“Yes, Mrs. Rossi, we’ll get on the case immediately.”
Hanging up, she went to the kitchen once again to see if Stella had left. She had, and Catherine savored the moment … bitch … she had known, but for how long? She telephoned the employment agency and put an order in to hire a black cook, knowing Dominic wanted only Italian help. She then went upstairs and let the water run into the tub while she undressed. After the bath, she felt refreshed and for all her seething anger, she would play the game … would she ever…
At three o’clock the door bell rang. As Anna went to the door, Catherine intervened, “I’ll get it, you go to your room, Anna.” Catherine smiled.
Opening the door, she stood before a stout, black, immaculate woman in her forties, who held a white employment card in her hand. “I’m Willie Mae James, the …”
“Yes, I know. Come right in.” Willie Mae followed Catherine to the kitchen where they both sat at the kitchen table. Catherine questioned her about her last employment… why she left … how many years she had been employed. Everything seemed satisfactory. Willie Mae was shown her room which pleased her, then they discussed the pay and when she could start. Whenever Mrs. Rossi needed her. Would today be too soon. No, in fact, Willie Mae was not accustomed to being unemployed, but since her former employer had passed on, she wanted to get into a situation immediately.
“That’s good,” Catherine said. “Can you be back by four-thirty?”
“Yes, I’m sure I can be.”
“Fine … I hope you’ll be happy here … we’re a large and lovin’ family, Willie Mae, and don’t you fret about makin’ Italian food … I think a little southern cookin’, which I’ve missed for a long time now, will suit us just fine.”
“I’ll do my best to please you, Mrs. Rossi.”
“I just know you will.”
After Willie Mae left, Catherine went to her room, looked through her closet, and selected a flowered chiffon hostess gown she bought at Pucci’s in Rome and placed it on the bed, then sat at her dressing table and prepared her face to perfection … taking special pains with the black eyeliner, applied the false lashes, arranged her hair on top of her head with a cluster of curls, put on her most extravagant emerald jewels, slipped into a silk dressing robe and called the florist for a table arrangement, to be sent by four. Of course, Mrs. Rossi, anything to accommodate our most gracious client. Then she went down to the dining room and selected a large lace cloth, the Old Amari Crown Derby china and set the table, knowing Willie Mae would have enough to do when she got here. After finishing, she called Dominic’s office and waited for him to answer. “Hello, Dominic, darlin’,” she said, her heart pounding, “I’ve got a lovely surprise for dinner this evenin’.”
“Catherine, I’m a little busy just now.”
“Oh, I see, well, I just wanted to make sure you would be home no later than seven.”
He hesitated, then said, “I may be a little …”
But Catherine interrupted and in her voice there was a slight betrayal of her feelings that made Dominic realize she meant it when she said, “Darlin’, I would suggest you try.”
“Alright, Catherine, I will.” When he hung up, he sat staring at the silent phone, his fingers poised around his mouth.
Catherine met Dominic entering a little after seven as she regally descended the stairs. “Dominic, darlin’,” she said, extending her hands, then kissing him, “Come into the solarium and have your drink … you look so tired, darlin’.”
He looked at Catherine, she was so elegant, so dressed up. “Who’s coming to dinner?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know… you seem so festive.”
“Why do you say that, darlin’? I want my very own husband to always find me attractive.” Dominic had difficulty putting the pieces together. Something was out of focus. He followed Catherine into the solarium where she fixed him a bourbon on ice. “Now, you just relax, darlin’.”
“Thank you,” he said, taking the drink.
“Now, how did your day go?” Looking at her again, he thought, I don’t know, maybe I’m going out of my mind, but the whole thing seems so unreal. “I asked, Dominic, how was your day?”
“About the same.”
“About the same as what, darlin’?”
“As usual…”
“Meanin’ it was difficult?”
“Yes, that’s it, difficult… as usual.”
“Oh, my… one thing I’m happy about is you have such wonderful people to take some of the burden that would fall heavily upon your poor overworked shoulders.”
He just sat, shaking his head. For a moment, he wanted to look around to see if he was in the right house … “That’s very kind of you, Catherine.”
“Why not at all, after all, a good wife should be concerned about her husband’s welfare.”
“Yes … well, that’s very nice. Have you gotten a letter from Roberto or Dom?”
“From Dom … which I planned to show you later after you’ve relaxed, but from Roberto, it’s a little soon and besides, he’s not too big on letter writin’.”
“I wouldn’t think so … where are the children?”
“Gina Maria’s doin’ her homework and Tory too, but the twins are havin’ dinner at a friend’s.”
“When will they be home?”
“About ten … I told ’em no later and Vincente’s at Boy Scouts. Here, let me refresh your drink,” Catherine said, taking the glass from Dominic. “Now, you drink that while I go see about dinner.” When she left, Dominic wondered if it was a birthday or an occasion he had forgotten. Hard as he tried, he could think of nothing. Then he heard Catherine call, “Gina Maria … Tory, dinner’s ready.”
