ARROW - 150. Chapter 150

Our flight to Rome was on schedule. The boys went to get our luggage. A line of taxis waited for us, two of the older boys with two of the younger boys took two of the taxis. Colin, Louise and I took the third taxi.

Arriving at the village, you would have thought royalty arrived. Pulling into the public square, all of the boys friends were waiting, and there was Geno. Hugs all around, standing in the doorway was Nonna. Ready to greet the boys.

I told Geno we would be staying at the hostel, soon there were several boys helping our boys carrying suitcases to the hostel.

I went and hugged Nonna. She didn’t look well. I remember Geno telling us that she was ill, and it showed.

Angela invited us in for a coffee. Sitting at the table, she told us Geno and her have moved into the house. “Momma is very ill. She pretends she is okay but I don’t think she will be with us long. She talks about Daddy, and seeing him. She said he will come for her soon.”

“I know she is ill. She told us the last time she was at our home that she wouldn’t be coming to see us anymore. Has she seen a doctor?”

“Yes, Geno took her to Rome. She said the doctor told her it was her age.”

“How old is she? I remember when I first saw her several years ago, she wasn’t a young woman then.”

“Mom is close to 98. Dad died when she was in her 60’s. I was 10 when you first arrived here. She was old when she had me, dad had died when I was 7.”

“Your Mom opened her arms when I arrived here the first time. She was like my mother, I thought she was the same age.”

“We will take care of her. Geno is devoted to her and you being here will brighten her spirits. I think after that summer, she thought of you as the son she never had.”

“Where is she now.”

“She has gone to bed. She doesn’t stay up late anymore. She wanted to see you as you arrived, then she went bed.”

I felt a slight pain in my heart. Nonna meant a lot to me. She opened her house to me that summer. Over coffee we became friends and then she became my Italian mother and grandmother to the boys. I would spend as much time as possible with her while I am here.

Two days after arriving, Colin and Louise were getting ready to leave. Nonna didn’t understand why he had to leave so soon after arriving. I explained that he had to work since his dad only worked part-time. I think she was afraid I was going as well.

When the car came for Colin and Louise, she watched. When I didn’t get in the car, she smiled. I spent every moment of the next week with her. The only thing I didn’t do was tuck her in bed. We relived that summer I stayed with her. We commented on the village at the gallery, and how she liked it.

“I wasn’t sure how you felt about the village until I saw your painting. Then I knew that for you, this village was like a second home. Armand, I have a favor to ask. My time here is limited. My husband misses me and wants me to join him. When I’m gone, I’d like for you to look over Angela and Geno. He’s a good man, and looks at you as a. Brother he never had.”

“That, you never have to worry about. I never had a brother and Geno has come as close to a brother of mine as any man. You don’t need to worry about the future, I look at this village as my second home.”

I didn’t like the tone of our conversation. I didn’t want to lose her. She was there when I was a stranger in a strange land. Her loving nature endeared her to me and now my boys.

That night, I asked GG what was going to happen. She told me, it is her time and we all have a time when it is necessary to go home. I didn’t like her answer but I knew what she said was true. I didn’t want Nonna to leave me and I knew the boys would be upset as well. GG said for me to know, she will be reunited with her husband and she will be very happy. I asked her if she will bring Nonna to me when she was gone. I didn’t like GG’s answer.

I stayed most of the time with Nonna, the boys were back to bringing her flowers. She always had a smile for them and you would think that those flowers were the most precious thing in the world.

Then it was time for us to leave. That was hard for me because I knew that would be the last time I would see Nonna. I never said anything to the boys. Getting in the cars to take us to the airport was very difficult for me. Knowing what was going to happen, I hugged Nonna for a long time. She kissed my cheek. “Everything will be okay. Remember Geno and Angela.

The older boys knew something was happening, the younger boys had no idea. It was Tommy, who sat beside me on the plane. “Dad, Nonna isn’t going to be with us, is she?”

“No, Nonna is old and she wants to be with her husband.”

I looked at Tommy, he had tears in his eyes. “Grandmother, who comes in your dreams, will take care of her.”

Nonna meant a lot to the older boys. The younger boys hadn’t known her long but I knew the older boys will tell them about her.

Arriving home Colin met us at the airport in the van. I was glad to see him. Looking at me, “What is the matter?”

“I’ll tell you when we are alone tonight. Nonna isn’t well.”

I think Colin had an idea of what I was going to tell him. I heard a few sniffles, I wasn’t sure if it was Colin or the older boys.

Over the next week, after getting Ronny ready for the football camp, and helping the young boys get ready for school, I began a painting of Nonna.

“Why don’t you send the one you have on the dining room wall?”

“No, that one is for me. I need to paint one for her as a memorial.”

I’m grateful for Colin, he never argues with me when it comes to my work.

Ronny went off to camp, I missed him. Even though it was only for two weeks, it seemed that something was missing at home, it was Ronny.

I took the boys shopping for school clothes. I was amazed at how much the boys had grown. I would take Ronny when he returned from camp.

That evening I mentioned to Colin I was missing Ronnie. “What are you going to do when the boys go to college?”

“If they go to Yale, they will still be home.”

“Suppose they don’t go to Yale. They are other universities that offer courses better suited to their objectives then Yale.”

I didn’t like to hear that but Colin was right. There is no guarantee they would go to Yale.

