Authors: Janice Thompson
“Oh, Bella, when will I see you again?” she asked, gripping my hand.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I offered a little pout. “I wish you could come back for my wedding, but I know it’s a lot to ask.”
“Oh, we would come in a heartbeat, but I think we’d better limit our travels, now that I’m …” Her cheeks flushed again. “Now that we have a little bambina coming.”
“Bambina?” Mama looked her way. “Are you hoping for a girl?”
“Oh, a girl would be wonderful,” Francesca said with a smile. “But a son would be wonderful too.” She gazed at Emilio with love pouring from her eyes. “If he’s anything like his papa, he will be a wonderful man someday.”
A sigh went up from the women, and Pop slapped his brother on the back. “You will make a fine father, Emilio Rossi!”
We ate our breakfast at the dining room table, voices overlapping as always. I couldn’t help but wonder how things were going for Rosa and Laz. Had they boarded the helicopter yet? Were they on their way to the airport in style? I felt sure we would hear all about it later.
When our meal ended, a flurry of activity began. Pop and Emilio had the vehicles loaded in no time, and we all stood on the veranda, saying our good-byes. Because the week had been so chaotic, I really didn’t feel like I’d had enough time with Bianca and Bertina, but nothing could be done about that now. I offered warm hugs and plenty of thanks for their help.
Turning to Deanna, I found myself getting emotional. “I’m going to miss you most of all,” I whispered.
“Same here.” She gave me a hug. “But I’m going to call you—a lot! We have so much to talk about now.”
“Yes, we do. Promise me you’ll give Rosa my love when you see her at the airport.”
“Of course!” Deanna headed off to my father’s car with Rocco’s arm looped through hers.
My aunts lingered on the veranda, dabbing tears from their eyes and gushing over Mama in Italian. Finally, the moment arrived. The Italian contention had to leave, and the Texas contention had to get dressed for church.
Less than an hour after the relatives headed off, Mama and I walked through the door of our church, ready for a great worship service. I smiled as I saw D.J. talking to the pastor in the foyer. What little I overheard was about our new house. Funny . I’d hardly given it a second thought since D.J. had brought it up on Wednesday. Surely he hadn’t started working on it yet, right? From the sound of things, he was getting close. Good thing I’d left that situation to him. I had enough on my mind already.
After a great church service, we spent Sunday afternoon gathered together in the living room watching football. Well, most of us were watching the game. I drifted off, unable to fight the weight of my eyelids any longer. I was awakened by Pop’s firm voice.
“Bella Bambina, it’s time to start clearing out your room. The workers are coming first thing tomorrow morning, and I’d like to have the big stuff out of there by then.”
I looked at him with panic setting in. Surely he would give me one more night. The construction guys could help tomorrow.
On the other hand, we would have to pay them for their time. No point in paying them to move my furniture into the garage when we could handle it ourselves.
D.J. reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t worry, baby,” he whispered. “I’m going to walk you through this. It’ll be a piece of cake, I promise.”
I trudged up the stairs on Pop’s heels, D.J. following close behind me. When we reached my room, I opened the door and paused for a moment to take it all in. I didn’t want to miss a thing. This was the last time I would see my bedroom in its normal, natural state. Next time it would be a shell— empty of all furniture. After that, it would be a part of Rosa and Laz’s new suite. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forged ahead.
D.J., Pop, and Joey spent the next hour taking my bed apart and moving it into the garage. After that, they moved my dresser and night tables. I took the clothes—the ones from my dresser and the ones in my closet—into Sophia’s room. Unfortunately, I caught her napping. She awoke with a start.
“B-Bella?”
“It’s me, hon. Don’t panic. I’m just bringing in my things.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
She sat up in bed and looked at the clock. “Wow, it’s after five?”
“Yeah, you’ve been asleep for hours.”
“I was tired.” She yawned. “Planning a wedding takes a lot out of a girl.”
“Tell me about it.” I bit my tongue, determined not to say any more.
I roused her from the bed with the promise of hot coffee, and she joined us, carrying my things from my room to hers. Well, most of my things, anyway. Many of them were going to the garage, for lack of a better place.
“This is going to be so much fun, Bella,” she said with a giggle. “Like when we were little girls in Atlantic City. Remember, we shared a room?”
