Chapter 35: Joseph's Little Girl

March, 1922

In the heart of Little Italy, New York, Daniel and Elizabeth Pierce drove around the town on the mission of finding the Quressimo household since they were not able to walk due to being almost four months pregnant. She was showing.

"Found the house," Daniel stated as he looked over at it.

"Great job, Danny, now all you have to do is put it in park." Elizabeth snapped back in a playful manner.

As told, Daniel did this and kept Elizabeth in the car until he came on over to open the door for her as a gentleman should for his expecting wife. Daniel stretched his hand out to assist her out of the car, and held her hand all the way up to the door.

"They're in for a big surprise, aren't they?" Daniel asked after ringing the doorbell.

"Yep."

The door creaked open and the person standing in front of them was the one and only Sophia Quressimo. She looked the same since the wedding, but looked more tired.

"Elizab--" She froze mid sentence to only see her pregnant daughter. "Oh my…. Elizabeth are you expecting?" her accent was worst than before.

"Yes, Mother. Surprise!" Elizabeth exclaimed. Sophia congratulated them in Italian and hugged them both following by guiding them in.

"Joseph?" Sophia called upstairs once they were inside, "Look who's here!" Elizabeth and Daniel stood waiting for Joseph to come down. They heard his booming feet coming down the stairs. As he approached, he looked at his guess and took the surprise to a shock.

"Hi, Papa," Elizabeth greeted. She knew that he was shocked with her pregnancy now. Joseph's eyes so dark and wide couldn't keep them off her stomach. In his mind, he thought: My baby girl is here, with her own baby on the way. How should I react? I'm happy and yet, I'm not. This is a big step in my life; she's not a little girl, but a woman. I can't get that out of my mind. My favorite child has grown, and yet, I can't let go.

"Elizabeth," his voice booming loudly said with the same Italian accent since they had to talk English while Daniel was around. "You have baby? I'm happy." He smiled as he hugged his daughter and shook her husband's hand.

"Sit, sit," Sophia said. Everyone sat and it was silent for a while.

Joseph was just eyeing her little girl, only picturing her as a little girl. He remembered her teen years and when she left home, for good after the argument with her mother. He wanted to fight to stop her, to keep her forever just like she was little again but something inside him told him no. She was growing up to be an American girl and it was her time to get out of the house; to get on her own and Joseph knew. He remembered it.

Elizabeth came back from her small tenement room with her suitcase set to hit the road. Sophia stood near the door while Joseph was on the wooden table watching her.

"Where are you going, young lady?" Sophia blurted out with her hand growing red with anger in Italian.

"I'm out of here! I can't stand it here anymore! I'm 18, I'm an adult and you're telling me what to do! This is America, and I can do whatever I damn well please!" She stated in the same language. Joseph glanced at her with interest.

"Watch your tongue, with me, Elizabeth Marie! You're a Catholic and the good Lord doesn't like it when you curse. Now, as for the rules in this house, I make them and when you live in this house you follow them."

"Well, that won't be a problem in about five seconds!" She lifted her suitcase getting ready to pass her mother. Sophia put a stop to it.

"Where are you going to live, may I ask?"

"In Betsy's apartment until I can find a spot on Broadway."

"And waste your life away without a man?" Sophia laughed.

"When the right time comes, I'll settle down. Until then, here's my number in any case of an emergency. Goodbye," Elizabeth stormed out the door without looking back. Not even at her Papa, who understood her. After all, she wasn't mad at him, but her own mother.

"Now, look at when you done, Sophie." Joseph stated looking away from his daughter to his bride. "I will never see my daughter again!" Sophia glared at him in a nasty way.

"Come on now, Joe. You have four other siblings who love you dearly. And, you have another daughter, you know." She pointed out.

"I know," Joseph put her head down staring at the floor.

"Well, what's the matter then? You sound so disappointed." She asked gently and calmly now with her arms crossed.

Joseph wanted to say 'she's my favorite' but it wasn't the right time. Instead, he said lifting his head looking at her. "She's my baby," and left to go to his room.

Joseph snapped back to reality. Sophia was asking questions about the baby which Daniel and Elizabeth had no clue how to answer. "Do you have name?" This was one of them.

