~ Cultural Differences ~
Nutch and Gennie Pulcinello were excited to meet their guests when they finally returned home that weekend. They enjoyed seeing their children in the States but it was always wonderful to return home and relax. They were both getting on in years and travelling across the globe was becoming more difficult and eventually they wouldn't be able to do it at all. The couple had many questions for Egg while he was driving them back to the villa.
"They have more bambinos?" Nutch asked.
"Oh yes….Signora Mary and Signora Regina had them in the pool but they're adorable little bambinos. The boy's name is Rum and the little bambina is Pearl."
"I cannot wait to meet them!"' Gennie exclaimed.
"They have also expressed a desire to attend Mass with you in the Square this Sunday."
"Wonderful! Not many young people these days are willing to attend church services anymore or they're talking and texting on their phones. Very disrespectful in the House of God."
"Oh I agree signora but these families have been wonderful in the time they've been in the villa and even rid us of a few pests."
"Angelo had better have the kitchens well stocked because I will be making some of my best dishes and treats for them," Gennie declared.
"Oh Signor Rumple and Signor Archie help Anglo cook," Egg pointed out.
"Wonderful!"
Back at the villa all of the families had spent most of the previous evening preparing a homecoming celebration for their hosts. The children made a banner that they hung over the archway. Adriana, with her father's help wrote: WELCOME HOME NUTCH AND GENNIE in Italian and the other children drew little pictures on it including a rainbow, a smiling sun, trees, grass, flowers and insects. Rumple also made the couple a flags to hang with their family's crest woven in with his gold thread and two afghans, one depicting the Resurrection and the other of the Virgin. Belle, Marie, Regina, Emma and Mary went around with Mariana making sure the house was clean from top to bottom and the Scorpions mowed the lawns, watered the plants and washed all the statuary. Robin, David and Jeff cleaned the swimming pool. Angelo and Archie spent most of their time in the kitchen preparing a grand breakfast feast for the weary travellers, making certain everything was prepared according to Nutch's dietary needs.
Everyone was standing out on the walkway waiting for them when Egg brought the car to the front of the house. As soon as the door opened they all smiled.
"Bentornato a casa!" they called out.
"Oh...oh my goodness!" Gennie cried, pressing her hand to her chest as she glanced down at the group of small children holding up their banner. "How adorable!"
"We wanted you to have happy faces to see when you came home," Adriana spoke up.
"Uh-huh an we all put somethin' in there," Neal added.
"Well, we're going to hang this up along with some of the things our little bambinos have made us."
Robin and David retrieved several of the couple's suitcases from the trunk of the car and started carrying them into the villa.
Nutch looked around and nodded in approval. "Egg, the man you had do the lawns and gardens this time did a much better job than Enzo. Make sure you pay him extra, por favore."
"You can thank these youngsters signore. The boys mowed the lawns and the girls tended to the gardens and washed everything." Egg gestured to where Bae and his friends were standing.
"Nice to see young people who take pride in outside chores."
"My papa drilled it in my head that if you're gonna do something better do it right and we were glad to help out," Bae boasted.
Rumple beamed.
"We know you must be tired after your long journey and probably hungry so we have breakfast ready in the dining room," Archie said.
"Oh we've been hearing that you and Rumple are master chefs," Gennie giggled.
"Oh Angelo exaggerates a wee bit," Rumple said modestly.
"After breakfast why don't you join us in the sitting room and we'll give you the gifts we picked up for you in the States."
"Oh Signora Pulcinello, you didn't have to do that!" Regina cried. "Just being given the opportunity to stay in your beautiful home is enough for us."
"You've been such wonderful house guests. We insist."
The babies awoke at the sound of the elderly couples' voice and instead of crying and being terrified as they often were with strangers they sensed the Pulcinellos were good people, smiling and cooing at them. Nutch kept trying to make them laugh by making silly faces and tickling their tummies and feet and Little Bobby tried to grab his hair and eat it.
"Now, now lad, no eating Nutch's hair," Rumple chastised gently.
