Chapter 32

The move to Boston was good for Vittorio. He saw how happy it made his mother to be near the Crespis, who had long ago become her family, and his friendship with Paolo lifted his spirits as well. They would talk long into the night over a glass of wine, or when they opened their lunch pails on the job. Paolo listened patiently to Vittorio talk of Kitty. Vittorio talked all he needed to, until one day he had said all he could about her, had questioned aloud her change of heart enough times, and he talked about her no more.

He seemed happy enough on the surface, but his mind still questioned and his heart still pained. He kept the thoughts of Kitty to himself and nightly remembered the mischief in her smile, the passion in her kiss. The one thing that he could not do was forget her. Quietly, she would always be a part of him.

Long before he told Vittorio that he would marry, Paolo had met Annamaria at Tarantino’s, the grocery store her father owned. She worked in the store every afternoon, helping her father during his busiest hours. Hungry after a hard day’s work, Paolo often stopped in there for something to eat, to hold him until dinner. It quickly became a daily routine, and Vittorio noticed that Paolo stayed longer and longer, his purchase eventually just an excuse to talk to Annamaria. In Annamaria’s company, Paolo could not keep his eyes off her. Away from her, he spoke of her constantly. Everything reminded Paolo of her, a bird flying overhead, a doll in a store window, or a song on the hurdy-gurdy.

His store visits turned into courtship, and Paolo spent as much time as he could with Annamaria. Vittorio hid the pain he carried for Kitty and rejoiced in his friend’s happiness.

The announcement came when the family was assembled at the Crespis’ house for Sunday dinner. Vittorio and Ottavia were there with Antonia and Tomasso, Paolo and Annamaria. All through the antipasto Paolo and Annamaria exchanged secret looks. Finally, after the women had cleared the table of the salamis and cheeses, Tomasso gave his son a nod.

“Aunt Ottavia and Vittorio, Annamaria and I want to tell you. In the spring, we are going to be married.”

Ottavia drew in her breath. “Bene, bene!” she cried. She ran to the couple, cupped each one’s smiling face in her hands, and lavished them with kisses. “The blessings of God on you. I’m so happy for you.” The sight of the couple’s happiness stirred memories of long ago. She had long since dealt with the pain of her loss, but the remembrance of her son’s loss lay like a rock fresh in her heart. She hoped for the consummation of this marriage. The world was a cold place without love.

Vittorio watched Annamaria during dinner. She was a pretty girl with thick dark hair and bright color in her cheeks. Her robust healthiness made him think of the people of Argiano. Her brown eyes softened whenever she looked at Paolo, and Paolo couldn’t look at her without smiling. Vittorio was happy for them but envied the love they shared.

She was eager to help, setting out a bowl of sauce, mopping up a spill. Annamaria would fit right into the family. Her family had come from a small farming village in central Italy, very much like the ones they had come from, Paolo told him.

“We met already knowing each other,” Paolo said, and Vittorio understood the significance of his friend’s remark. Perhaps his world and Kitty’s were farther apart than he knew. Then her exquisite face rose before him. No, he thought, we were not far apart. In soul and spirit we were one.

Talk of the wedding took up much of the dinner. They would be married in her parish church, St. Rocco’s, and the reception would be in her parents’ home. When Antonia suggested that perhaps they should wait longer so that Paolo could save up more money, Ottavia and Vittorio spoke up quickly.

“What’s the point in waiting?” he said.

“You have love; the money will come,” Ottavia said.

Mother and son looked at each other, knowing that each feared, more than anything else, another loss.

“My sister, Francesca, will be the maid of honor.” As Annamaria said that, Paolo looked at Vittorio. “I’d like you to be my best man. Maybe you and Francesca can get to know each other before the wedding. She’s just a year younger than Annamaria and almost as pretty.”

They all laughed, but encouraged him to do so, none more insistent than Paolo. Vittorio smiled and said nothing. He would admit it to no one. but he still held a shred of hope that someday, somehow, Kitty’s and his paths would cross and he would have a second chance. More than a hope, it was a belief. In his heart, he knew they were meant to be together.

“Did you see this?” Paolo held up the morning paper, its headline proclaiming, “National Defense Act Becomes Law.” He read, “The National Defense Act, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, will increase the peacetime strength of the U.S. Army to 175,000 men…and its wartime strength to 300,000 men…The National Guard will quadruple to 400,000 men.”

Tomasso leaned forward on the table. “Why build an army unless you plan on war?”

“We are drifting toward war, for certain.” Paolo shook his head. “If America goes to war, I go, too.”

“And I go with you,” Vittorio added.

“No!” the three women cried in unison.

“It’s too early to worry about that,” Tomasso said, dismissing the subject in front of the women, but later, when the women were in the kitchen washing the dishes, he spoke quietly to Vittorio and his son.

“Are you serious about fighting if America gets into the war? What of Italia, our mother country?”

“We are Americans now,” Vittorio said, and Paolo nodded.

Tomasso shook his head. “This war was supposed to be over quickly. Instead it grows longer and bigger, threatening to take our young men on this side of the ocean. It is an octopus reaching out its tentacles to draw us in. It already has affected our shipping, our exports; next it will take our men. Paolo, you will have a wife, and Vittorio, your mother needs you.”

Paolo nodded solemnly, but each man had already made up his mind. If America entered the war, he would serve.

The women returned to the table with bowls of fruit and nuts, and the men ended their conversation.

Paolo laid his hand on Vittorio’s shoulder. “Now that I am about to become a married man, I think you and I should give some thought to starting our own business. I for one am getting tired of working for someone else. Together we have muscle, and we have business sense. We have more work now than we can handle. What do you say, Vittorio? Shall we give it a try?”

Vittorio grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. I’m ready if you are.”

The two raised their wine glasses. “Today we have two things to celebrate,” Vittorio said. “Paolo and Annamaria will join in marriage, and Paolo and I will join in business.”