The Calendar Brides Read Online Free PDF Page A

it,” Claire said.
    “Which includes everyone in this town,” Rachel agreed.
    “She’s got more spunk than most sixty-year-olds,” Emma confirmed.
    “But Nona write her story?” Bev asked. “You mean actually write it down?”
    Zoe tucked her knees up under her arms and grimaced. “It’s true. Nona isn’t much of a writer. Never has been.”
    “She’s a talker, though,” offered Haley.
    “That’s it!” Angie beamed. “She could record it.”
    “Someone else could write it down.” Susan gave Rachel a pointed look and all heads turned in Rachel’s direction.
    “Wait a minute. Why’s everybody staring at me?”
    “You’re the writer, Rachel,” Jane said.
    “You mean, when she’s not practicing her green thumb?” Trish asked pointedly.
    Rachel blinked and her cheeks tinged pink.
    “Let’s get back on track,” Bev suggested. “It sounds like we’re getting somewhere.”
    “But why does there have to be a story?” Rachel questioned.
    “Because,” Jane said logically, “this way it all makes sense. Nona is writing her life’s tale, and she’s going back to her home country to fill in the details.”
    Susan nodded. “Recapture the essence of her youth, so to speak.”  
    Rachel appeared unconvinced. “Who would read this book?”
    “Maybe nobody but us,” Angie said. “But that would be okay. Wouldn’t it?”
    “I’d love to have Nona’s story,” Claire said. “Her complete story, written down to share with my children some day.” Her sisters and cousins nodded their agreement.
    Bev wryly twisted her lips. “You might not want to share all of it.”
    The others laughed, sensing what she was getting at. The boyfriend part. With Nona, you never knew how detailed those descriptions might be.
    “I’ve got to be honest with you,” Rachel said. “I don’t think we could get something like that published. Like Trish said, that kind of story’s been done.”
    “So?” Tiny asked. “We’ll publish it ourselves. Online. There are places we can do that at no cost or very cheap. It wouldn’t be a moneymaker anyway. We’d be printing it as a family keepsake.”
    “That’s all well and good,” Haley said. “But you brought up a very good point. Moneymaking. We still don’t know where the dollars will come from to get our Nona to Sicily.”
    “That’s where the veil comes in,” Susan said.
    Angie turned to her. “Well, are you going to lift it?”
     
    The women listened with rapt attention as Susan laid out her cunning plan. Just as they all agreed, everyone in town knew Nona had the energy of a person half her age. People wouldn’t doubt an octogenarian as spry as Nona would endeavor to take on something as bold as writing her memoirs. The townsfolk of Chandelier loved Nona for her spunk and for her spark. She’d been a staple of this community for as long as anyone remembered, and had given back to the locals through her tireless efforts with several charities. She still served at the soup kitchen and ran the church bazaar, and no one even came close to her organizational skills at setting up the annual fish-fry fundraiser for the fire department.
    All the girls had to do was approach their Nona with the idea. Encourage her to write her story and say they wanted to help her get to Italy to complete it. Naturally, she wouldn’t have to write- write it. They’d arrange for her to record it. Then Rachel would transcribe her words, neatening things up as needed for a smooth literary flow. They’d beg her to go through with it, say they wanted to ensure she left her legacy behind, so they could share the history of their Nona with future generations. Nona was bright enough to know where they were going with this. She might believe the bit about the biography, but she’d more deeply understand that her granddaughters were trying to help. Help her find her way to Sicily—and back to Luigi.  
    The beauty of the memoirs cover story was that it gave Nona an out, in case