"Our youngest great grandson tries to do that," Nutch laughed.
Archie and Angelo's breakfast menu was a combination of traditional Italian and American cuisine with coffee and hot chocolate to drink, cereal, yogurt, croissants, biscuits, sausage, eggs, toast, ham and bacon along with fette biscottate. The couple nodded with approval while they ate. They believed that when a guest came to your home, you always made sure they never left your table hungry and they were pleased these American families held the same standards and everything was delicious.
"We've been told you wish to attend Mass with us this Sunday," Nutch said.
"Yes. Will you be going to St. Peter's or do you attend services at a chapel near here?" Rumple inquired.
"We'll be going to St. Peter's and maybe you will have to opportunity to see His Holiness," Gennie replied.
"Oh, I'd love that," Belle said softly.
"Is he gonna come out and talk to us?" Adriana piped up.
"No, bambina but we must leave early so that we can be in a good place. There are not that many seats but we've gotten tickets so that everyone can attend."
"How much are the tickets? I can compensate you…" Rumple began.
Nutch shook his head.
"The Church doesn't charge for tickets to attend Mass in the Square but in some cases you do need to get them early...Christmas and Easter."
"I can understand why. It's probably crowded there for those holidays," Snow said.
"Oh it is, cara but fortunately we are always given good seats."
"When we visited the Vatican….I felt….something…." Regina murmured.
The Pulcinellos looked at each other. "Were you blessed by the Saints, cara?" Gennie inquired gently.
"I believe I was yes, and so was Rumple," she admitted. "We've gone through some...rough times in our lives...and you have no idea what that meant to us."
"I think we can, cara. You see people do not always believe God is watching over us but He is and when He has blessed you it truly is a wonderful gift...the greatest gift you could ever receive."
"Will you be having the bocce game too Signore?" Egg asked Nutch.
"Yes. Do you play bocce?" he asked the group.
"Marie and I have a boule league. It's similar to bocce," Belle answered.
"Yes it is, cara. You can use the court to play any time you wish but I warn you...my Gennie is very good."
"Age and treachery will always defeat youth and skill," she teased.
"And I taught her well!" Egg chuckled.
"That you did, my friend."
"Do you have a league, Gennie?"
"No, I don't. I play with my children and Nutch used to be in the Sunday league."
"I usually rest on Sundays after Mass," Nutch said. "Or watch TV."
"I work on my knitting or bake with Angelo in the kitchen."
After breakfast they all gathered in the living room where Rumple gave them the afghans he made and the Pulcinellos presented their gifts to the families including adorable little matching outfits for all of the babies, coffee mugs and t-shirts for the adults and stuffed toys for the other children then they went upstairs to take a nap while everyone else went outside to lounge in the pool or play on the bocce court.
Rumple, Emma and Regina cast a charm over the Pulcinellos' bedroom so that the elderly couple wouldn't be awakened by the children playing loudly in the lawn. Angelo allowed them to sleep until dinner time and when they awoke both were surprised that they hadn't heard anything during their sleep.
"Having so many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, we're used to noise. I do hope you didn't make everyone tiptoe so we could sleep."
"No, Nutch. Our kids just made sure they stayed far enough away from your windows so that you wouldn't be awakened by the noise," David said smoothly.
Everyone got ready for bed early since they would have to wake up early to attend the Sunday Mass. While their husbands bathed the kids and got them ready for bed, the wives got the outfits they and their families would be wearing for Mass. To Rumple's surprise he had an easy time waking his son and his friends that morning. The Scorpions were as excited to be attending Mass as the rest of the family, especially Kat whose cursed memories were of being a devoted Catholic.
"You all look lovely," Gennie praised when they all came downstairs the following morning in suits and dresses, even the babies were wearing little suits and dresses that Rumple made for them and when they arrived at St. Peter's Square there was already a large crowd gathered, most of them elderly. The group quickly found their seats and turned off their phones. The babies were sleeping in their carriers but they woke up shortly before Mass began.
"Papa, there he is!" Adriana cried excitedly and pointed to the balcony where Pope Francis was standing. "There's the Pope!"
