The Coming of Fabrizze: A Novel (Black Squirrel Books) by Raymond Decapite Page B

Why should I make her nervous with you?”
    The time had come.
    â€œAre you ready to eat?” said Rossi.
    â€œBut I’m starved,” said Fabrizze.
    â€œAre you really hungry? Speak, speak!”
    â€œPut it on the table!” said Fabrizze.
    Rossi jumped up and whipped open the stove. Inside was a pan dark and long—with eels! Great black eels were watching each other! They were watching Rossi! They turned on Fabrizze!
    He dropped his glass. A cry escaped him as he made for the door. He fell down the stairs.
    So ended his round of visits.
    A ND yet the bells went on ringing. The search for love filled him with longing for it. He thought of Grace Mendone. How eager he was to meet her. Her presence in the neighborhood was like an invitation coaxing him clear of the other girls. He questioned his men. They had started a fire in him and so they kept it burning.
    â€œGrace came across the street,” said Rumbone. “All the way across just to say good morning.”
    â€œIt’s like a dance when she moves,” said Penza.
    Rumbone held up his hands to frame a picture of the girl dancing down on him in the sunlight. Fabrizze was in the picture, too. He was there listening to every word.
    â€œThose eyes were on me,” said Rumbone. “I saw lights of gold. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Not one word. I cleared my throat. She smiled to encourage me. I was wringing my hands.”
    â€œIt happened to me,” said Penza.
    â€œI was getting sick inside,” said Rumbone. “And then the words came. I spoke right out. I asked her to marry me.”
    â€œGood for you,” said Penza. “And then?”
    â€œShe leaned over,” said Rumbone. “She came closer and closer. Her hair brushed my cheek. Like a kiss. She whispered in my ear. So soft it was. Like a kiss. Like this.”
    Rumbone leaned over to whisper to Penza.
    â€œWhat is it?” said Fabrizze. “What was it?”
    â€œCome closer then,” said Rumbone. “So soft it was. How did she say it? ‘It’s almost enough,’ she said. ‘It’s almost enough that you come from the Abruzzi,’ she said.”
    â€œBack to work,” said Fabrizze.
    â€œThey say she sings in the house,” said Penza.
    â€œShe sings to her grandfather,” said Rumbone. “She’ll sing to you and your children, Fabrizze, if given the chance.”
    â€œSo be it,” said Fabrizze. “I’m for it.”
    â€œI’ll take you to meet her,” said Rumbone.
    â€œWe’ll be uneasy there,” said Fabrizze. “I’ve seen it in the past weeks. I have a plan.”
    â€œLose no time,” said Penza. “A proposal was made.”
    Fabrizze was ready to make one. The truth is, he had fallen in love. He decided it was time to meet the girl.
    He took to walking two blocks out of his way just to pass her house on Jackson Street. Day after day he rushed by holding his breath. Nothing happened. He could bear it no longer. One spring morning he resolved to go round and round the block until dark. It was on his third trip that the upstairs window opened. His heart skipped a beat. Suddenly she was there calling to him.
    â€œGood morning to you,” she said.
    â€œGood morning, good morning,” said Fabrizze.
    â€œAre you going around again?” she said. “I just saw you.”
    â€œI was looking for someone,” said Fabrizze.
    â€œCan I help you? Who is it?”
    â€œI was looking for you,” said Fabrizze.
    â€œMy name is Grace Mendone.”
    â€œBut I recognized you. I am Cennino Fabrizze. I work for the railroad. And I gather information about you.”
    â€œAbout me?”
    â€œEveryone tells me things. It’s like gathering flowers. You have friends on every side.”
    â€œThey tell you about me?” said Grace. “But why?”
    â€œBecause I ask them.”
    â€œAnd what do they