"Not yet, Mother." Elizabeth answered. "We've haven't really thought about it." She felt a pain for a moment in her stomach that kept coming lately, but said nothing about it. It went away in a second.

"I'll get those cookies I make and make some tea, I'll be a while," Sophia said as she got up. "Want?"

The happy couple nodded their heads. Joseph too. Sophia smiled and walked into the kitchen.

"I've got to use the restroom, Elizabeth, I'll be right back." Daniel got up and went.

"Ok." Elizabeth sat in silence looking around the room they were in. She looked over at her father, whom she noticed was looking through space. "Papa? Are you ok?"

"What… of course, why?" Joseph answered.

"You're just out of it.

"Come," Joseph summit his daughter over with his arm motion. Elizabeth walked over to the other wooden stool next to him. She knew it was serious. He was speaking in Italian.

"Elizabeth… you are my daughter, my youngest, my baby." Elizabeth stared at him with her eyes that always fascinated him. "I can't get used to the fact that you're grown up, and when you're back in our lives, you're a woman and now longer a child. I can't get over it. It was yesterday when you were five and sat on my knee telling you stories," he laughed for a moment. "Now, you're married with your first child on the way. Every father knows that when that happens, they lost their babies." Elizabeth took his hand wanting to feel the strong grip of her father once again. "When you left, I wanted to stop you, I really did, but something inside me told me NO! She's growing up; you can't stop them from the real world. And I listened. I couldn't stop you. I knew you would be fine for the most part, but as every father goes through, I was scared. I was scared that someone would hurt you again like William; I was scared you would be on the streets and die there. I was scared that you'll be out of my life forever because of your mother's actions to you. When you left, I went up to my room and cried," Elizabeth at the moment was in tears especially at the next sentence. "Don't tell your mother or the others this but, you're my favorite child, Elizabeth. You're my favorite and always will be. I know that I can't play that, but it's true. You are, Elizabeth, I love you."

"Oh, Papa!" She gave him a good hug from her stool smelling the cigar smoke on his clothes. "No matter how old I grow, I'm always going to be your baby, don't you know that?" Her tears subsided.

"I know that now," Joseph smiled. "I know that now."

Sophia walked in looking at the sight. "Would you like one?" She looked around, "Where's Daniel?"

"In the bathroom," Elizabeth said. She let go of her father and went to help herself to some food.

Daniel joined the group ten minutes later.

"You ok, Daniel?" Elizabeth asked. She had that pain in her stomach again. She sat on the couch once more.

"I'm fine…food!" His attention span went from one thing to the other. He helped himself and sat by his wife once again. The room laughed as he did so.

"You stay here, right?" Sophia asked.

"Do you have the room?" Daniel asked not wanting to be in the way.

"Of course. Joseph and I would love you stay. It would be honor," she smiled.

"It's settled," Joseph said as he was the only one not eating. "Sophie was preparing the rooms long before you decide to come."

"In that case, we would love to stay, Papa." Elizabeth said.

"Good." Joseph said.

The afternoon went quickly and soon it was already dark. Dinner was lasagna which Sophia was working on the night before as well as this morning. It was delicious to Daniel since he hasn't had real Italian lasagna in his life although his mother was Italian.

The rest of the night was once again filled with chatter. Finally everyone went off to bed.

"You're parents are amazing, Eliza," Daniel commented as he went into bed.

"Thanks," Elizabeth went into bed, but got out to once again use the restroom. "God, this is the most times I had to go to the bathroom in the past months!" she exclaimed. She also had the pain again.

"You'll get used to it," Daniel smiled, and then looked on her side of the bed to recognize something. Blood.

Springing out of the bed, he rushed into the bathroom knocking on the door frantically to see what's the matter. "Eliza? Are you ok?"

Slowly the door open, with Elizabeth in her own blood, saying the words, "It's the baby."

A/N: Forgive me if I got this 'complication' wrong for Elizabeth. I heard stories about my sister having it as well as looking up on the Internet. Sorry. Don't boo. I'm not telling what it is, you'll have to stay tune and enjoy the cliffhanger!