"Shh, dearie."
Gennie and Nutch made the sign of the cross and the others followed suit. Gennie handed each of the adults a set of rosary beads to hold in their hands and the moment they were placed in Regina and Rumple's palms, they once again could see a rainbowed aura surrounding them along with feelings of welcome and peace.
Belle reached across her chair and took her husband's hand in hers while he fought back his tears, the rosary beads she'd been given by Gennie wrapped around her fingers. Robin took his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and handed it to his wife while she wept beside him, her own rosary beads clutched tightly in her hand.
People do not always believe God is watching over us but He is and when He has blessed you it truly is a wonderful gift...the greatest gift you could ever receive…
Other people sitting around them were amazed that a group that had so many young children did not have a baby screaming or crying but the babies simply sat in their carriers listening attentively the Pope began to speak.
"Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! This Sunday, we continue reading from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, in which Jesus, having accomplished the great miracle of the multiplication of the bread, explains to people the meaning of the "sign".
As he had done earlier with the Samaritan woman, starting from the experience of thirst and the sign of water, here Jesus goes from the experience of hunger and the sign of bread, to reveal Himself and to offer an invitation to believe in Him.
The people seek Him and listen to Him, because they remained enthused by the miracle; they wanted to make him king! However, when Jesus affirms that the true bread, given by God, is Himself, many are shocked, and begin murmuring among themselves, "Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'? " And they begin to murmur … Then Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him," and adds: "whoever believes has eternal life."
This word of the Lord amazes us, and makes us think, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him," and "whoever believes has eternal life"... It makes one reflect. It introduces the dynamic of faith, which is a relationship: the relationship between the human person and the person of Jesus, where the Father plays a decisive role, and, of course, also the Holy Spirit. That is implied here. It is not enough to meet Jesus to believe in Him, not just in reading the Bible, the Gospel; not even enough in witnessing a miracle ... So many people were in close contact with Jesus and did not believe. Indeed, they also despised and condemned Him. And I ask myself: Why? Were they not attracted by the Father? No, but because their hearts were closed to the action of the Spirit of God. If you keep your heart closed, the faith doesn't enter! We open or close our hearts. But instead the faith, which is like a seed deep in the heart, blossoms when we allow ourselves to be "drawn" from the Father to Jesus, and "go to Him" with an open mind, without prejudices; then we recognize in His face the face of God, and in his words, the Word of God, because the Holy Spirit has made us enter into the relationship of love and of life between Jesus and God, the Father. So we receive the gift of the faith.
Therefore, with this attitude of faith, we can understand the meaning of "Bread of life" that Jesus gives us, and that He describes in this way: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." In Jesus, in His "flesh" - that is, in His concrete humanity – God's love, which is the Holy Spirit, is everything. Those who let themselves be attracted by this love go to Jesus in faith, and receive from Him life, eternal life.
Someone who lived this experience in such an exemplary way was the Virgin of Nazareth, Mary: the first human person who believed in God by accepting the flesh of Jesus. Let us learn from her, our Mother, joy and gratitude for the gift of faith. A gift that is not "private" but shared: it is "for the life of the world"!"
He then led the assembly into the recitation of the Angelus.
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
"Dear brothers and sisters. Seventy years ago, on August 6th and 9th of 1945, the terrible atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place. Even after much time has passed, this tragic event still arouses horror and repulsion. It has become the symbol of the enormous destructive power of man when he makes a distorted use of advances in science and technology, and is a permanent warning to humanity to divorce itself forever from war and ban nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. This sad anniversary calls us above all to pray and work towards peace, to spread the ethic of brotherhood and a climate of peaceful coexistence among peoples worldwide. From every land, one voice should rise: no to war and to violence and yes to dialogue and peace! With war, one always loses. The only way to win a war is never to wage it!
I am following with deep concern the news from El Salvador, where recently the hardships of the population have gotten worse because of famine, economic crisis, acute social conflicts and growing violence. I encourage the dear people of El Salvador to persevere together in hope, and I urge everyone to pray that justice and peace flourish again in the land of Blessed Oscar Romero.
