Il Pane Della Vita (6 page)

“This is such a wonderful plac
e to be a hermit. The view alone is inspiring, and one can hike around in the forest and listen to the birds.”

“If that’s something you want to do. You don’t seem to me like the hermit type, Sister Angela.”

“I don’t?” She smiled. “Hopefully you don’t think I’m not devout enough.”

“No, no, Sister.
I’m sure you are devout. There’s no doubt that your works are very important.”

“Th
en you ascertained that I couldn’t be hermit because I like other people too much. You’re correct, Ignazio. In fact, my mother superior calls me a chatterbox. She says I always have too much to say and that no one else can get anything done.”

“I’m sur
e she’s wrong. What you’re telling everyone is very important. You just take the time to make sure they’re listening.”

“I do have a few more things to take care of before I return to the
monastery. I have to set up interviews with the workers and the hermits. The police want me to investigate quickly so they can take over soon. I can’t ask you to stay. Would you like me to call you when I’m ready to descend?”

“I have to take an
inventory of their supplies. I’ve been waiting for the cook in charge. He should be arriving soon. I’ll wait for you. You can find me either in the kitchen or in this chair, admiring the sites of the beautiful valley and reminding myself that I have a wonderful job.”

Her head down, a young woman cleared the dishes from the long table. Russo could not avert his eyes from her thick, dark auburn hair and creamy complexion.

“Oh, excuse me, Dante. May I present my daughter, Ciana.”

Russo stood and reached across to take her hand, but she had no hand free. For a fleeting moment, she stared into Dante’s eyes before staring at the porcelain dishes balanced precariously on her forearms.

“You will have to excuse her, Dante. She is clearing the table because she let the help go on holiday. She is not normally so unfriendly. His voice rose as he called toward the kitchen.
“Darling, please bring us the
moscato and some glasses. Perhaps you would prefer English port or even brandy.”

Dante waved off his suggestions.

“And please sit down with us. After all, you are not one of the help, Ciana.”

A
few minutes later, Ciana placed the glasses and a decanter on the table and sat down across from her father’s guest.

Dante c
ould almost taste her perfectly-shaped lips. He wanted to push the long auburn hair away from her face so he could look into her sea-colored eyes, a kaleidoscope of blues—and greens when the light hit them.

“I have heard the talk at the office. Most of you know that I have to fill the position that
Sandro
left open when he had that heart attack last month. You probably never thought I would get to you.”

“In the last few weeks,
Papà has had several of the interviewees to dinner, one at a time, to tell them they did not get the job.”

“Yes, the first few
boasted about their invitations,” said Russo. “They returned to work the next day but weren’t very happy. They wouldn’t tell us what happened. I remained silent about our dinner because I didn’t want to be so transparent about my feelings tomorrow.”

“So you believe you did not get the promotion,” said
Fabri.

“Considering there were several more
that haven’t yet had the opportunity to dine with you…” He smiled at Ciana.

“You are aware then that in this position, one would have considerable responsibility. Few could handle such pressure at so young an age as
you, Dante.

“Yes, sir. I understand.” He took another sip of the moscato and let the smooth sweetness trickle down his throat. He would not have another chance to enjoy such a delicacy for a long time.

“I was thinking of sending the new vice president to our offices in the Czech Republic. What do you think about that, Dante?”

He fo
rced his gaze away from Ciana. “That’s an idea, sir. It’s always important to send a high-level employee to manage a factory for a while. It reminds the staff in the outer factories that they must follow the guidelines set by upper management. It also gives the employee a chance to hone his management skills with a group that seeks the approval of someone of stature in a company.”

“But…”

Russo smiled. He was thoroughly relaxed, knowing that he was no longer in competition for the position. “I believe that the position of vice president should remain in Italy. This man needs to see how
you
operate the central offices. He should know what and who you know because one day he will take your job at the top.”

Fabri laughed. “I
hope the vice president does not plan to force me out.”

“I didn’t mean that, sir. I meant…”

“No problem, Dante. I think I can trust you. I will announce your promotion tomorrow. And I promise to rethink the plan to send you to the Czech Republic. You have already given me sound advice.”

Dante couldn’t speak. He looked at Ciana
, her face lit up by a dazzling smile. She was interested. He could tell.

Fabri introduced
his choice for vice president at a meeting the next day, and Russo was shown his new office and secretary soon after that. He knew what to do. Being their new boss, he would no longer hit the cafés with his work friends. His enemies included all those who had interviewed but were not given the position. He would have to have to protect himself.

After a few weeks as vice president,
Russo found he had little time to date. He traveled and met with the heads of factories all over the world. But he did not go to dinner or spend the evening with them. Like a father, Fabri told him where to get women to take care of his needs without leaving his hotel room. He did so, never using the same one twice and always protecting himself from an unintended pregnancy or disease. When he was home, Fabri invited him to dinner, but he rarely saw Ciana.

“She i
s studying at the university,” said Fabri. “She only comes to see me during the summer. Ah, daughters. You want to give them everything, but they still do not respond like they did when they were young.”

Russo smiled. “I can imagine.”

“You are young, Dante, but someday you will understand.”

“
What is she studying?”

“Medicine
. She has a great future. I shall be very proud when she is addressed as Dr. Fabri. Every sacrifice I have made will have been worth it. I can go to my grave.”

“What about grandchildren, Lauro? You’ll have to wait to see your grandchildren.”

“Yes, but I would like to see her as Dr. Fabri before some man comes along and makes her take
his
name.”

Russo paused. At first he did not know what to say. “That will be a tall order, telli
ng her to wait until then. She’s pretty. There are probably already boys out there trying to date her.”

A
female assistant stood by the table with dessert.

“
What would you like, Dante? Perhaps a little tart would please you. This one is nice. Would you like her?”

Russo’s face reddened.
He did not look up to watch the assistant leave the room.

“You, my son, can share everything I have here, but I will never give you my daughter.”

Lauro Fabri had Dante to his house several times after that, but thankfully, Ciana was nowhere to be seen. She had probably forgotten him, attracted to younger men at the university. At work, Russo quickly understood the game and was liked and respected by most of the staff. But the following year, all was about to change. Ciana was home for the summer when Fabri invited everyone to a garden party.

He saw her. Ciana was giggling with some young classmates. She took out a cigarette
, and a gentleman near the bar lit it for her. Letting out a long stream of smoke and sipping a cocktail from a tumbler in her other hand, she looked grown up. Russo smiled.

She glanced in his direction
. Her eyes holding his gaze, she tilted her chin. Crushing her half-smoked cigarette on the patio with her five-inch heel, she pointed to her drink. He nodded, and she stepped to the bar to order one.

She was there by his side when he turned to find her. She handed him the whisky sour and offered him a cigarette.

“No thanks. I hear you have been at the university.”

“And you’
ve been Papà’s vice president. He said he thinks you’re doing well and that you’re very busy.”

“You’
ve brought friends from school?”

“Yes,
Vera and Elda. I told them about you.”

Russo smiled again, realizing that she had indeed thought of him. “I hope you said nice things.”

“Oh yes. I also told them that you would dance with me.”

“I’m not sure…”

“I know you dance because Papà told me you did. He said you swept a young English manager off her feet when you were in London.” Ciana took out another cigarette and waited for him to light it.