The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani Read Free Book Online Page B

him.
    “Well, I’m not going to church with you,” Assunta says wearily, rubbing her knuckles. “You’ll have to bribe one of the others to go with you. Five days a week walking to and from town is enough for me. Of course, when I move to Roseto, that will be different. I’ll be the holiest, most devout woman you’ve ever seen. I’ll be so religious I’ll grow wings. But not until I live in town.” Assunta takes her coat and hat and goes up the stairs.
    “I’ll walk with you,” Elena promises.
    “What about dinner?” Mama calls after Assunta.
    “I’m too tired to eat,” she calls back.
    “You may go to Mass as soon as the machines are installed, but I still need your help this Sunday,” Papa tells me. “The next two weeks I am going into the quarry. They have a rush job and posted signs in town. Carlo Ricci came to see me, and we’re both going to take the work.”
    “I don’t want you to do it.” Mama puts her hand on Papa’s shoulder. He takes her hand and smiles.
    “Alessandro is arriving at Eastertime. We’ll have a wedding to pay for. You want to have guests? A fancy dress? I need the work.” Papa goes to the cupboard and brings out the wine and a few glasses. “Now, we toast our good fortune. Roma, go get your sister.”
    Roma runs up the stairs while Papa pours the wine. Elena passes the full glasses around. Dianna smiles because this means someday there may be enough money to send her to school. And for Mama, dear Mama, it means that she won’t have to work from morning until night. Papa gives each of us a glass; for the little ones, he adds water to the wine. Assunta and Roma join us around the table. “Salute!” he says and takes a drink. We all follow suit.
    “We should thank God,” Mama says, looking at me.
    “Yes, we should.” Suddenly, I am the religious center of our family. If only Mama knew that the only reason I want to be in church is to be closer to Renato Lanzara. I’m sure people believe in God for less reason than that.
    “I’ll tell you what. If God gives us good weather and a nice profit this year, even I will go to church,” Papa announces.
    Mama rolls her eyes. “Such a good Catholic.”
    The spring of 1925 is the most beautiful we have ever seen. As the snow melts, the muddy ground beneath turns the palest green, and when you look far away to the Blue Mountains, the silvery-gray coat they have worn all winter melts away to reveal a soft blue that in time will become as dark as a night sky.
    Everyone in our house is on edge, because Assunta received a letter that Alessandro Pagano will arrive in Philadelphia on March 15. Mama has scrubbed the house from top to bottom three times this week. She goes to the smokehouse every morning to select the best prosciutto to serve her future son-in-law. Papa chides her for her perfectionism, but Assunta is grateful. Alessandro has seen her picture, but if he doesn’t like the rest of us, he doesn’t have to marry her. This is why Elena and I are ironing every tablecoth, napkin, and curtain; in fact, anything made of fabric, including the moppeens we use to wash the dishes, has been pressed. Mama has been baking cookies, cakes, and pies for three days. She says every corner must sparkle, and every hem must be starched. Alessandro must see that he is marryinginto a family of quality or he can turn around and go right back to Italy.
    We know that Alessandro comes from a good family. He is the third son of eight children. He is from Mama’s hometown, Rimini, on the Adriatic Sea. Papa is also from the Bari region, farther south than Mama’s people.
    Papa and Mama married in Italy, then came to America, following some cousins who settled in Pen Argyl. Their marriage was not arranged, which was unusual. A mother and father usually choose a spouse for their child, striking a deal with a good family. This way, everyone knows what they are getting. A good match means two nice people can come together and the union will make