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims; in particular to the young of Mason Vicentino, Villaraspa, Nova Milanese, Fossò, Sandon, Ferrara, and the altar servers of Calcarelli.
I greet the motorcyclists of San Zeno (Brescia), committed to young recovering children hospitalized in Rome's Bambino Gesu Hospital.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, do not forget to pray for me!
Good lunch and goodbye!"
"Wasn't that a wonderful Mass?" Gennie asked their guests while they were leaving.
"Yes it was," Rumple murmured.
"I wanted to see the Pope!" Adriana whined.
"Maybe someday you will, cara," Gennie assured her.
"Daddy, did those places really get bombed?" Jonny asked his father. Archie nodded sadly.
"Yes they did, son."
"And lotsa people got hurt?"
"Yes they did, sweetie," Regina answered her daughter.
"Did they die?"
"Yes."
"I want to use my inventions to help make this world a better place, not destroy it," Grace spoke up.
"We know you do honey and that's what the Pope was trying to say...people need to focus their talents on bringing peace to this world rather than destroy it," Emma said.
"He's also saying we should try to talk our differences out inside of fighting about them," Henry added.
"We've all seen enough fighting," Regina mumbled.
"I was surprised he didn't mention us, Grandma," Kyria frowned.
"He has honey," Penelope assured her.
"Are we the Pilgrims he was talkin' about, Mommy?" Neal asked his mother.
"We came here from the States so yes, you can say we are pilgrims."
"I used to watch Masses like this on TV when we were at the warehouse," Kat said. "And sometimes I even dreamed I was here with my family….but now that I'm actually here it feels like a dream come true."
It was late in the afternoon when they returned to the villa for a late lunch. The children were eager to tell Angelo, Egg and Mariana everything they learned from the Pope at Mass that day that all of them started speaking at once.
"Now, now, one at a time," Regina admonished.
"It's wonderful to see that they enjoyed it so much."
"Oh they did Egg and even the little bambinos here were listening," Nutch pointed out.
"Gino called and said that they won't be over to play bocce this evening."
"Is something wrong?" Gennie inquired worriedly
"No but they forgot they had family coming in from Sicily. Vito's team will probably go with them so if the rest of you want to use the court go ahead." Nutch informed the others.
"I'll come out and watch."
"Why don't you play with us, Gennie?" Belle invited.
"Oh I'll just watch. I'll wake you up later cara," she said to Nutch and gave him a kiss before he went into the house.
Angelo, Mariana and Egg brought lunch out to the terrace for everyone while Belle and Marie were getting the court set up to practice playing bocce but just before they started a group of elderly Italian gentleman approached the court.
"No women are allowed on the court today," their leader informed them. Gennie watched them with a scowl on her lips, thinking back many years to when she and Nutch were first married and she'd been told the same thing. She was going to enjoy seeing her American guests show them that bocce was no longer just a man's sport.
"Should I…"
"No, Egg. I know the signoras can handle the likes of them."
"What do you mean 'no women allowed'?" Belle demanded, hands on her hips. "The Pulcinellos gave us permission to play!"
"You sit. We play," Vito replied and pointed to the vacant bench. "Women do not play bocce here on Sundays."
"Is that so?" Marie glared at them. "What's the matter, boys? You think we can't play or are you afraid we'll beat you?"
They laughed. "You, beat us? Signora, we have been playing since before you were even born. You cannot beat us."
"We'll see about that!" Belle huffed. "Why don't you let us play and you'll find out a woman can play this game as good as a man?"
"Just the two of you?" Mario inquired and chuckled.
"Oh no, dearies. Three." Rumple said, coming to Belle's side.
"Make that four," Archie added, standing beside Marie.
"You cannot play on the court holding that cane! You'll ruin it!" Dante yelled at Rumple.
"Then I'll play," Bae said icily, more than willing to defend his mother's honor in his father's place. Rumple beamed with pride at his son. He and Bae had come a long way from their beginnings just as he wanted them to all those years ago.
