The Shoemaker's Wife(135)

Their wedding-night baby.

Somewhere between Paoli, Pennsylvania, and Crestline, Ohio, on the path of the Broadway Limited to Chicago, Enza had conceived their child. Ciro went to her, lifted her up off the ground, and held her tight. “I thought I couldn’t be any happier.”

Ciro felt a joy within his heart that he could not describe, filling him up in a way he had never thought possible. It was instant, and would last for the rest of his life.

A baby of their own was his highest dream. Ciro remembered imagining his wife and children before he met them, and the house he would build in Vilminore for them. But all those dreams were beside the point, now that it was really happening. He had so much love for his wife and the baby within her that he felt a new fire within him, stoking a greater ambition to provide for them. All he hoped for in this moment was many children, and a long life to take care of them.





Chapter 24

A TRAIN TICKET

Un Biglietto per il Treno

The Minnesota summer was as glorious as any Enza remembered as a girl in the Italian Alps. Longyear Lake dazzled like a sapphire, reflecting the cloudless sky that was saturated in deepest blue, like Marrakesh silk. The evergreen trees fringed the horizon, while low green thickets were speckled with the first buds of sweet blackberries. The loons wailed in the morning light, calling across the water.

Enza propped open every skylight in the house. In the final weeks of her pregnancy, she had nested with a vengeance; she had washed every window, scrubbed the floors, and perfected the details of the nursery. She had sewn a layette for the baby in snow white chamois and soft cotton. She trimmed the bunting in white grosgrain ribbon, and piped the hood in silk. Ciro had built a crib and painted it white. He stenciled the walls of the nursery in alternating stripes of cream and sandy beige, to give the effect of wallpaper—a trick Enza had learned watching Neil Mazzella as he directed the scenery load-ins at the Metropolitan Opera.

When the bells on the shop door jingled that morning, Ciro had looked up from his work. He was so surprised, he dropped his shears onto the table with a thud.

Laura Heery stood in the doorway, a suitcase in one hand and a hatbox in the other. She wore a navy crepe suit, a matching straw hat, and white gloves. “I couldn’t very well let your girl have a baby without me.” She grinned.

Ciro embraced her and called up the stairs to Enza. Laura removed her gloves and placed them in her purse. She walked the length of the main room, peering through the window to Enza’s sewing room as Ciro ran up the stairs to bring Enza downstairs. Laura could hear them chatting in the stairwell, so she raced to the front of the shop. When Enza appeared in the doorway and saw Laura, she squealed with delight. Laura embraced her, and soon, both of them were weeping. Laura stood back and took in Enza’s full and lush beauty.

A customer, a miner of around forty-five, pushed the door open, saw the women weeping, pivoted, and left.

“Girls, you’re costing me business,” Ciro joked. “How about we show Laura the apartment?” He picked up Laura’s luggage.

“You must be exhausted,” Enza said to Laura as they followed Ciro up the steps.

“No, I’m loaded with pep. I went stir-crazy on the train. I hope there’s lots for me to do.”

“You can put your feet up and rest, and maybe my wife will do the same,” Ciro said.

“We have everything ready, and I’m glad. We can have a good visit before the baby comes,” Enza said as she pushed the door to the guest room open. “Make yourself at home, I’ll put on coffee.”

“I’d like that,” Laura said.

Enza closed the door behind her and stood in the hallway motionless, as if she was in a dream. Ciro put his arms around her.

“Did you know?” Enza asked him.

“I wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret.” Ciro kissed her.

Enza took her handkerchief from her wrist, where she had tucked it in her sleeve, and dried her eyes. “As happy as I am about the baby, I was afraid of being alone. I am so happy Laura is here.”

“Well, I may stay forever. I love my room!” Laura said as she joined them.

“I’m going to get back to work,” Ciro said. “You girls let me know if you need anything.”

“Let me show you the nursery,” Enza said.

“The girls in the costume shop made some things for the baby. I’ll get them.” Laura went into her room and came out with a box. She followed Enza down to the nursery across from the master bedroom. Enza sat down in the rocking chair while Laura pulled up a stool, handing Enza the box.

Enza unfolded a satin baby blanket. There was a hand-knit cotton cap and baby mittens, and a black felt crib pillow shaped like a musical note. Laura had embroidered “From your friends at the Metropolitan Opera House” along the staff.

“How is Colin?” Enza asked.

“Who?” Laura pretended not to hear.

“What’s wrong?”

“He hasn’t asked me to marry him, and I don’t think he will.”

“Why?”

Laura shrugged. But then she tried not to cry. “I left without knowing why.”

“You didn’t talk to him about it?”

“It’s very difficult to bring it up. Remember the girls who would issue ultimatums? They ended up with their ultimatums and not much else. Colin is wonderful to me at work. I thought I was good with his sons. I try to be. I take them to the park and the show. When they come to the Met, I clear a work space in the costume shop and help them do their homework while Colin is busy in the box office. I’ve really grown fond of them.”