Sofia's Tune

by Cindy Thomson

  He thanked her for calling and they hung up. Not waiting until she left work turned out to be the best decision. She had called to see when he was available and it turned out he was working a day shift. She hoped this meant Parrella would be off the streets by evening. After work she would confront Papà. It was time they were honest with her, both he and Mamma.

  At noon, she was surprised to see Annie Adams on the factory floor. Claudia pointed in Sofia’s direction. When they made eye contact the heavily pregnant woman smiled and waved. Sofia left her machine and met her in the aisle. She would never have been able to squeeze between the workers’ stations.

  Annie was out of breath. “Thank the good Lord you do not work on the fourth floor, Sofia.”

  “Signora Adams, why are you here? Is there something wrong?”

  “At Hawkins House? No, not at all.”

  “You spoke to Signor Baggio, then?” She must be coming to tell Sofia that she would not follow the plan. She began to think of other options when the young woman led her toward Claudia’s office.

  “I did. We have a few things to talk about. Your supervisor, a very nice woman if I may say so, agreed to allow us the use of her office for a few moments. I won’t keep you away from your work long.”

  They entered and Annie shut the door. “I have some very exciting things to tell you.”

  This sounded better than she imagined. “You do?”

  “Indeed. The Benevolents and I not only agreed to deliver the funds Antonio’s father collected from the workers on Mulberry Street, but also to employ extra police officers for the beat. Owen McNulty will recruit them himself. They aren’t official, but rather off duty police to keep the peace.”

  “That is wonderful but…if they are not from our part of Italy, they will not be trusted. I am afraid it will create more trouble.”

  Annie rubbed her immense belly. It seemed to cause her some discomfort. “At least one of them is from the region of Campania. Owen is aware of the situation. He has a unique gift of relating to the people. He is trustworthy and folks can see that.” She grunted as though in pain.

  “Are you all right, Signora Adams? Can I get you something?”

  “I, uh, I am not feeling well. I think I will go home now.” She forced a smile. “Do not worry, Sofia. The Benevolents also have a plan to speak to your father about your mother’s care. They will do so with respect.”

  “But, why would they do this for me?”

  “You are important, darlin’. You are special in God’s sight. We understand that doing whatever we can for people only results in more good things. Perhaps you will be the next person to help someone in need. Once you are the recipient, such things spring to your attention as never before. Suddenly you know that any act of kindness you put forth will be multiplied. I have certainly witnessed this myself.” She began to rub her stomach with vigor.

  “I will help you downstairs.”

  “Thank you.” She stopped in the doorway. “Oh, I almost forgot. Remember when you shared with me about the woman, the nurse in your building?”

  “Nurse? Oh, the healer? Sì. I should not have, but you are so easy to talk with, Annie.”

  “Indeed you should have. I would like her to work in the library with me and to bring her daughter.”

  “Library? But she cannot read. She makes healing ointments and such. She knows nothing about books.”

  “But she knows about stories, aye? She knows about people. That is how books begin. As stories in the mind. I think we would work well together.” She sucked in a breath. “Does she also deliver babies?”

  “I will telephone Mrs. Hawkins right now. Oh, she does not have a telephone. Will someone answer at your house?”

  “Yes, I believe so. Etti and Leena are cleaning for me today.” She gritted her teeth as she spoke.

  ***

  Grace McNulty paced across the rose carpet in Hawkins House’s parlor. “I know that childbirth can be dangerous. I do hope Annie is all right.”

  Claudia had allowed Sofia to leave work early. She had been too distracted to do much work anyway. A new baby, a new life to celebrate. She had not considered that Annie might not be well.

  “Did you see how big she was?” Grace asked, pausing a moment to watch the foot traffic outside the parlor window.

  Sofia nodded. “She is carrying a big bambino, sì.”

  “She might be swollen up with fluids. That can be very bad. I attended a birth once. ’Tis scary, let me tell you. I’ve been volunteering at the hospital, too, with Dr. Thorp. The things I’ve seen.”