The four bocce players stared at the group and smirked, confidant that theirs would be an easy victory since they had all been on first place teams in the league's tournaments for forty years.
Though Bae had only played boule a few times with Belle, he always managed to score a point or two during a game and so could Archie though he didn't play often either. Neither of them was going to stand by and allow women they both loved being insulted by a group of elderly sexists without stepping forward to defend their honor. After watching the older men playing, they realized that bocce was almost exactly the same as boule. One of the men explained the rules of their game to the group and Belle, who was designated as the Gold-Hopper team captain met in the center of the court with Vito, the captain of the mens' team. He held a lira in his hand. Belle chose 'tails' or code. Vito tossed the coin in the air, landing on the tails side.
"We'll take green," she said. "Go ahead Marie."
She tossed the pallino and it rolled into the middle of the court followed by her green ball. Her ball rolled over to the jack, leaving a gap between them. One of the men picked up a red ball and stood in the corner of the court, aiming his ball at the side wall. The ball bounced against the side of the court and moved into a closer position than Marie's ball.
"We need to try that!" Marie whispered to Belle. They always threw straight balls as did the other women in their league.
"Bae, did you see where his ball hit?" Belle whispered to Bae.
The teenager nodded.
"Try to get your ball to hit the same spot," she advised.
"I'll try, Mama."
Bae picked up a green ball and threw it. His ball bounced several inches away from the spot where the other man's hit and rolled past it. They could hear the men snickering behind them.
"Dammit!" Bae cursed. "Sorry, Mama."
"It's okay honey. It was a good try. Now let's see what I can do."
She picked up her ball and threw it, the ball bounced against the board in the same spot Bae's had and rolled a few inches away from his.
Archie was nervous when he picked up his ball. He was their team's last chance to score a point in the round and he never enjoyed having to shoot last when they played at home though they were doing it just for fun.
"Marie...what should I do? Bouncing it off the side isn't working."
"Just try to get close honey. Throw it how you want to."
He sighed heavily. "All right."
He threw a straight ball that swerved past the red ball and pallino.
"Good try, honey," Marie said softly.
Dante, Sal and Mario and each threw their balls and managed to get all of them close to the pallino, scoring four points in the round.
"Look at them...grinning like Cheshire cats," Regina said angrily. "If I knew how to play I'd wipe those looks off their faces in short order."
"If my daddy gets really mad he's gonna throw a fast one and knock em all out!" Jonny declared. "He did that one time when some lady got in Mommy's face 'cause she wanted to have some ball measured and the lady didn't wanna do it cause she thought she got the point. Daddy threw a really fast one, made em all scatter and got Mommy's team two points."
"Oh, I'd love to see that," Emma laughed.
"So would I because we all know Archie can be a force to be reckoned with when he gets mad," Jeff spoke up.
"So can my son. Those men have no idea what they're in for, do they, dearies?" Rumple asked them, giggling impishly.
The two teams walked up to the opposite end of the court to start the next round with the red team throwing first. Vito bounced both the jack and his red ball off the side wall and the two balls were touching.
"Damn! How are they gonna beat that?" Robin asked Rumple.
"They'll have to try to break it by hitting the red ball or the pallino," Rumple explained. "Belle's done it hundreds of times and so has Marie."
Belle stepped forward and threw her green ball hard, bouncing it off the side of the board around the same area where Vito threw and struck the red ball. It rolled away from the pallino, giving Belle's team the point for the moment.
"Great shot dearie!" Rumple cheered. Sal stepped forward with his red ball and bounced it in the same spot as Belle's and knocked hers out of scoring position.
"Go ahead Bae," Marie said to her nephew.
"Don't you want to go?"
"Go on Bae. Give it a try," Belle encouraged.
Not wanting to give the men another chance to gloat, Bae hesitated a few seconds before he threw his ball, aiming at the spot on the board his opponent threw to. To his delight his ball rolled past the red one and closer to the pallino.
"ALL RIGHT FIRE!" the Scorpions cheered.
