Feeding the Enemy

by J. R. Sharp

  After about twenty minutes of filling out the forms, he turned them in.

  “When will we start to work this year,” he asked the woman at the window. “Last year it was about this time?”

  She looked at the documents he filled out. “Come back next week and we will be posting out in the front bulletin board who was hired and where they will be working.”

  “Will the pay be the same as last year?”

  The lady just smiled at Bruno and said that she didn’t have that information for him and that they were closed now. As Bruno was leaving the employment office, he noticed some of the men who had just applied for work hanging out having cigarettes. He recognized Marko and Anthony from school.

  “How is the farm life treating you, Bruno?” Marko asked.

  Bruno lit his cigarette. “Great. We had a good year and are hoping to be planting in early spring. How is your father’s butcher shop doing?”

  “Well, not so good,” Marko said. “We’re giving meat away to the army and not getting paid on time. Credit doesn’t pay the bills and the banks don’t care that you are feeding the enemy or the army, they just want their money.”

  “Anthony, I thought you were going to go to Rome and go to college,” asked Bruno.

  “Well I went down to Rome and went to school for about two months and then dropped out. The girls and wine got me in trouble. I will try again next year.”

  Damn, I didn’t see that coming. Anthony was always so reserved and his parents were always so strict, Bruno thought. I guess that is what happens when both of your parents are teachers and they don’t let you spread your wings out when you’re young. You go hog wild when you get your chance.

  Just as Bruno was finishing his cigarette the wind started blowing and he could feel the winter. He placed his hands in his jacket and started to move his body up and down to stay warm.

  “What was with all those questions on the applications?” Marko asked.

  “That was nothing,” Anthony said. “You should have seen all the paperwork I had to do when I was signing up for college in Rome. It took me two days to finish all the paperwork and now look at me; I am standing in this breezeway freezing my ass off with you guys.”

  All of the men started to laugh, and Bruno asked if Marko and Anthony wanted to go get some coffee. They all agreed to go with him to the coffee shop.

  As they walked to La Perla Café they could hear commotion from the inside of the café. Bruno walked in first and stopped before Marko and Anthony could get all the way into the café. Francisco and some of his Fascist supporters were having a heated conversation with the owner of the café. Bruno noticed their uniforms right away. This wasn’t a good time to get coffee, but the owner saw three potential customers and waved them into his café.

  Francisco approached Bruno, who stood at the coffee bar with his two friends. Bruno could smell the starch on Francisco’s uniform and his pungent cologne.

  Francisco lit a cigarette and threw a match into an ashtray that was between him and Bruno. He took a deep draw.

  “Bruno, my friend. What are you doing in town? Shouldn’t you be on the farm working?”

  “I was applying for winter work at the railroad station like I did last year, then I saw Marko and Anthony, now we are having espresso.”

  Marko and Anthony both looked at Francisco nodding their heads in approval.

  “So, when are you guys going to join the Fascist Party?” asked Francisco. “Finding work might be easier if you did.”

  Marko looked towards the owner and he turned his head and gave him a look of disapproval.

  “Why should we join your party?” Marko asked.

  “Well, for one reason, we just took over all the public transportation in this part of the country, and now we are looking to control most of the businesses in all of the towns, like this one. Isn’t that right, Charlie?”

  Charlie didn’t acknowledge Francisco and served the espressos to his three customers.

  “What is the matter, Charlie, you don’t have anything to say?”

  “Oh, I have a lot to say, but not in front of my customers,” he replied.

  “Well if that is how you get people to join your party you can count me out. It sounds like you are trying to bully the business owners into joining your crappy party.” Bruno noticed that Francisco’s face was turning red in color and he started to approach Marko.

  “Francisco, if you come any closer to me, you are going to find yourself on the floor and that pretty uniform is going to be dirty,” replied Marko.

  Anthony and Bruno started to laugh because they knew Marko wasn’t lying and could, in fact, hurt Francisco. Marko was in excellent shape and had thick arms. Bruno was laughing and noticed the other two supporters at the other end of the bar started to come to Francisco’s rescue. They both appeared to be carrying axe handles. As they got closer Bruno, Anthony, and Marko took a couple of steps away from that bar and waited for the confrontation to start. Marko grabbed a barstool. Francisco raised his arms.

  “Gentlemen, there is no reason for us to get into this situation over politics.” He turned and made a gesture to his supporters to stop their approach.

  “I agree,” said Charlie, who was holding a shotgun in his arms and pointing it at Francisco’s supporters. Bruno noticed that Francisco’s face turned white from fear and that his legs were shaking.

  “Charlie, there is no need for that gun. We were just leaving your nice establishment and will talk to you later about what we were discussing before your customers showed up,” Francisco said.

  “Don’t bother coming back; my answer will not change so don’t waste your time.”

  As the Fascist members left the bar, the boys returned to their coffee and Charlie returned the shotgun back under the bar.

  “It is only a matter of time before they control the whole country and we all have to wear those uniforms,” Charlie said.