  “Don’t go borrowing trouble, dear.” Sergeant McNulty had come in from the direction of the kitchen. “The Maslov sisters let me in. They are boiling water. They told me our Annie is about to give birth. Thought I’d pop in before I go track down the new father on his mail route.”

  “Oh,” said Grace. “You better do that. You never know what could happen.”

  Owen reached for his wife’s hand, reminding Sofia that loved ones always warmed troubled spirits. “The sisters said she is doing fine. Mrs. Hawkins is with her?”

  “And a midwife.” Grace paced the carpet again.

  “It is a big baby, I hear,” the policeman said before his wife urged him toward the door.

  “Oh, Miss Falcone,” Sergeant McNulty said. “The judge agreed and an order for that man’s arrest has been made. He is being charged with murder. Seems a witness has come forward.”

  Sofia felt her shoulders relax. “Grazie, Sergeant.”

  Grace kissed her husband’s cheek. “And Owen is being promoted to detective, something he’s wanted ever since I met him. He does good detective work, but now he is off duty. ’Tis women’s work now to take care of Annie. You’ve done well to help Sofia, but your mission now is to go get Stephen Adams.” She sighed as she closed the heavy door and leaned against it. She looked at Sofia. “When God blesses me with children, I am sure I will be a mad woman.” She reached for Sofia’s hand. “I am happy the trouble in your neighborhood is being cleaned up. That kind of thing is my husband’s mission in life.”

  “He is a good man.”

  “That he is. When our children arrive I pray they take after him because I will be a raving eejit with my worrying on.”

  “No you will not.” Mrs. Hawkins descended the stairs. “It’s all those waiting who worry, but the laboring mother knows nothing but joy once she holds the babe, love. In this case the babies.”

  A squeal came from upstairs. Infant cries.

  “Babies? Two?” Grace rushed past her toward the door upstairs that led to Annie and Stephen’s house.

  “Twins,” Mrs. Hawkins said to Sofia. “A boy and a girl. That should keep us all busy for a time.”

  Twins? Sofia no longer felt envy when she heard the word. She was delighted for them. She imagined them cuddled up together in one cradle. Content and comfortable. Life may deal them challenges as they grow older—as it had for her—but right now they were perfect, the way God intended his children to be. She could not wait to see them.

  “Go on up.” Mrs. Hawkins inclined her head toward the stairs. “Do not stay long, though. Grace and Annie are quite good friends and I expect Grace will tire her out.”

  When Sofia entered the passageway between the two buildings, late evening sunbeams streaked through the transom window that overlooked the Adams’s tall entryway. The passage was like a catwalk, open on one side above the railing. Sofia had never been past the library before. The sound of infant cries led her toward the correct room. A plump woman was closing the door behind her. The midwife smiled, damp curls tumbling down her forehead. “She is doing well, that one. I suspected twins but the mother wasn’t convinced until they came. What a miracle. Go on. Go see for yourself.”

  Sofia padded toward the door and gently pushed it open. Annie was propped up against the headboard of her bed, a bundle tucked against her breast. Grace was pacing the floor with another, cooing at the squawking child.

 
“Come in,” Annie said. “I guess I should have listened to the folks who said I was exceedingly large for my eighth month. A boy and a girl!”

  Sofia leaned over and gazed at the baby Annie held. Pink with a button nose and pinched face. Fresh from the hand of God. “Are you all right, Signora Adams?”

  “I am indeed.”

  “Their names?”

  “Stephen and I discussed it. When he gets here, he will announce the names, but I will tell you. The girl will be Kathleen Agnes, for my mother and Mrs. Hawkins. And the boy, Martin Stephen, for my father and my husband. I will definitely be needing help in the library, like we were discussing. Can you speak to your neighbor? I do not want to leave the library closed for long and besides, she can help me form a new coalition between the library on Mulberry and ours.”

  “Listen to her,” Grace teased. “A patron of the arts, a supporter of the written word, and a mother. She will be a wonderful mother, so.”

