A Letter from Sicily by Christopher Amato

Author:Christopher Amato
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, literary fiction, sicily
Publisher: Adelaide Books Publishers

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

He sat on an ornate wooden bench at Union Station in Columbus waiting on the next train to take him to another stop in Baltimore. People were bundled in heavy coats pulling and dragging suitcases and trunks to his left and right. Languages were spoken he didn’t understand, and he thought people from every corner of the world must stop here. The air was thick with a blend of cigarette and cigar smoke as people like him waited on the next chapter of their lives to unfold.

Between naps, Thomas searched his bag for another apple Angelina had packed for the trip. He smiled when he found the small wooden soldier.

Tracing his fingers over the man’s stump for an arm, he whispered, “I suppose we’re all damaged in one way or another.”

When he looked up, he caught sight of a man far across the station sweeping the floor. It wasn’t any man, but a uniquely large man. Thomas grabbed his duffle bag and raced across the slick concrete floor toward a large archway. There before him stood an older Gigante with the same huge shoulders, barrel chest, and kind face. The giant man stopped sweeping, straightened his back, and rested the broom against his side.

Thomas asked, “Do you remember me?”

Seeing the confusion, he repeated the words in Sicilian. A huge smile spread across the man’s face. They shook hands for a second until Gigante enveloped Thomas in his massive arms.

“Little Tommaso, you are a grown man now,” Gigante said.

He told Thomas to follow him into the janitor’s storage room. Over the next hour, they caught up on each other’s lives.

Gigante began telling his story in English, but within minutes reverted to Sicilian, his preferred language. “After we said goodbye, the rest of us, me, Simone, Santo, and Alberto worked on the road crew for six months. But my life changed when I met Brigida. She had come over from southern Italy about a year before me and was working as a hotel maid in Grand Rapids. One day I saw this pretty lady walking along the street. She had dropped a bag of oranges, and I helped collect them. We talked for a few minutes and I asked her if she wanted a cup of coffee. Tommaso, it was love at first sight for me.

“Brigida told me she was moving soon to live with her younger sister and husband in Columbus. It made sense. She wanted to be with family and knew she could work in any hotel. The timing was perfect because I didn’t like working on the road crew. They kept us locked up like wild animals in a cage. I decided to take a chance and asked Brigida if she wanted company on her trip to Columbus. She said yes. One day I walked away from the work site. They still owed me money, but I didn’t care. We arrived here and a month later, we married. Now we have four children, three girls and a boy!”

“Congratulations! What happened to the others?”

“They stayed there as far as I know.

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