  Bruno looked at Marko and Anthony and wondered what would have happened if they got into a confrontation with them again. Things are not changing for the better as promised by Mussolini and the Fascist party, thought Bruno. He knew now why his father was having his meeting and what it was all about.

  ***

  Pietro walked into the main house of the farm after working in the barn. He wanted to make sure that the barn was as clean as it could be, but it was a barn with horses, three cows, one bull, a couple of goats, and lots of chickens. He had moved the hay around to ensure there was a meeting area in the middle of the barn. The cows and bull were moved to the outer edge of the barn and the goats were moved outside. Pietro hated the goats but they produced milk and made the occasional good meal, plus, they kept the grass short.

  “Anna, are we ready for the meeting tonight?” Pietro asked.

  “Yes we are, and I checked the mail today and nothing from Catherina or anybody else,” replied Anna. Velasco walked into the main room and Pietro looked at his third son.

  “You are getting so big. How old are you now?”

  “I am seven dad and getting stronger every day.”

  “Your mother and I need you to watch Valerie tonight while we entertain the neighbors in the barn. You need to keep her in the house and busy while we entertain our guests, do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Papa, no problem,” replied Valasco.

  Pietro thought to himself that both his elder sons were going to leave soon and Valasco would be next in line to help him attend the farm. It was the routine of the family to teach all the boys how to farm, but with the future of Italy so uncertain Pietro didn’t know how much longer he could keep the farm going.

  Pietro had saved all the money he could over the years, but with winter setting in and the uncertainty of the country he had to make changes, or they would not survive the future. He was going to need the support of other farmers. Could he convince them that there was a need to start hiding assets and crops? It was only a matter of time before Fascists started to take from the farme
rs like they did during World War I.

  Pietro was in the infantry during World War I and he remembered coming home and his father sharing stories of what the Germans did to this farm and what he did to survive. Italy was not at war yet, but ever since Italy joined the Axis Powers, it was getting the cold shoulder from most of the other countries in Europe. Pietro knew this from reading the papers and having long discussions with the other farmers. This included the businessmen in Cimpello during the weekly auction house gatherings. Hitler was making his move to spread his power in Europe, and Italy was doing the same in Ethiopia.

  “Anna, how much wine do we have? You know that the Pelliccia’s love to drink wine and they don’t stop drinking until it is time to go.” He put his hands around his wife and started to look into her eyes, and she looked deeply back into his. They kissed each other quickly and just as fast let go of each other because there were children running around the house.

  “There is enough wine for all to have and dessert as well. Did you clean up the barn?”

  “Of course I did, my love, only the best for you,” answered Pietro.

  “You know you two should hug more often,” said Bruno, who was standing in the kitchen entrance, unnoticed by his mother and father. Pietro looked at Bruno and told him to shut up and quit being so disrespectful to his parents. He smiled at his father and was finishing his apple when he told his father he needed to talk to him about what happened in town yesterday.

  “Let’s go outside and talk, I don’t want to upset your mother.”

  Both men exited the main house through the door leading to the white cobblestone driveway. The main water pump with an attached washbasin provided all the fresh water the family needed. There was a bench that Pietro made decades ago that was located next to the house right underneath the main room window. The bench was still in great shape after so many winters and hot summers. It was here that Pietro and his sons had their long conversations about politics and any other topics that interested them. They sat down on the bench and Bruno lit a cigarette while his father smoked his pipe. Pietro listened to his son while smoking his pipe and moving his left hand up and down his suspenders.

  “Bruno, we need to limit our time in town, my son. Only go there for business and leave. No more socializing or loitering in Cimpello or you will find yourself being taken away without anybody knowing what happened to you. Francisco and his family are in deep with the party and we need to stay clear of them and any other member of the Fascist Party. They will come after this family and the farm. If they have taken over the train station and all of the public transportation, it is just amount of time before the businesses are taken over. Just like they did in War World I, and most of the businesses did not fair very well and eventually closed their doors. Then there were lines for food and services that never came.”

  Pietro paused and looked at his son. “You probably need to watch yourself if you get that job at the train station. We could use the money but I would rather you be here at the farm.”

  Bruno nodded at his father, and they both looked out to the fields and the sun setting in the west. Anna, who was listening from the window, walked away from the main room window clutching her hands in her apron and trying not to cry. What is happening to Cimpello and Italy? she thought. Why can’t we just live to live and not try to kill each other? She headed for the kitchen to finish getting all the food and wine ready for the evenings meeting.

  ***

  Pietro was checking on his feed for the cows when he heard the first family arrive; it was Greg and Martina Martin. Of all the families that lived in this area, Greg and Martina were their best friends and could always be counted on for support and comfort. Next came John and Mary Manzon by bikes, and finally, the Anthony and Gilda Pelliccia family by truck, accompanied by Anthony’s strong-willed mother, Loretta. Pietro didn’t dislike any of his neighbors, but he tended to like some better than others. He often wondered why the Pelliccia’s always dressed so nice and looked like they were going to church; even Anthony looked nice working in his fields.