  Annie winked at her friend. “I am blessed to have Grace to help me. She was a nanny, you know. She understands more about children than I do.”

  Grace walked over and placed the baby she held into Annie’s open arm. Sofia could not stop gazing at them. Two perfect babies. Not two halves of a whole, but two individuals. They would need each other of course, but also their mother, their father, the friends at Hawkins House that were like family. No one was whole alone, only complete in the presence of others, the way God intended.

  Etti and Leena marched in next, giggling and jabbering in their native language. One could never be isolated here, and that thought made Sofia long for Mulberry Street.

  ***

  Sofia went first to Most Precious Blood. She wanted to speak to Father Lucci and then to Sister Stefania. After that, she would check on Mamma and see if any of her siblings had been able to talk to her.

  On Tuesdays, especially at the supper hour, the church was quiet. The workmen upstairs had gone home and the nightly confessions had not yet begun. She entered and breathed in the scent of burning candles, oiled wood, and the faint odor of the coal stove pumping too little heat into the room. She prayed, lit three candles, and then turned to look for the Father.

  “Sofia!” Father Lucci entered from a side door. “How delightful to see you. Have you heard what has transpired in the last day?”

  “The padrone will be stopped.”

  “That is correct. Our prayers for an end to the violence have been answered.”

  She remembered seeing Luisa at the church so often, her escape. Perhaps an end to the violence in her family had come as well. “Signora, I mean Mrs. Annie Adams, would like to employ Luisa and her mother at her library across town. Do you think Luisa will be able to leave her work here? It would be good pay, I believe.”

  “That sounds wonderful for her. We were her shelter, and always available, but I believe now the Russo women can find their own way, with God’s help.”

  Sofia crossed herself. “May we all, Father.”

  “Amen,” he agreed.

  “I wanted to ask if you might help me convince my father to allow others to pay for my mother’s treatment.”

  “Did you not hear? He received a large amount of money recently. An overpayment on his rent, I believe.”

  “Oh, sì. I did hear.” The Benevolents had already done their work.

  “A fellow man of the cloth came by, said he has met you. Reverend Clarke of First Church.”

  “He came here with the others?”

  “No. Alone. Said he was trying to visit all the churches in Manhattan to see how we might work together to save souls and feed the hungry.”

  “I am happy you met him.”

  “All these good things coming so quickly.” He shook his head. “Why are we so surprised when God hears our prayers?”

  “Maybe because we do not listen for the answers.” She remembered the time she had been praying in church with Carla. The presence she’d felt but could not identify. God was with her always.

  “I think you are right, Sofia. We must listen. Your papà? He is a proud man.”

  “Sì.”

  “But he wants what is best for his wife. Like we all do.”

  “I know you are right. Excuse me, Father. I must go see Sister Stefania.”

  “Of course. She is entertaining a guest. Someone you would like to see as well.”

  Before she got to the kitchen, she was met by the white and brown dog named Luigi. He wagged his tail as he came closer. “Hey, boy. What brings you to the neighborhood?”

  Antonio walked up behind him. “I wanted to make sure everything went as planned.”

  Sofia looked into his soft face, admiring how kind he was, empathizing with the pain he must feel. “I am so sorry about your papà. The Sergeant said there is a witness, so perhaps this will be over soon and you can pursue your dreams of playing in concert halls.”

  “I believe so, Sofia. And I hope you’ll be sitting in the front row.”

  Luigi trotted away, leaving the two of them alone in the hall leading to the nun’s kitchen. Antonio put his hands on her arms, helping to steady her pounding heart. When he leaned over and kissed her, she thought she saw stars under her closed eyelids. The coldness left her body and the kiss was over too soon.

  He stepped back far enough for her to admire his smile. “I must be going. I was hoping I would run into you here, though. I wanted to say good-bye.”

  “Good-bye?”

  “Yes. I have run into some good fortune and I will be leaving for Ohio next week. I am going to audition for Oberlin College, the first step in my concert career.”

  “Oh.” Her happiness flew away like an uncaged bird. “It was what your father wanted for you, you said.”

