Fairytales (29 page)

“Mama,” Dom laughed at the incredulity, “I think you’re forgetting this is a different era and as much as I’d love everything to be to your liking, there’s one thing you’ve got to understand … the decision to marry Tish is mine.”

Catherine was taken aback. “Am I to understand that
my
wishes mean nothin’?”

“In this case, Mama … yes.”

“Well, I must say, Dom, you surprise me very much in view of the way you were brought up. The trainin’ you were taught and given … I’m shocked to learn that my blessin’ means so little and the decisions are all yours …”

“Mama, for God’s sake, I love Tish. Why are you making such a big thing out of this?”

“Because I don’t think a marriage can be a happy one when people don’t have the same beliefs.”

Dom sighed. What the hell did she want from him … There he was, marrying one of the most desirable and eligible girls to graduate from Vassar, who could have had her pick of anyone, and she had fallen in love with him. “Mama, let me tell you something.”

“Yes, Dom,” she said coolly. “What do you want to say?”

“That Tish’s family weren’t all choked up over the fact that I’m a Catholic Italian, but they didn’t make a great big brouhaha over this … they’re intelligent people who want their daughter to be happy.”

“And you’re sayin’ I’m not?”

“I’m saying you’re making an issue out of something that shouldn’t be.”

“Well, I resent that remark … I resent it very much because I want the same for you … to be happy and I’m entitled to my feelin’ that religion is a very important thing for children.”

“My children will be raised with religion.”

“What kind? Baptist?”

“No. Mama, for Christ’s sake, Tish happens to be Protestant—”

“Are you gonna become one of
them?”

Dom had reached the end. “I’m going to work this out with Tish,” he said, angrily, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him.

That evening, after dinner, Dom sat in the study, unhappily telling his father about the problem he was having with his mother … The whole thing had made him so unhappy and he was going to cut short his stay, in fact, he was leaving first thing in the morning.

“Catherine, I’m warning you, for your own good … don’t interfere in this thing with Dom,” Dominic said, lying in bed as Catherine undressed.

She turned around and faced him … “Let me understand this … you’re warnin’ me not to interfere … well, Dominic, I think it’s my duty as a mother to try and advise my son that he might be makin’ a mistake. Is that so bad?”

“In this case … yes.”

Shocked, she said, “Well, Dominic, you’re full of surprises. You who’s been raised so devoutly, not to take a stand alongside of me.”

“Not in this case because Dom has the right to make his own choice.”

“Funny thing, you didn’t think Roberto had a right to make a choice when he wanted to go to Florence.”

“Well, this is a little different. He was sixteen. Dom’s a man. Listen, Catherine, and listen well. If you press this issue with Dom, you’re going to lose him and if that’s what you want, then continue. I don’t know what the hell you want… here he is marrying a fine girl from an old and distinguished family and you’re not satisfied.”

“Well, we’re not so undistinguished. My family and I are fourth generation Southern born. My great-grandmother was from a fine, distinguished family. My heritage is pretty fine, I’d say.”

“But mine’s not. My father came from a fine old Sicilian family of dirt fanners … so don’t throw your heritage around or you’ll lose the ball game … now take my advice … drop it … be proud and happy that one of your sons made the big league in the society department.”

That night Catherine lay in the dark thinking things over … maybe, just maybe there was another way. For heaven’s sake, why was she getting herself into such a stew … Dom wasn’t even married yet, much less having babies … when they were married, Catherine felt sure that she and Tish would become very good friends … buying lots and lots of expensive presents also made one very receptive to suggestions … not that Tish Stevens needed anything from the Rossis … but look, human nature being what it was, never had enough … and dangling a few baubles in front of someone’s eyes didn’t hurt the cause. Her grandchildren would be Catholic if she went about it in the right way… patience, my dear, as Mama would say. With those happy thoughts, Catherine fell asleep.

The next morning she was in Dom’s room looking down at him asleep. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she tapped him gently on the shoulder. Rubbing his eyes, he opened them … his voice deep from having been awakened, he said, “Hi…”

“Dom, I hope you’ll forgive me for wakin’ you up, but I’ve been burstin’ with somethin’ to say.”

