with Evelyn, Scott, Mary Beth, and Lindy; Beulah, snatching every minute possible with her nephew, rode with Benito, Luca, and Rosa.

“Vincenzo, tell us about Luca and Rosa. What are their personalities like?” Annie asked.

“Rosa, she takes after her mamma. She is good girl, very shy, likes music, and sings very nice. Anna is also musical. Luca, very smart and hard worker, but lately he make trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Annie asked.

“Stay out too late, not do his lessons, and there are boys he is with we don’t like very much. Not respectful. We are a bit worried about him. Fifteen is a hard age for children. How you say, crossroads?”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “It must be hard to watch them go through the teenage years. I know I gave my grandparents their fair share of trouble. Jake, here, on the other hand, was the model son.”

“Right.” He squeezed her knee.

“Seriously, Vincenzo. Grandma was always saying, ‘If you could be more like Jake.’”

“Of course, sons and the mammas or aunts, always easy. Sons and papàs. Different story.”

***

In Montepulciano, they ate in a crowded restaurant known for large Florentine steaks served rare. Elbow to elbow on bench seats under a vaulted brick ceiling, they ate a sumptuous dinner of beef, bitter greens, and stewed white beans. The talk and laughter had kept Annie from thinking of her father, but as they approached Montefollonico in the darkness, she was eager to check with the front desk.

“No, Mr. Taylor has not arrived yet,” the desk clerk said. “Should I still hold the room?”

“Yes, please,” she said before turning away. Even if he arrived tomorrow, she had hoped he would come in time to enjoy being a part of the pre-wedding festivities. As it stood now, he would barely make it in time for the rehearsal and the wedding.

“Any word?” Jake met her in the lobby and clasped her hand.

“Nothing,” she sighed. “Do you think something’s happened to him? I suppose he could have had an accident.”

“He never said for sure when he would get here. Let’s not worry about it. I’ll try calling tomorrow. If we don’t get him, I’ll see if I can call the bar.”

Annie nodded. “We’re supposed to go to Siena tomorrow. Should I stay back here in case he comes?”

“I don’t think so. You have a group of people who have made every effort and sacrifice to be with us during the days leading up to the wedding. Let’s not throw that away for the one who isn’t here.”

“You’re right. How did I get so lucky?”

“I’m glad you feel that way. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking I should capitalize on that feeling you’re feeling. How about a limoncello and a kiss—or two?” he grinned.

“How about we drop the limoncello?”

“Even better.”