  “Yes it was.” His eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

  “It is what you want?”

  He swallowed hard. “A great opportunity for me. I will write to you. I promise.”

  She nodded and he moved away, leaving a wispy breeze in his wake. He called from the front door. “Hurry inside. You will want to see the police witness.”

  “Here?”

  “Of course here.”

  She saw his shadow first, a long dark figure. When she turned toward the west-facing window she could not believe her eyes. Joey! She embraced him, not wanting to let go. “Are you all right?”

  “I am, sister. You will squeeze the life out of me, though, if you don’t let go.”

  She laughed. “I was afraid I would never see you again. Where have you been?”

  “In my attic,” Sister Stefania said, placing a coffeepot on the stove. “Up there with the phonograph, for safekeeping. The gardener’s wife let me keep it.”

  “Are you safe now, Joey?”

  “He will be,” the Sister answered. “As soon as the trial is over.”

  “You are the witness?”

  “I am.”

  “And so brave,” their aunt added, placing a tray of cannoli on the table.

  They talked a long while and Sofia almost forgot the pain of Antonio leaving so soon after their kiss.

  “Go see Mamma for me,” Joey said. “And tell Papà not to worry.”

  “I will.” She hurried toward the Falcone apartment, only a few yards away. It seemed life was like a continually turning wheel, throwing off some things and gathering others. She lost Mamma, she gained Hawkins House. She got Joey back, she lost Antonio. Maybe not forever. She hoped not.

  Carla met her at the door wearing Mamma’s apron. “Are you settled in all right?” Sofia whispered.

  “Sì. Your papà and your brothers and sister have been very kind to us.” Carla reached behind her for her daughter and gave Luisa a big squeeze. “I am proud of her. She tried to fix what her papà did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “During her visits to the Free Library, Luisa overheard that Signor Baggio’s father had hidden the money that was supposed to help the men of our village break free of the padrone. She sent Antonio anonymous not
es, hoping he would come help.”

  “Notes?”

  “Sì, like a message boy,” Luisa admitted.

  While Sofia wished the girl had confided in her instead, she agreed that it was a brave thing to do. Who knew if her abusive father would have come after her as well as her mother if he’d known? Benevento women always find a way around obstacles.

  “And Mamma?”

  Carla stared at the floor as she motioned Sofia inside. She kept her voice low. “Your sister spoke to her. At first your mother did very well, almost seemed her old self again. And then Gabriella talked about that day, asked her questions, and Angelina withdrew again. Your sister had to return to the children. Luisa and I have been trying to reach her, but Angelina refuses to talk to us. Your father is not home from work yet. He will be angry with your sister.”

  Sofia had not realized Gabriella agreed that Mamma needed to talk about it. “He should not be angry. My sister was right. Mamma should remember, tell us what happened.”

  “There was a cost, Sofia. Your mamma has taken a bad turn.

  Sofia whispered a prayer as she walked toward Mamma’s room. The space was heavy with anticipation. Dear God, I need your words to be mine right now. Help us all.

  “Mamma?”

  “Sofia?”

  “Sì, Mamma. I am here.” Her mother sat on a stool next to a window encased with a newly installed iron lattice. The window was closed. There were no burning candles and Carla had filled the room with the scent of her tinctures.

  “I chose you, Sofia. I chose you.” Tears streamed down Mamma’s face. “Gabriella asked me, so I told her. And now I tell you. I chose you.” She began whimpering, repeating Serena’s name over and over.

  Sofia clasped her mother’s hand. “An accident, Mamma. You remember?”

  Her mother nodded and sniffed. “I was home alone with my twins, you and her. Serena headed for the door toward the sound of the goats, like always. But this time someone had left the door open. I was cooking. I left the stove and headed for the door. You stuck out your hand because you knew I was making orecchiette. ‘Little ears, little ears,’ you called because you thought the name of the pasta was so funny. You reached for the pot. Your sister ran for the door. Both in danger. What could I do? I had to choose.”