Chapter 9
Folk Tales
Continued
I think our first kiss went well.
We were lounging outside on Isabella's backyard patio and she teasingly tugged the small notepad out of my shirt pocket, when I didn't grab it, she handed it back quickly.
"I thought you wanted to look, go ahead." She shook her head guiltily. I held the notebook open so she could see inside.
"I'm sorry I did that Edward, It was so rude!" She looked so contrite; I turned towards her, resting my forehead against hers. I read the list out loud.
Ask Isabella out ✓
First date with Isabella ✓
Kiss Isabella ✓
Introduce Isabella to family _
I looked into her pretty brown eyes. "What do you think about meeting my family?"
"What if they don't like me?"
"Il mio amore, [My love] how could they not like you? When they realize how happy you have made me they will love you." Isabella climbed onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck as I pressed my lips to hers. She opened her mouth and softly brushed her tongue against mine.
"Edward," she breathed, my hands spanned the width of her tiny waist. Her hand slid under my T-shirt, and pleasurable heat followed. To be touched like this, by her, was beyond imagination. I closed my eyes, shuddered, and reveled in her touch.
Feeling her gaze, I opened my eyes and slid my fingers just below the edge of her top. When they reached her ribs she jack-knifed off my lap, nearly making us both fall to the ground.
"What?" I started to laugh, "You're ticklish?" She held her arms down over her ribs. "Come on baby," I sang to her, wiggling my fingers towards her ribs. She blocked every effort I made to touch her. I held my hands out in surrender and patted my lounge chair. "If I promise not to tickle you, will you come back?"
After several moments, she slowly sat between my legs.
"Ho rovinato l'umore," [I spoiled the mood] she pouted.
"Sono sicuro che tornerà," [I am sure it will return] I assured her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back against my chest. "You know, Isabella, I love that you speak Italiano, your grandparents came from Italy, si?"
She laid her head back on my shoulder, turning her head to give me a coy smile, "Is that what your sources told you?"
"Yes, but I would like to hear how that came to be. Will you tell me?" That seemed to take the wind out of her sails, and with a soft huff of aggravation, Isabella got comfortable and began the story of the Cigno [Swan] and Cavaliere [horseman] families.
"An advertisement was posted in newspapers across Italy for trained draft horses to build railroads. After, learning the politically motivated railroads were a sure thing, Fabrizio Cigno, invested a small fortune on valuable horse stock. The Cavallo Agricolo Italiano da Tiro Pesante Rapido, or the Italian heavy draft horses needed to be trained. Andre Cavaliere, as his name clearly indicated, was well known for training such horses.
Before Andre would agree to train Fabrizio's fine horses, he negotiated, as any good Roma would do. Andre and his family lived in a caravan, and he must be allowed to park it on the farm for the length of time it took to train the horses. Signor Cigno thought it over and agreed.
Roma, or gypsies as they were called, were treated with mistrust and suspicion and Andre and his family were no exceptions to that rule. Fabrizio kept a close eye on the horse trainer, but over time, the boss learned to trust and admire Andre for his exceptional dedication to his animals.
"Andre and Nina's oldest daughter, Maria helped her mother with the younger children and worked to bring in the grapes at harvest time. Unbeknownst to her parents, Maria had been noticed by the capo's [boss's] son, Dominic Cigno. In Roma culture, it is considered taboo for a single female to ever be in the company of an unrelated male. Maria had been taught that all her life. Although she was flattered when Dominic began to pursue her, she was much too fearful to do anything about it. The longer Maria played hard to get, the more love-sick Dominic became."
"So your Gran, Maria, was a full blood Roma gypsy?" I asked incredulously. Thoughts bouncing around in my head, while still trying to pay attention to Isabella's story.
"I wish you could have met Gran, she was amazing." Isabella held her hand over her heart. "When she told me this next part she had tears in her eyes because she missed her Dominic."
"A terrible thunderstorm blew up, and as she tried to gather the empty baskets left over from the harvest, the wind tore them out of her hands. She chased them but slipped and fell. Dom rushed over to tell her to leave them and to seek shelter in a nearby shed. He offered his hand, but she knew she wasn't allowed to touch a man unless he was her husband."