"Great shot Bae!" Marie praised.
Mario glared at him as he threw his ball but he didn't throw it hard enough and it rolled too far away from the others, forcing Dante to have to throw their final ball to try to score a point in the round. He decided to throw a straight ball. It bounced against Bae's ball, moving it so that it was touching the pallino.
Marie bounced her ball off the opposite side of the court and it rolled into scoring position on the other side of Bae's. Archie picked up his ball and gazed out at the court, to analyze where would be the best place to take his shot. He threw a straight ball in the center that rolled close to where one of the red balls was.
"Two points," Vito said.
"I don't think so," Belle disputed. "We need to measure that because I think Archie's ball is closer than that red one," she said as she walked out onto the court.
"It is not!"
Mario walked over to the scoreboard to move it.
"Hold it right there, dearie!" Rumple ordered. "She wants it measured, you have to measure it...or have you forgotten the rules?"
He, David, Robin, Bobby, Ewan and Jeff all stood up, ready to spring into action if the men dared to try to cheat.
"Marie, I can't tell from where we're standing. They look the same to me," Archie said. Marie walked out onto to the court and stood in several positions, looking at the balls from several angles then returned to where her husband and nephew stood. "They do but yours might be closer by a hair."
A measuring stick was brought out. Belle kneeled down on the court and held the pallino in place while Vito measured the distance from each ball with the ruler, snorting in disgust. "Move it to three!" he barked and walked away.
"Good shot baby!" Marie cried and hugged her husband.
"We're still one point behind, Mama." Bae reminded her.
"We can still show them," Belle said confidently and handed the pallino to him. "Just throw it like you do your green ball but you have to get it past that line, okay?"
"Gotcha."
He threw the jack, it was barely past the line and followed it with his green ball, groaning in frustration at the gap he left between the two of them. Sal picked up his red ball and threw it rolling it closer than Bae's. Belle took her turn next, aiming at the jack and knocked it away from the red ball and closer to Bae's.
Vito was next and threw his ball. It rolled right beside Bae's, too close for anyone to determine who was closer and forcing them to measure a second time.
"Your turn!" he said smugly to Belle's teammates.
"Do you want to go or should I?" Archie asked his wife.
"You can if you want to."
"Maybe you should go last...in case I miss."
"Honey, don't worry about it. It's just a game."
"I know but..."
"QUIT TALKING AND THROW THE BALL!" Dante yelled impatiently. "You'll miss anyway," he muttered.
Archie's face reddened.
Jonny was laughing from where he sat with his friends. "Uh oh. Now they're gonna get it. Daddy's mad."
"He gonna knock em all out?" Ellie asked him.
"Yup. You just watch."
Archie threw a hard straight ball that struck the pallino and the two balls that surrounded it, forcing the pallino to roll closer to the other red ball.
"Dammit!" he cursed.
The members of the red team wore smirks of satisfaction.
"Jonny, I don't think he wanted to do that..." Ellie said.
"Nope but it's okay. Mommy can get it back in there. C'mon Mommy!" Jonny yelled.
"Too bad we can't help them," Adriana said glumly.
"Why can't we?" Maggie asked.
"'Cause that's cheating an they wanna win fair, right Daddy?" Neal asked his father.
"That's right son."
"Well those guys prolly try to cheat, huh, Sella?"
"They did but Aunt Belle won't let them, Roland."
Marie threw her ball next and unfortunately she couldn't get any closer. Dante threw his ball and it rolled close to the pallino along with Mario's scoring the team three more points.
"Ready to give up yet?" Mario asked them.
"It ain't over til the fat lady sings," Bae retorted.
"She's gonna sing an opera here shortly," Sal taunted.
"Arrogant asses," Rumple hissed from his chair, also frustrated that he couldn't help the team with a little magic but he knew how important winning fairly was to Belle. Mario threw first for the red team in the round, Archie for the green team but he couldn't get his ball close enough forcing Marie to throw. Her ball struck the red one and moved it out of scoring position. Vito was next and hit Marie's ball out. Belle urged her son to throw next and Bae, nervous, didn't throw it hard enough. Belle aimed her ball at the pallino and threw it, making the smaller ball roll toward Marie's. Sal bounced his off the opposite end of the court as did Dante with Dante scoring their team another point. The score was now eight to three and twelve points won the game.