  Anna greeted all the wives and ladies at the entrance of their barn and took whatever desserts that they brought and set them down next to hers in the center of the barn where the wine was being poured by Bruno. There were seats available for all, but most of the men preferred to stand and talk. They all shared stories about their families, kids, grandkids, and the newest farming innovations while they sipped wine and ate Anna’s torta margherita, the perfect Italian pound cake for the cold weather, and other desserts brought to the Zucchet Farm. After about a half hour Anthony Pelliccia finally spoke up.

  “Pietro, now that we are all here what is on your mind?”

  Pietro got up from his chair and stepped towards his wife and took a sip of his wine and put his right arm around her waist for support. Bruno stopped what he was doing at the wine table and walked towards his father to show his support. Pietro finally spoke.

  “Some of you remember what happened to this area during the last war and how hard this area was hit from loitering from the army and other groups. We lost a lot of farmers during that period and only a few of us survived those very tough times. Well, my friends, I remember too vividly coming back from the war and seeing the devastation and how hard it was for my family to get our farm back to where it is today. I don’t want the same thing happening again and feel that if we band together as one we all will survive what is ahead of us. If we go our separate ways it will be harder for us to survive.”

  After Pietro spoke, there was silence in the room for at least a couple of minutes. All you could hear were the animals moving, the wind outside, and the occasional movement outside of birds, owls, or bats. Anthony was the first to speak.

  “Pietro, the last time I checked, we were not at war and this year’s crop was the best it has been in years, and all of our farms made excellent profits from the auction house.”

  “I have to agree with Anthony,” remarked John.

  Pietro looked at Greg and waited for him to speak up. Greg didn’t say anything and just looked at Pietro with his deep green eyes and knew what Pietro was going to say next and would support his longtime friend in this endeavor. Pietro put his glass down and started his speech that he had practiced all day.

  “Anthony, you are absolutely correct, but for how long will this country not be at war? Some of us have sons and friends of our families overseas right now doing nothing but trying to expand our countries territory; this is not the Roman Empire anymore. Why is this country in Ethiopia and Albania? What about the Germans and Hitler? They have already invaded Poland and will not stop there. This is the same thing they did over thirty years ago, and what happened then? It is just a matter of time before they come for our crops, cattle, and whatever else they need so they can keep on conquering. We have already seen the Germans on the streets, and what about the Pro-Fascist movement here? They have already taken the public transportation system and have started taking the businesses away from their owners in the name of Mussolini. Who will be paying us next year? We need to stay one step ahead of them or we will never be able to survive what the future is of this territory or country.”

  For the second time that evening there was silence in the barn. This time it was a very sober one and it was felt by each of the families. They all knew this was coming but didn’t want to believe this was going to happen again. Then Loretta spoke up.

  “You’re being ridiculous, Pietro. We have assurance that this will not happen to us by the Fascist Party. Without the farmers this country will fold and nobody will survive the year without food.”

  Anthony looked at his mother and wife and back at Pietro. “I have to agree with my mother, Pietro; this will not be happening again. We had the Party at our house just the other week and they assured us that we would be taken care of during this transition of our country.”

  Pietro looked at Anthony and thought, How can this guy be the best farmer in the territory and be so gullible
?

  “Bruno, please share your story of what happened at the café yesterday with our friends,” Pietro said.

  After Bruno finished his story, all the families looked at each other with disbelief.

  “Are you sure they had axe handles and were trying to shake him down?” Anthony asked Bruno.

  “Yes, this was not a simple argument, and I know what I saw and heard.”

  “When was the last time any of us has been in town for the evening walks?” Pietro said.

  There was a long pause and everyone just looked at the ground for answers. “That is my point. We are all hoping this goes away and everything goes back to the way it was, but it hasn’t and it is getting worse. We need to start now or we will be sorry.”

  Finally Greg spoke up. “What do you want us to do, Pietro?”

  Without missing a beat, Pietro responded, “We need to start storing more feed, hay, food, metal, wood, and anything else that we will need in the future. All the farms have strengths and weaknesses, if we ban together and built on each other’s strengths then all of us will survive this uncertain future. Here is a good example, for some reason Greg’s crops mature before any one of us, and my crops always are the last to come to production. Let’s all share equally with each other and we all will help who doesn’t have that great a crop or who is getting loitered more than the rest of us. All of us need to grow something different every year like corn, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, or something that we can all use. Then the next year we change the fields again, so we always stay ahead of what group is loitering from us and store for the winter. Each of you need to find places in your farms to hide food, metal, wood, and whatever you are going to need, and you must keep these places secret from all those who will do you harm.”

  Pietro was done speaking and felt exhausted after he was done and hoped everyone was on board. He was sure that if they did not band together they would all probably be doomed. Without even waiting for anybody to answer, Greg spoke up.