REUNION AND CONFRONTATION, 1925
Chapter One
Fabrizio and his wife Nora had just set down
their picnic basket. They were in Central Park, enjoying the glorious June day.
All around them were people shouting and laughing, enjoying one of summer's
first warm days.
"Is this place alright? Not too much sun
for the baby?" asked Fabrizio.
"No, no, it's fine," responded his
petite wife.
She settled down on the blanket with their
baby Sean while Fabrizio started unpacking the food. Out of the basket came a
loaf of freshly baked bread and several small containers containing olives,
cheese, tomatoes and slices of salami. A bunch of red grapes, some neatly
wrapped cookies and a bottle of lemonade remained in the basket for later.
As Fabrizio glanced around him, he noticed
that on the other side of the park, another family was also spreading out their
picnic lunch. There appeared to be four children and their parents. Nora
noticed her husband staring across the park.
"I know what you are thinking, and I
feel bad that we can't have anymore children," said Nora.
"Oh, Nora, that is not what I am
thinking at all. I am so happy with the three of us. No, I think of my cousins
and others back home. I still miss them. Maybe someday we go to Italy,
eh?" he answered.
Even after 13 years in the United States, he
had never quite perfected his English. Fabrizio smiled at Nora, hoping to
relieve some of the sadness in her eyes. Life had not been easy for either of them
and that is why they had been drawn to each other.
Fabrizio had been closing his restaurant one
stormy night in November of 1923 when he had found Nora, sick, drenched and
badly beaten. He took her upstairs where he lived with his mother. The two of them
had cared to her for weeks. Finally she felt safe enough to tell them her
story. Her father had thrown her out after he discovered that she was pregnant,
the result of an attack from her long gone boyfriend. As her bruises healed and
her pregnancy progressed, Nora and Fabrizio's mother Maria, began to take a
great deal of pleasure in each other's company. Though conversation was
difficult due to Maria's limited English, they were able to communicate with
gestures and smiles. Maria taught Nora how to make some of her special dishes
and Nora was a willing student. After her baby was born, neither Fabrizio or
his mother made any mention of her leaving. She too was careful not to bring up
the subject. She was happy with them and felt secure in the presence of her
adopted family. When the baby was a few months old, Fabrizio and Nora began
taking walks in the summer evenings. Slowly she began to feel comfortable and
trusting when she was alone with him. He was so kind and considerate and
careful not to rush their relationship. It had taken awhile for love to bloom,
but at last she had agreed to marry him. Fabrizio was a quiet person and
something told Nora that he should have been happier. But whatever secrets he
may have had about his past, he had never shared them with her.
As Fabrizio and Nora ate their lunch, they
watched the other people in the park. For some reason Fabrizio could not keep
his eyes off that family he had first seen when they arrived. While they were
too far away for him to see the details of their faces, certain things became
obvious. The two older girls carried themselves with an innate sense of grace
and elegance, that belied the simple clothing they wore. A boy of about ten or
eleven seemed to be kind and attentive to his younger sister. And the parents
kept stealing secret glances at each other, as if they were newlyweds.
"That is a very special family,"
commented Nora.
"Why do you say that?" questioned
Fabrizio.
"Oh, just look at how dignified they act
and how stylishly they are dressed. I'll bet they are wealthy," she
sighed.
"You women, sometimes you talk in
circles," smiled Fabrizio.
As they were putting away their food, they
noticed something very interesting going on with that family. All of them,
including the mother, got up and organized themselves for a game of baseball.
Nora's mouth feel open when she saw this. The mother who looked to be about 30,
had taken her straw hat off to reveal chin length red hair.
"Do you see what they are doing
now?" she asked excitedly. "I've never seen a woman play baseball
before."
Fabrizio just nodded. He was watching the
father. The man was about his age, with blond hair and a lithe build. He felt a
terrible pang of sadness as he watched him, for he bore a striking resemblance
to his old friend Jack. Fabrizio was still haunted by that terrible night of
coldness and screaming. The night, thirteen years ago, when he lost his best
friend, Jack.
"Frank, you be the catcher, next,"
shouted twelve year old Edy to her younger brother, Frank.
They switched places as their father pitched
the ball to Edy's twin sister Molly. She missed and the ball went flying into
the park. Frank chased the ball across the park, and caught it, but not before
he came crashing down on Fabrizio. The breath was knocked out of Fabrizio as he
fell. A hundred unspoken curses went through his head. But then he told himself
it was not worth getting upset about. This was only a boy and it was an
accident.
Frank got up first and helped Fabrizio up.
Then he stuck his hand out to Fabrizio and greeted him with the same words he
had heard his father use hundreds of times.
"Hi, I'm Frank, Frank Dawson. Nice to
meet you. Sorry I knocked you down," he said smiling.
For a moment Fabrizio was speechless. The boy
who stood before him not only looked like Jack, but he also had the same
pattern of speech. Fabrizio could only utter one word.
"Jack," he mumbled weakly.
"Nah," said Frank, "Jack's my
father."
It could not be possible thought Fabrizio.
Jack could not have lived. His mind began spinning and without thinking he
spoke again.
"And I suppose your mother's name is
Rose."
"Wow, mister, how did you know
that," said an amazed Frank.
Fabrizio looked up to see a man, the boys'
father, running up to him. He gave the man a quick glance, then looked again,
but could see no more. His eyes were filled with tears.
"Frank, are you okay? Is this man okay?
I'm sorry he knocked you down. No harm intended..." Jack could say no more.
He could not believe his eyes. The man in
front of him was Fabrizio. His friend that he thought had been dead for
thirteen years. Blindly they reached out to one another. There were no words to
describe this reunion. And the only sounds came from the quiet sobs and the
gentle thumping as they patted each other on the back.