"They need four points to win," Bae sighed.
"I know it's just a game but dammit I cannot stand their taunting!" Archie growled.
"Me neither. I wanna whup their asses good and send them crying back to the villa."
"Bae, I want you to throw first, then Marie, then Archie then me," Belle said.
"Okay, Mama."
Marie smiled at her sister, knowing what she was planning. They were going to keep changing their throwing order to try to prevent the other team from scoring any other points while they scored their own to try to tie the game or get a point or two ahead, all of them paying close attention to where their opponents were throwing their balls and trying to use the same strategies. They were able to do this for several more rounds until the score was eight to seven.
Archie stepped out to throw the first ball for the next round, the jack rolling close to the wall.
"Oh crap. Wall hugger. I hate those," Bae complained while his uncle threw his green ball. It rolled in front of the pallino and was touching it.
"Good job, baby. You 'kissed' it!" Marie praised and kissed him. Vito stood at an angle on the court and threw his ball, barely missing the pallino and Archie's ball. Sal threw next, attempting to knock it out with a straight ball that curved. He cursed and stepped back to allow Dante to throw. He also threw a straight ball that separated the green ball and the pallino. It rolled back over to Archie's ball.
"Sweet!" Bae crowed. Dante glared at him and threw his ball, knocking Archie's to the back wall. "Aww shit...now they have three!"
"For now," Marie mumbled and bounced hers off the side board, getting it closer to the pallino. Belle threw hers in the same spot, moving their team ahead one point.
"Damn...this game can get as intense as baseball or football!" David exclaimed.
"Oh yeah. We've had to arrest quite a few people for brawling down at the Rabbit Hole."
"Let's not forget the great 'Catfight At The Gold Corral'" Jeff joked.
"Don't remind me!" Rumple groaned.
The Golds hosted the previous year's summer league boule tournament and Pat Allen and Mrs. Muffet had nearly come to blows during a game when Mrs. Muffet blamed Pat for losing the first game when she couldn't score a point on her last ball. The two women were tearing at each other's hair when Rumple stepped in and levitated both of them until they calmed down. One of the neighbors heard the noise and called the police but when Jeff and Arthur showed up, they were both shocked to see two old ladies hovering in the air trying to beat each other up.
"Yeah Pat and Missus Muffet get really serious during a game," Jonny said. "'Member before we left when Missus Muffet pushed Missus Allen into our pool and Daddy got really mad."
"And once again we had to make a house call...and rescue your dad because they ganged up on him for getting in the way!"
"Thank God I don't play!" Snow exclaimed.
"Yeah and Mommy chased Missus Muffet with the broom cause she tried to pull Daddy's hair."
"Then...then...Missus Muffet stole Uncle Rumple's cane and tried to challenge Mommy to a duel!"
"And once again, I had to suspend her," Rumple sighed.
The score to the game was now ten to eleven with the red team one point away from winning the game and Dante was throwing first. His ball rolled in front of the jack. His teammates were smiling, all of them confident that that game was theirs. Belle handed Bae one of the green balls. He threw a straight ball down the court and missed the red ball.
"Shit!" he muttered under his breath.
"It's okay Bae," Belle assured him.
"Mama, I really wanna beat those guys."
"Game's not over yet," she said and stepped up to take her shot. She hit the red ball and it rolled away from the pallino.
"Who's in?" Bae asked Marie.
"I can't tell...it looks like ours from here...but when I go over here it looks like theirs."
They heard the other players in the red team grumbling behind them when Belle and Vito started measuring the balls again. When they were finished, Vito motioned to Sal to throw the next ball, his rolling closer to the pallino.
"Ready to sing yet cara," he taunted as he passed Belle. Bae glared at him.
