by Tia Siren
“No, no. No no.” Billy shook his head in response but didn’t turn his head away from the window. He just pulled back a little and rested in the comfort of his mother’s secure hold. “It’s a tree!” He surged forward, almost jumping out of her grasp and she snatched him back.
“Now Billy, I just told you to be careful! You’re going to fall and bump your head!” She pulled him back so he had to sit on her lap. Restless, he squirmed and tried to get back to the window, off his mother’s lap. “Billy, you must calm down!” Minnie felt her nerves beginning to frazzle. Billy was just being his normal self and he was a very active little boy. What if Joe was unable to accept a mischievous little boy like him?
“He’ll have to,” she whispered. “It’s both of us, not just me.” But she felt guilty anyway because she hadn’t mentioned Billy to Joe and wasn’t in the least bit secure he would accept the child. She wished suddenly that her little boy wasn’t so active.
Just as quickly, she berated herself for thinking that way. There was nothing wrong with an active two year old and, in fact, she dared to say that it was good for Billy in particular to be the way he was. He was a spark of life. He was curious and determined and stubborn. Most of the men she knew were like that and they were much older than two. Billy was usually a good little boy. And he was that day, too. He was being himself.
“Come and sit still, Billy,” she whispered frantically. “You will annoy our other passengers.”
“Don’t you worry, dear.” An older woman in the front of the carriage turned to glance back at her. “Don’t you worry about that boy, sweet girl. I will help you care for this little one.”
Minnie nervously looked around the car of the train at the young men that surrounded her.
“And don’t you worry about these boys, Minnie. They don’t make a move without asking me first. They are wonderful singers. When I want something done, I ask my grandsons and my nephew. They won’t judge you or do anything to make you feel bad. So if your little boy needs to play, you let him go ahead and play. And these boys will listen to me, won’t you, boys?”
“Yes, gramma.” They all answered in synch. Then one of the boys leaned forward directly in the path of Jon’s wandering eyes and smiled wide. His teeth were incredibly white and Minnie wondered how he managed to do that. She wished her teeth could be nearly as clean and white.
Must be natural. She thought.
“I am upset because my husband was killed in the war and I am being forced to move across the country to start a new life. I’m afraid of the new life I’m going to.”
“Where was he killed, my dear?” The old woman’s face fell in sorrow. It made the wrinkles in her face intensify and show her age more than before.
“He was killed in Averasboro nine weeks ago and eight months ago.” Her face crumpled when she mentioned her loving husband. She shook it off and pulled her back up straight, pulling in a quick breath. “I am going to Nevada to be with a man who is looking for a wife.”
“It’s wonderful that you will have someone to care for you and your baby.” The old woman nodded. “There have been many terrible losses in this war so far. I’m not sure it will ever end.”
“It feels like the end of the world,” Minnie said softly in dismay.
“Aaah but it isn’t, my dear.” The old woman nodded and gave her a sympathetic look. “It isn’t. You will find happiness again, don’t you worry about that. God has a plan for you.”
Minnie’s face was still downtrodden but she nodded and gave the old woman the best smile she could. “I know. I’ve been told that before.”
“That’s because it’s true. You shouldn’t forget it.”
“I won’t soon forget it, I promise.”
The woman laughed softly and nodded, her eyes on the little boy, standing once more on the bench and smiling as he looked out the window at the fast moving landscape.
“You won’t forget it at all.”
Catherine was not at all pleased with Joe’s decision to bring a wife for himself from the East Coast. She ranted about the dangers of bringing a strange woman into the life of such a small little girl. No matter how much he tried to explain that the letters told him he would be dealing with a woman of generous spirit and a kind heart, Catherine didn’t believe it.
He wasn’t sure if his sister-in-law was speaking from her concern for Ruthie or her desire to keep the little girl as her own. He just couldn’t tell. He’d not dealt much with the woman, except on a friendly basis where they might get together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, which they did every year.
Joe was on his way to the station to pick up his new bride. He felt a bit sick to his stomach because Catherine had insisted he bring Ruthie with him. Though he’d planned to take Minnie to his brother’s house to introduce her and pick up his 3-year-old, Catherine had insisted he take her with him to the station.
“She deserves to know sooner rather than later. The fact that you’ve gone and done this without consulting the right people is bad enough…” She shot a darting glance at her husband, who looked back nonchalantly as if he had nothing to do with it. The sweet look made Catherine stop short and think more kindly. “You really shouldn’t have done it this way.” The woman continued to lecture him for at least twenty minutes to half the hour.
In the end, it was getting later and closer to the time Minnie would be arriving. Finally, Catherine outright demanded he take Ruthie, telling him that she and her husband were going out and wouldn’t have time to care for her.
Before he left, his little girl in his arms, sitting up and looking at the adults as if she thought they were all insane, Joe gave Catherine a direct glare. “You’re telling me you would rather have my baby girl see an argument first thing from her new guardian and mother, between her and me?”
Catherine just shook her head and closed the door behind them. “Sleep tight, Joey. We’ll see you tomorrow maybe.”