Sitting up, he thought, oh boy, here we go again … “Yeah …?”

“Dom, darlin’, I lay awake half the night, knowin’ I had offended you by presumin’ too much … I wish to apologize. You and Tish have a right to your own lives.”

Dom smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m happy you feel that way, Mama … I didn’t want to leave with any hard feelings. I love you and I never want you to be upset.”

“Well, my goodness, it’s not possible to never be upset… but I thank you for the consideration … the trouble I guess is that mamas forget their children grow up … same as Grandma treatin’ me like I was still a little girl … but I sort of like it and I always take her advice … not for one minute meanin’ you should do the same, I hasten to say.”

“You’re great, Mama, really you are.”

“Thank you, Dom … it’s always nice to hear you’re loved … now, any time you’re ready, come on down for breakfast. There’s so many things I want to ask about.”

“Okay. I’ll be down in a little while.”

The day was hot, the air was filled with the kind of emotion that only such an occasion could evoke in parents when they saw their child grown to manhood, and now all the happy, carefree years were left behind and only the future, unknown, was before all the young men receiving their diplomas. Catherine wept, and Dominic remembered his youth … the years he had spent here in this very place, never dreaming at the time he would be sitting where
his
father had once sat, watching his son go through the same ceremony.

The feelings of each generation reacted the same. The pride … the enormous pride Dominic felt at this moment he knew was only an extension of what his father had known that day so long ago. He had been the same age as his son Dom … twenty-three when he graduated and how strange when he thought about how alike the patterns of their lives were. Dom, too, was getting married. Stranger even still, to a southern girl. For one brief moment, although the day was hot, he felt peculiarly chilled. But he refused to lean on the coincidence, knowing that was all it was. His mind moved on rapidly to another thought … thank you, Victoria, for all you have given me … perhaps if you said the right things, or maybe … thank you, my dearest … you knew it was right and it is. Dominic was brought up sharply as he heard … Dominic Rossi Jr…. Dominic Sr.’s heart raced a little faster as he turned around and smiled at
his
mother who sat in back of him, then caught a glimpse of Mama Posata shaking her head in admiration. Catherine clasped his hand in hers. They looked at each other, then to the platform below as the tears streamed down their cheeks.

The windows of the Georgian buildings reflected as they had for some three-hundred years on the milling crowd in Harvard Yard. Graduation caps were tossed in midair … parents embraced their sons … sweethearts kissed … brothers shook hands … flashbulbs blurred the eye and another day of memories would be stored away to be taken out, perhaps a generation later…

Dom heard his name being called dimly above the excited voices around him. He turned and saw Tish coming quickly toward him, waving her hand. He ran to meet her, and soon she was in his arms, saying breathlessly, “Dom … oh, Dom, I was so proud of you, you’re beautiful.”

Kissing her over and over again, he was unaware that the family was standing in front of them. Catherine felt put out as she observed Tish in her son’s arms, a place she felt, as a mother, should have been her prerogative to first bestow her blessings, but she assumed the posture of the loving, devoted mother as she pushed the feelings aside.

Forcing a smile, she said, “Well, Dom, there’ll be plenty of time for that … your family is waitin’ to congratulate you.”

Releasing himself from Tish, he turned and saw his mother. She kissed and held him to her, tightly. This was her son, her possession, her first born for which she suffered the pain of childbirth and had poured herself into the making of a man only to relinquish him to another woman who would become the center of his life. It didn’t seem quite fair … now did it? The thoughts were swift, if not dismissed. She said with tears of a loss she could not quite accept, “Well, Dom, you made us all proud. I guess all the effort was worth it … yes, indeed, you made us all very proud.”

Something in his mother’s voice made him swallow the hard lump in his throat for all the years of his childhood and all the years of her devotion to her children. “Thank you, Mama, I hope I’ll always justify that feeling.”

“You will.”