Soon they came down, “Papa, buona sera.”
“Buona sera, cara mia, and you, Tory.”
“Grazie, Papa.”
They sat down at dinner … the crystal goblets glistened in the candle lit room. Tory asked, jokingly, “Didn’t we pay the light bill this month?”
“Now, Tory,” Catherine mildly reprimanded, “where’s your manners?”
“Well, it’s so dark in here, Mama.”
“Tory, you’re gonna have to learn that everythin’ isn’t just money and power … there are other things in life like beauty and esthetics … appreciation for the exquisiteness of life. Roberto, at his age, has that quality.”
“I know, but why does it have to be so dark while we find out?”
“That’s quite enough, Tory … now, eat your salad.”
“I can’t see what I’m eating.”
“Not another word.”
I can understand how Van Gogh cut off his ear … he was probably eating in the dark, Tory thought. Since Mr. Marx went to Florence, we all have to develop a sense of appreciation. Holy cow, he couldn’t wait until September to get to Harvard.
“You enjoyin’ it, Dominic?”
“Yes, yes, it’s very good.”
“Are you ready for your next course?”
No wonder she had to ask, Tory said to himself … she couldn’t see in the dark.
“Yes, anytime, Catherine.” She picked up the small dinner bell and rang. A moment later, Willie Mae came out dressed in a black uniform over which she wore a white starched short apron. Dominic, Tory and Gina Maria sat stunned, staring as Willie Mae began to remove the salad plates.
“Willie Mae, this is Mr. Rossi and my daughter, Gina Maria, and my son, Tory. The others, you’ll meet tomorrow.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she said softly, going back to the kitchen.
For a very long moment Dominic couldn’t quite understand what had happened. “What’s wrong with Stella?”
“I didn’t want to tell you before dinner, knowin’ how difficult your day was, but poor Stella had a terrible thing happen to her.”
“What do you mean … what happened to her?” Dominic asked apprehensively. After all, she had become one of the family after almost twenty years.
; “Her last and only brother died and unfortunately, she received the letter this mornin’.”
“And you didn’t let me know?” Dominic asked angrily.
“Why, Dominic, I’m surprised at you, shoutin’ at me like that.”
“Well, why didn’t you call?”
“Because you’re always so busy.”
“Where did she go?”
“Home.”
“Home?”
“Yes, back to Italy.”
“When?”
“This mornin’, she packed and said she was leavin’ … well, what could I do with the poor thing half out of her mind.”
“Who does she have to go back to?”
“Her sister-in-law.”
“Her sister-in-law?”
“Yes … she pleaded with Stella to come and comfort her.”
“Well, I’ll be damned … after all these years.”
“Yes, I simply felt devastated.”
“How did she get the tickets and all?”
“Why, Dominic, I’m even surprised you should ask … why I took care of everythin’. Even drivin’ her to the airport.”
“Did she have any money?”
“Did she have any money? Well, now, you don’t think I was gonna let a faithful servant leave without takin’ care of her, did you?”
“I don’t know what to say … she was like a mother … gave us all those years … did she say she was coming back?”
“Not exactly, but I assured her there would always be a place for her here all of her life, if she wanted to come back.”
Dominic drank his wine. “What are you going to do about—?”
“What?”
“You know damned well.”
“But on such short notice, I simply had to get someone. I really think Stella could’ve stayed until I did … but when all is said and done, a servant is just a servant… they have no loyalty.”
“Don’t say that, Mama, about Stella,” Gina Maria said, on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry, darlin’, but after all, I was the one that went through the ordeal today and it wasn’t easy …”
“I know, Mama, but the house won’t seem the same without her.”
“We’ll get over it, baby … nothin’ is forever and the sooner you learn that, the better … there are many bitter pills to swallow in life, aren’t there, Dominic?”
He didn’t answer. Soon Willie Mae was back. Only Catherine ate the fried chicken, corn fritters, thick country gravy and the black-eyed peas while Dominic scarcely touched his, as did the children.
From the beginning to the time Dominic retired, the evening had been more than disturbing. He couldn’t quite understand why he felt so uncomfortable. Of course, Stella’s leaving had a great deal to do with it … but not altogether. Catherine’s entire behavior seemed so bizarre, her solicitude, when first he had come home, then being dressed like the queen of Rumania, the elaborate floral arrangement, the new colored maid dressed so formally … Stella used to wear a plain white cotton uniform and dinner was a happy, exciting thing with all the children around, laughing, arguing, just the sound of all their voices filled the room with buoyancy and tonight, except for Gina Maria and Tory, they were all away, one place or another. How much he had missed while they were growing up … but on the other hand, when he had been home, he enjoyed them so … but they couldn’t remain children all their lives … still he wished that somehow he could turn back the clock, taking them all to mass on Sunday, then going to his mother’s for Sunday lunch … but on the other hand, time stood still for no one and in a few years they would all be away one place or another and Catherine and he would be alone in this enormous house, just the two of them, sitting at that long vacant table … he at one end and she at the other and the prospect made him shudder … why hadn’t Stella called him to say goodbye … her leaving so suddenly left him with a feeling of deep loss … The entire situation this evening had left him reeling. When he saw the shaft of light appear through the door as Catherine entered, he shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Enough was enough. Tonight, he couldn’t stand the sound of her voice … or the explanations … or the small talk. Not tonight.