The door clicked and Joe turned to walk to his wagon. The temperature was dropping, but Joe had brought along an extra blanket for his daughter’s legs and to wrap around herself to keep warm. With her in one hand and the blanket in the other, Joe managed to get up in his saddle and fit his feet in the stirrups very well.
“Let’s go see your new…mama.” It was going to take a bit to get used to that, he decided.
The train pulled up into the station, and Minnie’s heart leaped into her throat. “Oh Lord, protect us from any evil and wrongdoing.” Minnie murmured quickly as she stepped down from the train onto the wooden platform outside. There were only a few people there, many less than she had seen when leaving South Carolina. She gathered her bag and her child in her arms and stepped carefully.
Once she was off the train, her luggage bags brought to her by the valet, she was beginning to feel a headache that nearly leveled her. It was one of the bad ones that she just wanted to sleep with. She saw a man approaching her, a beautiful little blond girl. She wondered if he knew why she was here. He looked like he was coming straight toward her. He looked down at the baby as soon as he was within just a few feet of her. He stared at Billy.
She stared at the tiny blond girl in his arms. Ruthie looked older than her Billy. She propped Billy up in her hands and whispered in his ear. “Look at that, Billy. You see those boys in the proper hats? They work here. They are here so you are protected and safe.”
She distracted him with looking elsewhere, though her eyes were still on the handsome man carrying the baby.
“I’m sorry for staring.” Joe said softly. “Are you in need of assistance? Is there someone there to get you?” He cleared his throat. “Are you Minnie?”
She hesitated only for a second. “I…I am. And are you Joseph?”
He nodded, still switching his eyes to Billy. Then he looked up at his three year old and smiled.
“I think Minnie and I have some explaining to do.” He laughed softly. “Do you think we can do that? You want to go play inside with your ball?
”
“I can go play ball…” The little girl pulled the ball from her daddy’s hands and jumped up and down until he set her on the floor. She ran to the door and a taller man pulled it open, stepping back for her.
“Here you go, tiny miss,” the man said, smiling.
“Thank you!” Ruthie darted into the building.
Minnie and Joe looked at each other.
“You can say anything you want to,” Minnie murmured. “I won’t tell if you don’t want to marry be because of Billy…”
“In case you didn’t notice,” Joe shook his head. “I’m not going to back out of marrying you because you…weren’t honest about your situation. I…did the same thing with Ruthie, didn’t I?”
Joe hung his head in shame.
“I wasn’t exactly spelling out Billy’s name in our letters.”
“I only received one. Did you send others?”
Thinking back, she could only think of one. She shook her head. “I must be wrong.”
“Do you want me to re-introduce myself? Shall we both start getting to know each other better without having these little precious hearts be our bait for a mate?”
“You are a charming poet.” Minnie giggled. “But if we’d been using them as bait, we would have advertised about them, we never would have hid them from each other.”
“Are we on a level playing field, then?”
“I think we both know what’s right and what should and must be done.”
Joe took one of her hands, placing the other hand on the little boy’s tousled hair. “Hello, Billy, do you want to meet my little girl and come to my house?”
The boy nodded so violently, Joe couldn’t tell whether he really did or not. He laughed and noticed that Minnie’s mood had lightened. She was a beautiful woman and he could tell that physical attraction was mutual on both sides. From her letter and the fact that she’d also had a baby of her own, he decided he’d made the right decision after all.
He leaned over and dared brush his lips against the top of the little boy’s head.
He whispered to Minnie. “Are we going to be all right?”
She sighed softly with a smile. “I think so, Joe. I want to be.”
“Then we will be. Let’s go take care of our little ones together. I...I can see we are going to have a good future.”
Minnie could only look up at him. From the first moment she’d seen him, she’d hoped he was Joe, coming to get her, even if he did have a baby in his arms. That certainly didn’t bother her. He gave off the impression he would love her completely.
And she had no doubt she would give him the same in return. She expected great things.
And great things were coming her way.
She smiled as she let Joe lead her inside, where they would find the baby, Ruthie, and head home.
*****
THE END
An Italian in the West – A Clean Western Historical Romance
Cosa farò ora?
Angelica’s mind was whirling. Her thoughts were dark and heavy as she repeated the Italian phrase over and over in her mind. Cosa farò ora? Cosa farò ora? What do I do now?
Her father’s death had caused a complete upheaval in her life. He was all she had in this world, especially in this foreign land that she wasn’t used to and didn’t understand all of the time. She was only now learning to speak the language.
How could this tragic event have occurred so soon after their arrival in America? And now what would she do? She buried her face in her hands, soaking her gloves with her tears. They arrived originally in New York but had only stayed there for a short time. Her father had not like the climate there, so they migrated south to the rolling hills of Virginia. It had only been a few months since then. She had just started learning English these last few weeks and had been training almost daily with Lilly, her only friend in this small town. Lilly was a fiery, red-headed girl from Ireland with a quick wit and a sharp brain. She’d had no trouble learning to speak like Americans do and seemed to fit right in. Lilly had taken a quick liking to Angelica, and they were always together as a result.