“Yes.” I smiled at the memory of our pink bedroom with its twin beds.
“Having a roomie is going to make me feel young again.” Sophia gave me a look of wide-eyed wonder, a child once more. I smiled in response, convinced we could make a go of this. In fact, we would probably look back on this season of our lives with great fondness. Once we were old and gray, anyway. In the meantime, we still had a lot of work left to do.
By the time the sun set, my room was empty. Well, all but a few dust bunnies, which D.J. told me not to worry about.
“The construction guys will be blowing up all sorts of dust,” he said.
“Okay.” I paused, looking around at the shell of a room, my heart in my throat. Squeezing my eyes shut helped ease the pain. When I opened them, I decided a little action was in order. “Is anyone hungry?” I asked, my stomach grumbling.
“Starving,” Pop said.
We all looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. This was the point in the day when Rosa would call us all down to dinner, after all. I looked at Mama, hopeful. She stifled a yawn.
“Sorry.” After a pause, she said, “We have plenty of leftovers from the wedding. Want to help me in the kitchen, girls?”
Sophia and I headed downstairs on our mother’s heels. This would be the first time in years the three of us had entered the Rossi kitchen alone to prepare a meal. We were entering hallowed territory. I could almost sense Rosa’s essence in the place. Looking over at the hook on the wall, I saw her tomato-stained aprons. I reached for one and handed it to Mama.
“Just isn’t the same without Rosa here, is it?” my mother said, slipping the apron on.
“No, not the same at all.”
Having Rosa gone for this month wasn’t the only change. It felt like the whole house was in a state of flux right now.
“Where do you suppose they are right now?” I asked.
“They should be in Rome in a few hours. And then on to Napoli.” She reached for a tray of leftovers and placed it on the countertop.
I heard Guido singing “Amazing Grace” off in the distance. For whatever reason, I felt a little emotional, thinking of how Laz would have enjoyed that. My thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing in Pop’s office. A couple of minutes later, my father entered the kitchen. He reached to grab a piece of bread.
“Who was it, Cosmo?” Mama asked.
“Sal. He’s on his way over to talk to us about Guido.”
“To talk about Guido, or to take Guido back to Atlantic City?”
“Not sure.” Pop shrugged. “He just said he wanted to talk.”
We all grew strangely silent. Looked like the moment had finally arrived. A few months ago, we would have taken the news of Guido’s leaving with a sense of relief, but now … well, now the goofy parrot was part of the family.
“Maybe we can talk Sal into leaving him here for further rehabilitation,” I said. “It could happen.”
“No, Bella.” Mama gave me a sympathetic look. “Sal needs that bird too much for us to be selfish. And besides, we trained Guido up in the way he should go so that he could actually … well, you know … go.”
“I suppose.”
“He will have an impact on Sal’s life, I just feel it,” Pop said. “We’ll trust God. He knows what’s ahead far better than we do.”
By the time Sal arrived a few minutes later, we had almost finished preparing the food. Mama carried it into the dining room, and we all gathered around the table.
“Sorry to come so late,” Sal said. “Didn’t mean to intrude on your dinnertime.”
“Not at all,” Mama said. “We hope you will stay, of course. Join us, Sal.”
He smiled. “Don’t mind if I do. A family dinner sounds good.” He pushed back a yawn as he took his seat. “Sorry. I’ve been resting today. It’s been a long week.”
“No doubt about that.” Pop took his seat at the head of the table, and we all followed suit. From the serious look on Sal’s face, I knew I’d want to hear what he had to say. D.J. took a seat next to me.
Guido’s voice rang out from the next room, a warbling version of “Amazing Grace,” but a powerful one nonetheless. In fact, I wasn’t sure when I’d ever heard anything sweeter.
“Sounds like Guido really likes it here,” Sal commented, placing his napkin in his lap.
“He does,” Mama said, gesturing for all of us to fill our plates. “He fits right in.”
“Yes, he fits right in.” Sal paused, and the strangest look came over him. “I like it here too.”
“Oh?” Pop looked at him with a smile. “You mean, on Galveston Island, or you like being with the Rossi family?”