It seemed to me that my life was beginning to crumble. Nonna being ill and probably will pass on, Ronnie away and if he is successful at football his chances of a scholarship would be excellent. Then the other three would be off to college, my family was breaking up. I didn’t like what was happening.

Colin tried to explain that was normal for a family. “The children grow up and have families of their own. Then you’ll have grandchildren to spoil.”

I wasn’t thinking that far, I was focus on this year.

GG came to me and told me Nonna would be united with her husband by the end of the week. I woke and waking Colin I told him what GG said about Nonna.

“You’ll have to go. I’ll stay here with the boys.”

Didn’t work that way. In the morning the older boys, minus Ronny, told me grandmother came and told them she was going to take Nonna with her. “You know Nonna is old and she misses her husband. We need to be grateful for the time we have known her.”

Ronny came home Friday evening, we flew to Italy Sunday arriving Monday morning.

“Dad, will Nonna be in pain?”

“No, she will have a smile on her face when she sees her husband.”

“Grandmother who comes in the night said she will be happy.”

“Yes, we will be sad because we won’t see her, but we should smile because she will be happy when she sees her husband.”

Arriving Rome, Geno was there with taxis waiting for us.

The burial service was held at the church, she was laid to rest next to her husband. The boys went into the fields and picked the wild flowers.

I remember then doing that and Nonna would give them a kiss on their cheek and a cookie. Now they did it again and soon their friends joined them. There were so many that the top of her grave was covered in these flowers.

“Dad, your eyes are wet. Are you sad?”

“Yes, Nonna was like a mother to me when I was a student and visiting Europe. I lived with her, she was kind and a good person. I’ll miss her.”

“We will miss our Nonna also.”

“In a way we were lucky to know her. I’ll never forget her and I’ll bet you won’t either.”

Geno and Angela had moved into Nonna’s house. Walking into the house, I could feel Nonna everywhere. Angela didn’t change anything. It was as if Nonna never left.

Geno and I went for a glass of wine, “Geno, Nonna always came to see us in late October. I would like for you and Angela to come when she came. I’ll send you tickets as I did Nonna.”

“Angela is going to have a baby and we might not be able to travel.” I smiled, I was happy for them.

I thought one soul leaves and another soul arrives. “If she isn’t able to travel, then you can come when she is able.”

“You can always come and visit us.”

“Yes, we will come in the summer as we do now.”

Geno was a gentle giant, I knew if he said he would come to see us, he would come. In his mind, we were family, brothers to be exact.

Flying home I felt the loss of Nonna. Knowing I’ll never see her when I go to the village.

Time heals and by the time when Nonna would be coming to see us for her annual visit, we would tell stories about her and her visits. They would start, “do you remember when Nonna showed Marcel how to make her pasta dish?”

“Yes, and he tried to add some of his French herbs to it.”

Then we would laugh. Or when Nonna would go to the Home and cook. How everyone was extra hungry. “No one cooked spaghetti like she did.”

That fall, Angela had her baby and it was a boy. She told Geno, no more children. She had her girl and he had his boy. In truth, Geno had both of them.

We flew over for the christening of their son. Again the older boys stood as sponsor of little Geno. By the looks of the baby, he was going be another Geno, big and strong.

Geno was proud of his family, and he had every right to be proud. His love for his family was carried in his eyes. That night over a few glasses of wine, Angela showed me the baby’s birth certificate. I know I had tears in my eyes, when I saw it. The baby’s name was Geno Armand Angelo Romano. Angela said Geno insisted on having his brother’s name. There was no question, in Geno’s eyes we were brothers and I was the son of Nonna, a brother of Angela. I was proud he thought so highly of me. Who said a brother must have the same mother and father.

Returning home, I felt sad that I didn’t spend more time with Angela and Geno. I knew I would see them often.

Colin received a letter from Carlos and Alicia they would like to come and see us. Alicia had a boy and named him Carlos, but they called him Carlito.

Colin went and called Carlos. “Carlos and family will be arriving in two weeks.”

The boys planned a fishing trip, Colin had added additional seats with straps so now we could take all of the boys from the Home. “Colin, what of a few girls want to go fishing?”

I could see the wheels turning in his head. I’m sure there were no more room for his fishing chairs.

School started, the boys are juniors this year and the younger boys were attending the grade school our boys attended when they were that age.

James made lunches for our boys at the city grade school and lunches for the kids at the county school. The boys in high school had their cars and I found out they went to Uncle Pete’s for lunch. A few times Mary and I would go to Pete’s and catch the boys there. That was when I got stuck with the bill.

The last week in October, Carlos and Alicia arrived with Carlito. He was a cute baby, the boys took over. When Alicia wasn’t feeding hime or changing him, the boys had him. The first thing they did when they came home from school was go and check on Carlito. The older boys spent time with Carlos and Alicia.

It seemed that no sooner Carlos left promising to return next year, Colin promised to see them next summer, when Geno and his family arrived. Marie and Mary Ann took over the baby and the young boys took Lil Geno in hand.

Our lives settle into routine. Europe doing the summer, visitors in the Fall. Holidays and spare time with the children from the Home. Interspersed with fishing trips on Saturday and golfing on Sunday. The younger boys were the caddies.

I spent my time painting, at my studio and painting at my studio at the Home.