Angelica wasn’t having an easy time of it, though. Her Italian accent was strong, and she moved from speaking English to Italian in the same sentence, disrupting her speech pattern and only allowing half of her sentence to be understood.
To make matters worse, Lilly had never stopped informing Angelica of her outstanding beauty. She never failed to mention when a young man was eyeing Angelica, not realizing that her friend didn’t want the attention. Lilly was jealous that Angelica got the kind of attention she did, but she refrained from being rude about it. She was playful when she mentioned the looks her Italian friend always got.
“I wish I was as beautiful as you are, Angel.” Lilly was fond of saying. “I would already be happily married with children.”
“You are a bambina, too young for such,” Angelica replied.
“You’re never too young for the attention of men. And I wouldn’t say that twenty is too young. In fact, far from it.” Lilly would sigh and pat her wavy red hair, fluttering her eyelashes at the same time. Her green eyes always flashed with energy and she had a ready smile on her face. Angelica thought she was the beautiful one and would tell her so. Lilly just laughed at that.
“Truly, you are bellissimo, Lilly, amica mia.” She would say.
“English,” Lilly would respond. “You need to speak in English!” Then she would laugh and retrain Angelica how to say “my friend” instead of amica mia. Lilly didn’t really mind that Angelica mixed her words up. She was relieved to be able to use some of the knowledge her grandmother’s husband had bestowed on her, bless his soul. She crossed herself in remembrance of him every time she thought of him, a habit she’d picked up from her Irish-Catholic mother.
When Angelica felt small hands wrap around her shoulders, she knew it was Lilly. She instinctively pushed herself against her friend, her tears nonstop. “Cosa farò ora? Mio padre è morto. Sono sola. Sono sola…”
“Ssshhh.” Lilly consoled her hugging her tightly. “You aren’t alone. I’m here. I will help you. We will figure out what to do. I’m so sorry, Angelica. I’m so sorry. Shh.”
Angelica moaned loudly, lowering herself further, her head nearly on the back of the pew in front of her. Lilly put her hand on her friend’s head and pulled her over so that she was holding her against her chest. She began to rock forward and back, gripping her friend as warmly as she could.
Angelica was comforted when Lilly began to sing softly to her a sweet tune she had never heard before but sounded like the brush of angel’s wings on her hurting soul.
“Now come is my departing time,
And here I may no longer stay,
There is no kind comrade of mine
But will desire I were away.
But if that time will me permit,
Which from your Company doth call,
And me inforceth for to flit,
Good Night, and God be with you all.”(Neighbours farewell to his friends)
Later that night, Angelica was sleeping fitfully in Lilly’s bed, and she watched her friend tossing and turning with worried eyes. Angelica was right to be concerned. She really did not have anyone other than her father, and they had not owned any property. Mr. DiAntonio had just been getting his business started, dealing with the businessmen in town, discussing whatever their business was. He had no trouble integrating himself into society. He had learned English before he migrated to the country. He hadn’t expected to bring Angelica along, which was why she was so lost with the language. He had essentially been forced to bring her after the death of both his wife and his other three daughters in a fire that destroyed their home and much of their property.
The loss of her mother and sisters had taken Angelica to new depths of pain. Lilly met her, and Mr. DiAntonio is New York and traveled south with them because she enjoyed their company and teaching Angelica about American life.
Now, with the
death of her dear father in yet another tragic accident, Angelica was left in a foreign land, alone and terribly frightened.
It was a good thing Lilly had traveled with them. She glanced through the window at the bright moon outside and prayed her thanks. You must have sent me down here with them, Lord. She thought. Because I don’t know where she would be now. She already felt alone. Now she really is.
But she knew that Angelica wasn’t really alone. She was there for her. And she had God on her side. Lilly would just have to ensure that Angelica’s life was not wasted.
Lord, give me strength. She prayed silently. I don’t know what You want to do with this child of yours, but I’ll try to do it Your way.
Lilly stayed with her that night and made sure both she and Angelica made it to the hotel, where they both worked in housekeeping. She still hadn’t come up with a solution to the problem. She had to think about her own future, too, and it didn’t include being a companion for the rest of her life. Not to a woman, anyway. She was anxious to find a man and get married. She wanted a family and children.
But she wasn’t about to abandon Angelica.
They worked in a hotel that was more like a boarding house and it was owned by a tiny little old woman named Bess. She ran the place with a tiny iron fist, and no one made trouble for her. She demanded the best character from her tenants and her staff. She was also very compassionate when it came to young women alone in the world.
When Bess heard that Angelica had lost her father, she went to find her.
“Lilly, Angelica, what are you doing here?” She said as soon as she entered the room they were cleaning. She had come to expect them to work together because Lilly was often an interpreter for Angelica as she learned English.
“Ms. Bessie, we are here to work,” Lilly answered.
Bess shook her head vehemently, approaching Angelica and looking up at her with a frown. “You just lost your father, and you are here working. No. You must go home and take some time to yourself to mourn!”
“Ms. Bess, I can’t…”