“Both.” A hint of a smile graced Sal’s lips. “I like the island. No doubt about that. And you Rossis are, well …” He paused and shook his head. “You’re different, that’s for sure.” He took the bowl of chicken cacciatore and began to dish up a healthy serving.
“Different?” I asked, reaching for the fettuccini.
“Well, different from a lot of people I’ve known. In a good way.” Sal offered a somber smile. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
“What are you saying, Sallie?” Mama asked, cutting to the chase. “Are you thinking about staying?”
When he nodded, the whole room came alive with opinions on the matter. All good, of course.
Sal smiled at our enthusiastic response. “I think I would like to stay, at least for a few months. Ride out the winter. It’s warmer here.”
“We’ll help you find a place near the water,” I said with a smile. “That way you’ll feel like you’re in Atlantic City again.”
“No need for that.” Sal’s smile widened. “I’ve got a place, at least a temporary one. Might end up being permanent. We’ll see.”
“You do?” we all said in unison. Well, all but D.J., who just offered a suspicious grin. Why did I get the feeling he knew exactly what Sal was talking about?
“Yes, my friend here”—Sal pointed to D.J.—“has offered to let me share his condo for a few weeks.”
“It’s the perfect solution,” D.J. said, looking my way. “When we get married, Sal can buy the condo from me. I won’t need it anymore. Until then, he can stay in my room and I’ll bunk on the couch.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “When was all of this decided?”
“Last night, just before the wedding. We had a long talk.” “Does Laz know?” I asked.
“No. I wanted to surprise him,” Sal said. “I hope he likes the idea.”
“Are you kidding?” Pop grinned. “He’s going to think this is the best news in the world. Ah, Sal, you have no idea how much Laz loves you. He always has. You’re like a brother to him.”
“I … I feel the same.” Sal’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what it is about you people.” He gestured to the whole group of us. “There’s something different about you Rossis, as I said. Whatever it is, it’s contagious. And I have to admit …” He choked back a few tears and forged ahead. “I have to admit, you’re the only family I’ve got. Without all of you, I’m just a lonely old man.”
“Oh, Sal!” I rose from my seat and gave him a warm hug. Mama and Pop gathered around us, and before long, we were one sappy mess.
Pop finally took his seat and continued filling his plate, his eyes brimming over with tears. “Sal, I want you to know something,” he said. “You are family. And you are welcome in this house anytime.” He shifted to Italian. I couldn’t make out all of the words, but the intent was clear. They were welcoming words. Words of love. No doubt Sal found our family irresistible. The former mobster had stumbled into a place where people loved genuinely, gave freely, and extended a helping hand when needed.
Speaking of extending a helping hand … I looked at D.J., who watched over Sal like a mother hen. Looked like the Lord was truly up to something here. I could almost read the love for this older man in D.J.’s expression. No doubt my fiancé would be the perfect antidote for Sal’s loneliness. I could also see something else good coming of this. D.J. had that sweet, gentle kind of faith, the kind that drew people to him and to the Lord. If Sal moved into D.J.’s place, even for a few weeks, the possibilities were endless. Not only would Sal get a genuine friend, he would have a daily dose of D.J.’s quiet yet consistent faith. He would learn what it meant to walk with the Lord.
“What about Guido?” Mama asked, interrupting my thoughts. “Will you take him to the condo, or will he be staying with us?”
“Never really thought about it,” Sal said with a shrug. “What do you think?”
“Well, if you were going back to Atlantic City, I would say take him with you. But since you’re staying on the island …” Mama grinned, offering a shrug. “Well, he does seem to like it here, Sallie.”
Off in the next room, Guido shifted to “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” We all responded with laughter.
“He’s definitely entertaining,” Pop threw in.
“
And
you can see that we’ve been a great influence on him,” I added as the bird lit into another verse.
We all shared another laugh at that one. Still, in my heart, I knew we had been a good influence, not just on Guido, but on Sal as well. He saw something in the Rossi family, something that drew him to us. And, in some strange way, we were drawn to him as well. It wasn’t just the fact that he was Uncle Laz’s friend. No, there was something deeper going on here. Something more profound. I had the keenest sense that God was about to do something big in Sal Lucci’s life—and in the lives of the Rossi family.
Somehow, just knowing that gave me the energy I needed to face the next few weeks.