That night had left him with a feeling he somehow could not dismiss, but as always Victoria gave him the relief he so badly needed. She was there. He spent more time with her than before. When he went to Washington, D.C., she arranged to be there on a case. She sacrificed her own career in order to go with him, but for her, nothing was as important as Dominic.
In September, Tory went to Harvard amid tears of good-byes and both Catherine and Dominic shed theirs for different reasons.
Then in October, Victoria had a birthday. She said to Dominic the evening before, “Well, how does it feel to be in love with an old lady? You sure you don’t want to trade me in for a new model?”
“No,” he answered, laughing, stroking her hair, “I have a mother complex.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“It is a compliment. You’re the only other woman I know, outside of her, that has what it takes to make a man feel whole … now, for tomorrow, what do you want to do?”
“Be with you.”
“I would hope so … but where do you want to go for dinner?”
“To our favorite restaurant… DeLucci’s.”
“Alright, I’ll call for a nine o’clock reservation.”
While Victoria and Dominic were making love, in the shadows across the street stood Hank Woods. He had been there since Dominic arrived earlier that evening and then later trailed at a safe distance behind him. Hank Woods took out his black notebook and wrote: subject returned home at eleven. Then drove away … returned at seven in the morning to take up his post again down the street from the Rossi residence.
That evening, Dominic arrived at eight, only to be greeted by a more than radiant Victoria. She had never looked more exquisite than at this moment, dressed in a black velvet dinner suit with jeweled buttons and smelling of the fragrance of Joy, his favorite perfume, which only matched the dozens of red roses that filled the room and which he had sent earlier today.
“Let me look at you,” Dominic said, holding her at arms length. “You’re magnificent.”
“And you’re magnificent. Did you ever see anything so beautiful?”
“Yes, you.”
“Oh, Dominic, this is the happiest day of my life … I’m filled with something so special, I can’t explain it. There are no words.”
“We don’t need them. At a moment like this, words get in the way.”
Kissing him, she said, “You’re right, you know, darling.”
“Yes … I do know.”
For a moment they looked at each other, then Victoria said, “I had better get us a drink or we won’t go out to dinner … go sit down.” Soon she was beside him. He drank to her health and long life together, then he took a small brown paper bag out of his pocket and handed it to her. “What is this?” she laughed, “tomorrow’s lunch?”
“Yes…”
She unrolled the folded top and took out a box wrapped with silver ribbons and a seal attached that read Tiffany’s. “Dominic, I don’t want to open it … please, I have so much with you.”
“Open it for me … I’ve been so excited all day.”
When she took the box top off, inside was a diamond and emerald bracelet … she was speechless. Finally, she said, “I … I have never seen anything so magnificent.”
“Here, let me put it on.”
“And while I make a wish we stay as much in love and as happy as we are at this moment.”
At nine, while the two lovers sat in their secluded corner, Hank Woods stood phoning from a booth inside DeLucci’s, observing them. “What a lousy way to make a living,” he thought as the ringing began. I should have bought that candy store in … “Hello,” he heard on the other end.
“This is Hank Woods … the subjects are at DeLucci’s now. They arrived at nine.”
&nbs
p; “What are they doing?”
“The waiter has just served their cocktails.”
“I see …” Catherine steadied herself: “I imagine they’ll have dinner?”
“I would guess.”
“Do you think if I got there in about an hour, that would be about right?”
“I would say so,” he answered reluctantly. “Mrs. Rossi, I have no right to say this, but the restaurant is packed, do you—”
“Listen, I haven’t paid you for any advice. You just do your job and watch.”
“Right.” As he hung up, he thought, what a fucked-up business …
“Victoria, I hadn’t mentioned it before, but I think I’m going to open an office in Paris. I’ve begun to represent a number of American interests abroad and this summer I saw a friend who encouraged me … what do you think?”
“I think it would mean a lot of traveling and a tremendous challenge. It would also take you away from your children even more.”
“Well, let me tell you something strange … I realized, suddenly, the boys are all growing up. They won’t be home in a few years anyway. Next year, Dom will be through and he’ll come into the office, and in a few years Tory will have his name on the door, then the twins, and before you know it, they’ll be a battery of Rossis, and I have a feeling Dom would love practicing abroad. Are you against it?” he asked.
“No, as a matter of fact, knowing you as I do, I think you need the excitement for your vitality … which, Mr. Rossi, I would say you have an overabundance of.”
“I take that as a compliment… I think?”
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