La Strada Da Seguire: The Road to Follow

by Susan Toscan

  Savina went into the little room next to the bedroom, and even though there was no furniture in there, Maria was quick to say that a bassinette and other baby items would be available from the community. These things were well used but much loved. There was also a small sleep-out on the side of the house that had obviously been used as an extra bedroom.

  Savina opened the cupboards in the kitchen and to her further delight found that there were basic crockery, cutlery and cooking pans already there. She could not thank Maria enough. Alessandro and Frank brought in the trunk and cases, and Maria proceeded to help Savina put away her precious things. The older woman exclaimed as she saw what was in the trunk, “Oh, Savina, I love the feel of beautiful linen. I haven’t seen this quality since I left Italy.” As she folded the sheets and tablecloths, Maria continued, “I really miss being able to buy such beautiful Italian fabrics. It’s impossible to get that type of quality in the country areas. We can sometimes order from catalogues from stores in Sydney or Melbourne, but they’re very expensive.”

  Savina was further thrilled to see that there were food provisions in the small pantry. “Maria, Frank, we cannot thank you enough. We really appreciate all that you have done.”

  “We’ll leave you two to get settled. You’re welcome to come to our house at any time,” Maria said as she and Frank left the young couple.

  Frank had spoken to Alessandro about starting work the following week. He would take his nephew to the winery later that day to show him around. Frank would also introduce him to the other workers. Alessandro was anxious to get started. Their limited supply of money was quickly running out, and even though their expenses were low, he wanted to be financially independent from the beginning.

  Starting almost on the day they moved in, Savina spent a lot of her time working in the vegetable garden so that she and her husband could have some fresh produce as soon as possible. Maria had told her that the tomatoes would be ready in a few weeks time, and there were potatoes, carrots, beans and radicchio ready to pick. Savina craved fresh vegetables. She thought that the baby must need the nutrients after making do with the provisions that they had eaten on the ship. It was such a luxury to have fresh food, and she was amazed that there was fresh meat available. The people here took it for granted, but Savina was extremely careful with how she used the meat, making sure nothing was wasted.

  “I feel so decadent having meat to cook at every meal,” Savina explained to Maria. “It’s a luxury. We haven’t had meat for such a long time that I got used to making do without it.”

  Maria looked shocked. “I knew there’d been severe shortages during the war, but I’d assumed things had improved for you there more quickly than they obviously did. Well, you have no need to worry anymore, Savina. There’s plenty of meat in Australia—in fact, plenty of everything! You’ll never have to go without again.”

  “That idea is taking a bit of getting used to after all this time making do with so little. But the thought that I’ll never need to worry about having enough food for our child makes me very happy,” Savina commented thoughtfully.

  She was in her element in her little kitchen. It was very hot with the stove going, but she was determined to get some cooking done. She wanted to make a pasta sauce, and that took a long time as it had to boil slowly to allow the flavours of the meat and tomatoes to blend, resulting in a rich and delicious sauce.

  Maria had told Savina that the women of the community were gathering at her house the next day to make pasta. Enough pasta was made for each family to eat, and it was a good excuse for the women to get together. This was the first time that Savina would be involved in the community’s activities, and she was looking forward to it.

  The next morning, she went to join the women at Maria’s house. She took flour and eggs and a large mixing bowl with her. Maria welcomed her at the door. “Savina, I’m pleased that you could join us. Let me introduce you to Josephine from down the road. And this is Wilma, her neighbour. Lucia and Renata will be here soon.” She ushered Savina into the kitchen. “Excellent. You have brought more flour so we can make extra pasta today.”

  The women assembled all of the ingredients and started mixing the thick batter for the pasta. “Get your hands into it, girls,” instructed Maria, who was operating the pasta machine. She was very fussy about the texture of the mixture that went into the machine. “No, Wilma, that’s too sloppy. Put in more flour—here, let me help you!” Wilma made faces behind Maria’s back, and all of the women laughed. They always teased Maria about how particular she was when making the pasta.

  Lucia and Renata arrived after all of the hard work had already been done, much to their mother’s frustration. “Sorry, Mama, we had to go into town. Hello, Savina—good to see you.”

  With so many helpers, the pasta was made very quickly and efficiently, and everyone had enough to feed their family for a couple of weeks. They all knew that it would be delicious. Savina had liked meeting some of her other neighbours, and she had had great fun. She was starting to feel like a part of the community.

  A cool bath on Christmas day

  Alessandro’s first day at work was a little nerve-racking for him. He had not worked in a large winery before, and there seemed to be many things going on at once.

  Frank had gone with him and stayed to make sure that his nephew was comfortable with the other workers. Most of the men were from northern Italy, some from Cavaso and others from areas nearby. They all spoke the same dialect, and many had family members that Alessandro knew. Once he had established a rapport with the others, they started to show him the tasks that would be expected of him.

  Alessandro had arrived at a time when the winery was not too busy as the vintage would not start until about February. He wanted to learn as much as he could before the frenetic vintage period started. His first day passed very quickly; before he knew it, the men were packing up. Alessandro was surprised as he was used to working until nightfall. The other men assured him that they started early but were ready to go home by four o’clock in the afternoon. Alessandro got a ride back to his house with some of the others who passed by his gate, and he arrived home tired and happy.