Now Dominic took his son by the shoulders as their eyes met. Everything Dominic felt was spoken more eloquently in that one moment than words could possibly have said. That deep and brief poignant exchange was broken as Dominic finally said, “I doubt if there was a father here today that was more proud and happy than I. I thank God you’re my son. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Papa,” Dom answered softly, as his father turned away to wipe the tears from his eyes. Then suddenly everyone was talking at one time … how well Dom had done … how happy they were … the grandmothers … the brothers … Gina Maria. Tish had been standing by, watching. What a marvelous thing to have such a family. Such love … and now she would be part of them … the feeling was filled with such joy. What a lucky woman Mrs. Rossi was. Tish knew at that moment how important a large family was and
she
was going to know the blessings of that experience one day.

Reverently, Dom took Tish’s hand in his and introduced her to his family. She was more than her picture revealed … exquisitely slim with tawny, golden hair … the color of a lovely sunrise. Her violet eyes were fringed with dark lashes … her skin was the same as fine porcelain. She wore no makeup … only the most delicate tint of pink-peach which outlined the perfectly formed lips. Proudly, Dom said, “Tish, this is my mother and father.”

She extended both her hands to Catherine. “I can understand why Dom speaks of you so glowingly.”

“Well, he’s said some pretty glowin’ things about you, to be sure,” Catherine laughed.

Then Tish turned to Dominic, “And you, Mr. Rossi, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you.”

“This is the second time today I’ve been overwhelmed. Dom, you didn’t do her justice.”

Beaming, Dom answered, “Nothing could, except to see her.”

Tish smiled, “… You’re just prejudiced.”

“That’s true,” he said, kissing her again. Catherine felt peculiar pangs … before dismissing the thought … go raise a son for someone else.

Driving to the hotel in one of the large rented limousines, Catherine sat between Tish and Gina Maria who had visions of some day looking and being what Tish Stevens was.

“Tell me, darlin’, I suppose your Mama’s terribly busy with the weddin’ plans … how well I remember my own.”

“Yes. But I think at this moment she’s happy I’m an only child,” Tish laughed.

“Well, I hope you’re not gonna find us a little bit too much to handle bein’ as many as we are.”

“Oh, no, Mrs. Rossi. I’m so excited that Dom has a large family, being an only child.”

“That’s natural. We always want the thing we don’t have …”

“Well, Dom has certainly provided me with what I’ve missed. I’m so thrilled with all of you.”

“Why, thank you, darlin’. What makes me most happy is a silly little thing like you bein’ from the south.”

Tish smiled, “That is nice. It’s almost like instant love.”

“That’s right… both being raised in the south.”

“Most of my life … except when my family sent me away to school in Switzerland.”

“That’s why you don’t have an accent.”

“I don’t?”

“No … but one loses it anyway. I know I’ve lost mine.”

“I don’t think so, Mama,” Gina Maria said.

“I haven’t? I thought I did, darlin’.”

“No, you haven’t, Mama.”

“Oh, well, it doesn’t make too much difference if your grammar’s correct and besides I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed about what they are … do you, Tish?”

“No … no, Mrs. Rossi. A person should be proud.”

“My sentiments, exactly…”

There was an awkward silence as Tish sat uncomfortably, not knowing what else to say, but as the car sped along the highway, she had the peculiar feeling that Mrs. Rossi had not been too taken with her. It was something she couldn’t put her finger on, but it was somehow in her manner. Still, Mrs. Rossi couldn’t have been more charming with the little she had said, but it was as though there were hidden meanings behind the words that made Tish feel strange without knowing why. Her thoughts took her far afield until she was brought up sharply as she heard Mrs. Rossi say, “Well, I guess we’re here.” And for a moment, Tish was never more grateful as they got out of the car and walked into the hotel lobby.

Lunch was served out on the veranda where they all relaxed, talked about the graduation, how proud everyone was … the wedding … how the Rossis couldn’t wait to meet the Stevenses … Tish said how sorry they were not to be able to come, but Dr. Stevens was in New York on a case and Tish’s mother was busy with next week’s impending nuptials … she hoped they would understand.

“How does your Mama feel about you marryin’ a westerner?”

Tish looked slightly bewildered, “I don’t think my mother really ever thought about it.”

“Oh … and you movin’ out west doesn’t bother her … your bein’ an only child?”

“Well, I don’t suppose she’s thrilled about it, but she’s never said … One thing my mother never did was make a career out of me. She’s pretty independent,” Tish laughed.