"You'll be singing soprano if you insult my mama one more time," the teenager threatened, thinking this particular elder was not worth the respect his father drilled in him since he was a child to show to his elders. Marie stepped into the court with her ball in hand and concentrated before she took her shot. She bounced her ball off the side of the wall, separating Sal's ball and the pallino but the red ball was still closer.
Archie picked up his ball and threw a hard straight ball, hitting Sal's ball back to the wall. Vito threw another hard straight ball that barely missed Archie's ball, bouncing off the wall. The score was now tied at eleven.
They had Archie throw first. He bounced the pallino off the side and it rolled into the middle of the court then followed it with his green ball making them 'kiss' each other.
"Great shot, baby!" Marie cried and kissed him.
Vito picked up a red ball and threw another hard straight ball making Archie's ball and the pallino separate. The pallino rolled closer to the red ball.
"Go on Bae," Belle said. He bounced his ball off the side but it was not close enough to score a point. Marie picked up her ball next and aimed it at the pallino. It rolled back over to Archie's ball. Sal glared at them while he took his shot, also aiming for the pallino and missed it. He cursed in Italian and handed the last red ball to Dante. His ball knocked Archie's back out.
"Come on Mama! You can do it," Bae cheered.
She glanced over at her husband. Rumple smiled encouragingly.
I know this is just a game, but oh how I want to teach these boys a lesson. This isn't just a man's sport anymore.
Then she saw Gennie smiling at her and threw her ball. It knocked Date's ball out leaving hers the only one close enough to score the point.
"You did it Mama! You did it!" Bae cried, picking her up and spinning her around while Archie picked up Marie.
"No honey, WE did it!" she said softly and hugged him back then embraced her waiting husband.
"I knew you could do it mo chroi," he said softly.
Gennie rose from her chair and walked over to them, glaring at her husband's friends who were ranting and cursing in Italian. "Takes you back, doesn't it?" she demanded., "You said I couldn't play either but I proved you wrong, didn't I?"
"They should never have taught you!" Vito growled.
"Well I did and I'm not ashamed of it. Gennie's had more team championship trophies than you have and you know it!" Egg huffed.
"We're leaving!"
The children blew raspberries as the men stormed off. "Whatta buncha sore losers!" Ellie teased. Nutch came out of the house a few minutes later.
"What's all the excitement about?"
Gennie grinned at her husband. "Well, cara, once again we women have proven that bocce is no longer a man's sport."
Nutch chuckled. "That is something to celebrate!" He held up his glass of water.
"Egg, can you teach us to how to play now?" Adriana asked him while she held a ball in her hand.
"I certainly can. Who else wants to learn!"
"We do!" Ellie, Maggie, Gisella, Kyria, Jonny, Roland, Neal and Jason all raised their hands.
"All right, come over and I'll teach you. Now first….this is the pallino…." he began, holding up the small ball.
"Mommy, come on...play with us!" Ellie shouted over to her mother.
"That does look like fun," Regina said softly.
"Ah what the heck...I'll give it a shot. C'mon Mary...Grace...get offa your butts!" Emma ordered.
Belle and Marie grinned at each other. "Looks like we're going to have to add more teams to the league, sis." Marie said.
"And it looks like we'll need to put in another court," Nutch joked.
"You know cara, that's not a bad idea at all...and I know just the place for it."
Gennie Pulcinello smiled, thinking back to when she was a young bride watching her husband play bocce, thinking she would never know how to play herself until one man was kind enough to take her under his wing and make her one of the finest players in Italy. For as long as Egg lived, there would never be another woman too afraid to learn what had for years been considered a 'man's sport'.
Notes:
Pope Francis's speech is from an actual Sunday Mass given on August 9, 2015. This chapter is dedicated with love and respect to the real Nutch and Jennie Pulcinello whom are very dear friends of my family, the Wednesday Night Women's Bocce League of Altoona, PA and especially to the real Joseph "Egg" DeStadio, for teaching the first generation of women bocce players so that our league is still going strong after 40 years and proving that it is no longer just a man's sport! Thank you Egg! - CJ Moliere