"Gran told me she had long black hair and it was plastered to her face by the pounding rain. She was so embarrassed that Dom saw her slip and fall. She wore long skirts, and it took a minute to get up from the mud. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a step, and she shook her head no. She got up and kept going until she reached her doorstep, where she stopped to make sure he hadn't followed. It would have meant disgrace to her and maybe death to Dom."
"A few weeks later, Maria's family loaded up their wagon and drove away."
"Dominic wrote his parents a letter telling them he was in love with Maria and that he intended to follow her and win her hand in marriage. Then he saddled the horse his parents had given him and rode away, never to return."
"Wherever Maria's father and brothers worked, Dom worked alongside them. Dominic did whatever he could to serve Maria's family, including giving his salary over to Andre. Dom hauled water, wood, and hunted game. He even fought alongside the Cavaliere boys when townsfolk tried to run them out of town. Maria's brothers came to think Dom was crazy for staying when he could so easily leave."
"After one year, Andre and Nina knew Dom was not going to give up. They also knew Maria was not going to change her mind about being with him."
"Were they allowed to marry?" I asked.
"Well, yes, but Maria didn't get to have the 'Roma wedding' she'd always dreamed of. Because Dom was not Roma, they had a small ceremony. Some of the family members criticized Andre for allowing Maria to marry a gadjo.
"The idea to start fresh came gradually, between discussions with Dom, Maria, and her parents. Finally, they decided to come to America."
"Wow, that's an awesome story!" I replied in awe, "Not many people know their history firsthand like that."
"I asked Gran if I could write it all down and she was adamant," 'it is forbidden to write down Roma history.' Isabella scooted to the end of the lounge chair and stood. "But I found a way around that." She crooked her finger, "come with me."
She led me to the house and then into the spare room, where she got on her knees and pulled a large box from under the bed. I coaxed her out of the way and lifted it, then followed her to the dining room where she signaled for me to set it on the table. She began to tear away the packing tape, and with a sigh, she opened it and stood back for me to see what lay inside. Stacks of neatly labeled compact discs. "You have it all recorded?" I asked.
Isabella smiled triumphantly. "Yep, for future posterity. I don't want future generations to wonder where they came from like I did."
"What do you mean," I asked.
"My dad was ashamed of his mother's heritage. I never met my Granddad; I wouldn't have met my Gran either if I hadn't come here on my own."
"I'm sorry Isabella like I said once before, I'm sure your Gran was very proud of you." I pulled her into a hug.
Isabella happily pulled the discs out a few at a time, placing them on the table. I flipped through them, coming to an abrupt halt when I came to one labeled: The Undead/Mullo, (Vampire).
Isabella picked the disc up. "Oh, this is really good! You want to listen to it?"
"Uhm sure ... you mind if I take it? I'll bring it back."
"You have to go? I'm sorry I got sidetracked, I haven't opened that box since Gran passed away."
I hated making her sad, every night it was getting harder to leave.
"Would you like to come to my place tomorrow? I have an indoor pool; we could go for a swim." I offered.
"Yeah, that sounds fun."
I started walking around the table, but Isabella met me halfway. I bent down so she could wrap her arms around my neck. When I straightened, we laughed at her feet dangling above the floor. She nuzzled against my neck, roughing the hair at the base of my skull. I held her tightly to me, "Isabella," she stopped nibbling my neck and looked at me. God, she was so beautiful! Our mouths met hungrily, I hated every second away from her!
We held hands as she walked me out to the car, "I want to warn you about tomorrow ... my family doesn't understand the meaning of privacy. They're just as likely as not to join us."
"Okay," she answered cheerfully.
Author's Note:
I'd like to thank Fran Walsh for being my beta.
Translation Italian to English Courtesy of Camilla10
Roma-Traditionally nomadic ethnic group believed to have originated in Northern India 1000-1500 years ago. Unique customs and spiritual beliefs.
Gadjo-A male non-Romani
wiki/Gadjo_(non-Romani)
The name Gypsy is actually a misnomer. Because the Roma were dark-skinned people they were mistakenly believed to be from Egypt.