  Savina was outside weeding the garden and did not hear him approach. Alessandro stood and watched his lovely wife as she struggled to pull up the stubborn weeds. He heard her swear to herself as she worked. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and he could not see her face clearly, but he knew that she would be wearing a look of determination as she went to war on the weeds.

  Alessandro walked nearer, startling Savina. She jumped up and scolded him for giving her a fright. “How long have you been standing there? I didn’t hear you approach.”

  He smiled and held her close to him. “Mi stò godendo il panorama,” he told her—I was enjoying the view.

  She reached up, held his face and kissed him. “I am so happy in this place. I miss our families, but I feel at peace for the first time in years. We made a good ­decision to come here. It will be a good place to raise our son.”

  “How are you so sure our baby is a boy? What if we are having a girl?”

  “A girl would be wonderful, but I’ve known from the first time I was sick that this must be a boy to cause me such trouble.”

  The couple laughed and stood holding each other, enjoying the simple pleasure of just being together.

  Two things that Savina did not like about her new home were the red dust and the mosquitoes. Alessandro called the mosquitoes ’zanzaras’—little fighter jets. Savina did not like the fact that each evening, just at dusk, the mosquitoes came out with annoying regularity. Just as irritating was the continuous amount of red dust that coated her little home. It frustrated her that the dust seemed to get into the house even when it was closed up. She knew that the house was old, but she was still surprised that the dust could seemingly penetrate the walls! Maria had warned her about the two main evils of this part of the world, and now that she had experienced both, she was not happy about it.
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br />   Alessandro teased her often, asking her what she would prefer: starvation and cold, or dust and mosquitoes? She would tut at him and throw a scornful look in his direction. He knew that when she had that look, it was best to go for a walk and see Frank.

  Frank was always happy to see Alessandro. “Alessandro, bello, how are you and Savina? I know it’s hard settling into a new home, but extra hard when you’ve come so far.”

  “We’re good, Zio. Sometimes I don’t understand my wife, but then, I suppose that’s normal from what I hear other men say,” Alessandro responded with a smile on his face.

  “Maria and I see that you and Savina are very well matched in your personalities. She is a strong woman, and that is a blessing, my boy.” Frank knew that he could not put an old head on young shoulders, but he tried to guide his nephew as best he could. Being the smart man that he was, Frank would usually ask Maria for advice before he passed on words of wisdom to Alessandro.

  Maria had become very protective of Savina; ­however, she was careful not to interfere in the young couple’s relationship. She knew that they had to work things out for themselves. She and Frank would always be there to support them. Maria felt that she had another daughter, and this gave her a lot of satisfaction.

  After sharing a glass of wine with Frank, Alessandro returned home to find his wife sweating over the stove. “Savina, I have told you not to cook a hot meal while the weather is so hot.”

  She would not listen to him. The food was always delicious, but this was not the climate to eat hot food at every meal. Although he had managed to convince Savina to have salami and bread for lunch, she was determined that they eat a cooked meal in the evening. After dinner, they would sit outside until the ­mosquitoes made it impossible to stay outdoors.

  Maria had told the young couple how the family celebrated Christmas in Australia. She had explained that they usually had cold meats and salads in the middle of the day and that the meal was shared with many friends, usually outdoors. Every family that attended brought a plate of food. Maria had invited Savina and Alessandro to join the Messeras in their garden on Christmas day. Savina liked the sound of this celebration and set about planning what she could prepare for the lunch. She and Alessandro had almost forgotten about Christmas; they were having trouble getting used to the seasons being the wrong way round.

  Christmas day proved to be another hot, dry one. Savina had been up very early in order to roast two chickens before the weather got too hot. She had cut fresh radicchio to add to the salad that she would make later in the day and prepared some sweet tomatoes, also picked from the garden. The night before, she had cooked a quantity of beans and made a pudding according to one of Maria’s recipes.

  Alessandro came into the kitchen, kissed his wife and wished her a merry Christmas. Then he exclaimed at the amount of food that was being prepared. “Stai preparando il pranzo per oggi?”—Are you preparing all the food for lunch today? Another scathing look was Savina’s reply.

  “Fai colazzione e fuori dalla cucina perche sono occupata.”—Eat your breakfast and get out of the kitchen; I am busy. She smiled in spite of her scowl and kissed her husband so that he knew she was joking. Alessandro returned the smile.

  After breakfast, Savina sent Alessandro over to Maria and Frank’s house with the food that she had prepared so that she could have half an hour to get herself ready for their first Christmas celebration in Australia. She took the time to freshen up in a cool bath. She smiled as she pictured her sisters’ reactions to her having a cool bath before Christmas lunch.

  At home in Cavaso, her family would be huddled together in the small kitchen/dining room of her father’s house. The snow would be piled up outside, and even though the food would be good, they certainly would not have the variety offered by the lunch that she and Alessandro would attend. The concept of sitting outside in the shade to avoid the heat of the midday sun at this time of year still seemed strange to her.

