Oh, Beautiful: An American Family in the 20th Century Read Online Free PDF Page A

morning sun beat down, her body began to ache from the strain. She imagined how refreshing it would be to dangle her feet from the footbridge and to soak them in the cool mountain water of the creek. But she chided herself for such idle thoughts. “There’s work to be done,” she told herself. “And it isn’t about to start doing it itself.”
    When she straightened up to stretch her back, she heard a deep male voice coming from about 50 yards behind her. The other girls working near her glanced at one another and started to giggle. Maria rolled her eyes and huffed in irritation as the voice began to sing an old Neapolitan folk song in her honor. She didn’t need to turn around to see who it was. It was Serafino once again, crooning to her once more:
     
    Ah, Marie! Ah, Marie!
    Oh, what slumber I’m losing for thee!
    Could I but rest
    For a moment asleep on thy breast.
     
    She tried to ignore him, but the other girls kept pointing at Serafino and laughing. A stern glance from Maria sent them mutely back to work. She then bent down and plowed the ground, monitoring the girls out of the corner of her eye. When they were safely away and distracted, she stole a glimpse of the man brazenly serenading her.
    He stood on an old tree stump at the edge of the field, singing without a whit of inhibition. His moustache topped an easy smile. His arms filled the sleeves of his shirt.
    She enjoyed the attention but was not about to admit her enjoyment to Serafino or anybody else. She pretended to pay him no mind as she resumed her rhythmic task.
    He continued singing in her direction, exposing his private passion in public and announcing to all the world his shameless devotion. Now and then, she turned her neck and looked up at him, bemused. Once, she inadvertently flashed a slight smile.
    His heart fluttered. He caught his breath and skipped directly to the third verse, singing louder than ever:
     
    Ah! Now the window’s op’ning!
    Love shall no longer linger.
    See with a rosy finger
    Maria is beck’ning me!
     
    The other girls stopped working completely and laughed louder than ever.
    Maria stood up and put her hands on her hips, once again silencing the girls with a look.
    The only voice that anyone could then hear was that of the emboldened Serafino.
     
    Two years of courtship passed. The people of Farindola had known that the merry songster could be serious when he put his mind to something. The people also now noticed that the self-disciplined young woman apparently had one weakness.
    But everyone knew that Serafino was the lighthearted one in the relationship. At 25, he was the swarthy young swain with the chiseled cleft chin and the monumental handlebar moustache so full and thick that it was never worth the trouble shaving it. His lazy right eye often drifted outward, softening his fiercely masculine looks. He found it difficult to look people straight in the eye, and they found it difficult to look him straight in the eye. He couldn’t take himself or others too seriously. He was popular.
    Everyone knew that Maria was the stabilizing force. She was built nearly as solidly as Serafino and stood about an inch taller. She was the type of woman who might be called both beautiful and handsome. Her pursed lips and rounded cheeks were framed by a formidable forehead. Her gray eyes were soft and gentle, but her eyelids seemed permanently saddled with responsibility. Even when she smiled, her eyebrows refused to rise along with the sides of her mouth. Even in moments of joy, she remained attentive to dangers and tended to the work that needed to be done. She was known for taking care of business and for being mature beyond her 18 years. She was admired.
    As a couple, Serafino and Maria embodied the hopes of Farindola. He was the oldest son in a family of seven children. She was the oldest of ten children. When they wed in the village church in September 1911 in front of their surviving parents, his six siblings, her nine