  With the lead-up to Christmas, Savina found herself thinking about her family even more often than usual. She missed them more than she could say. She had received a letter from her father and sisters the previous week, and they had assured her that they were all fine and that life was pretty much the same as when she had left.

  Dear Savina and Alessandro,

  We hope that you have arrived in Griffith by now and are settled into your home. We all miss you very much.

  The weather is cold and the snow has started to fall. We expect to have a very white Christmas. We will be thinking of you all enjoying a warm Christmas, as strange as that seems to us.

  Things are looking up for us here. We are all hopeful of a more positive future.

  We all send our love. Buon Natale to you both, Papa and Mama Paula

  There was also a letter from Olga.

  Dearest Savina,

  I know that Papa has told you that we all miss you, and we do. Life here is just boring! Especially since you and Alessandro and then Louie left.

  Louie should have arrived in Australia by now, but I have not heard from him. But then again I did not expect to so soon. I miss him terribly. He did say that he would contact you and Alessandro and try to visit you as soon as he could. It is going to be so difficult waiting until Louie has saved enough money so that I can join him there. I will do my best to keep busy.

  Thinking of you and I hope that you and Alessandro have a wonderful Christmas. Please write soon.

  Your loving sister, Olga

  Hearing how distressed Olga was made Savina very sorry that she could not talk to her sister. She would write to her as soon as the busy day was over. She hoped that they would hear from Louie soon; he had promised to send them word once he was settled. So many changes were taking place. Savina had not written to tell her family that she was pregnant. Initially, she did not want to worry them with her having been unwell, but now she knew that she should tell them her news.

  Alessandro returned to collect her, and they left their little house hand-in-hand and walked the short distance to Maria and Frank’s. When they arrived, they were greeted with the usual noisy, happy crowd. Maria explained that the table had grown much bigger over the years. The joy showed in her eyes as she looked around at her family: the little ones she treasured so much, the friends who were such a special part of her life, and now these welcome newcomers who had joined the family.

  Christmas greetings were shared in both English and Italian—Merry Christmas and Buon Natale. Savina had practised saying ‘Merry Christmas’ in English, and she was thrilled that this seemed to impress her Australian friends. They complimented her on how good her English was and assured her that she was doing much better than they ever had in trying to learn her native language.

  Tired of compromise

  Christmas day 1949 had started out reasonably well. Agnes had spent a fun morning with the children. Many gifts were exchanged, and everyone seemed happy; even Brad had joined in the excitement of opening presents. He had given Agnes a gold bracelet, and she tried to show him that she was grateful for the thoughtful gift. But Agnes knew that this would not be enough; she would have to continually reassure him how much she liked the bracelet and how grateful she was. She wished that he had not bought her anything. It was such a farce, and she was so sick of pretending.

  Agnes had decided that she was going to find a way to leave her husband. When she saw Alessandro and Savina so happy in the house that she and Michael had shared, she knew that her marriage to Brad was over. She had decided that she would talk to her parents about it after Christmas. She did not want to stay in a loveless marriage any longer.

  Frances often asked questions about her father, something that always made Brad angry. Now she asked, “Mum, where do you think Daddy will be spending Christmas? I wish that he was with us.”

  “I wish I knew where your father was, but I don’t, darling. We’ll pray for him and send him our love.” Agnes was continually frustrated that she did not have any answers for her chi
ldren.

  It was unusual to see her daughter here with them this morning, participating in giving and unwrapping presents. Frances would often go off by herself. She did not seem to want to be involved in family activ­ities. She spent time with her sister and brother, but she pulled away from her mother—especially when her stepfather was around. Agnes had tried to talk to her and explain that she loved Frances very much and that their time together was important, but Frances was very distant.

  Maddy was spending more and more time with her mother’s family—in fact, today she was at her grandparents’ house—and it was obvious that she did not want to be around her father either.

  Brad continually criticised Frances. “She’s a surly teenager and needs a good spanking.” Agnes was horrified. She was afraid that Brad would carry out his threat to hit Frances, and she knew that she could not allow that to happen.

  Agnes became even more watchful than usual and instructed Frances that she must never be in a room alone with Brad. “As if I would want to be alone with that creep!” was her daughter’s response as she stormed out of the room. Agnes was desperate not to let her relationship with her eldest daughter continue to deteriorate. She would find the time to talk to Frances and tell her of her plans to leave Brad as soon as she could make arrangements for them all—most importantly, as soon as she could find somewhere for herself and her children to live.

  The family was ready to leave to go out to Maria and Frank’s farm for lunch when Brad decided that he did not want them to go. Agnes had to argue with him for an hour, and all the while, the children were getting upset. They always looked forward to going out to the farm and seeing their friends.

  Brad, of course, knew this. He seemed to take sadistic pleasure in seeing how upset they all were. He finally gave in and agreed to drive them out to Bilbul, but he made it clear that he did not want to stay too long. “We’re leaving straight after lunch. That lot makes me sick. Now there are more of them to put up with. As if this town doesn’t have enough wogs to deal with!”