“Via Fiorata 28.”
Elisabetta blinked. “That’s where you live, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I told you, I own it. Don’t you listen?” Nonna sent another gnocchi flying across the flour. “I am on the ground floor. You will be upstairs, with your very own bathroom.”
“Wonderful, thank you!” Elisabetta felt relief wash over her like a warm bath, but Nonna was looking up at her fiercely, with a knife in her hand.
“There is one problem. Your stupid cat.”
“How do you know about my cat?” Elisabetta swallowed hard. She would never put Rico on the street. She would rather give up the free room.
“You don’t know I see you collecting fish scraps? Or hear you talking about how smart he is? How handsome? How affectionate?”
“May I bring him?”
“Does he spray?”
“No.”
Nonna eyed her, deciding. “Then, yes.”
Elisabetta hugged her, unable to hold back.
“But if he sprays,” said Nonna, “I’ll cut off his gnocchi.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Sandro
5 September 1938
Rosa!” Sandro looked up from his notebook, happy to see his older sister entering the apartment. She had moved into her own place with some roommates and didn’t come home that often. She crossed into the dining room, setting down her purse, and embraced him. She had on her fashionable tan suit, with her hair pulled into its twist, and he caught a fading whiff of her floral perfume.
“I heard what happened at school, Sandro. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. It happened at La Sapienza, too. Levi-Civita left. I was too late to say goodbye.”
“Oh no. You must be so sad.”
“I’m trying not to be.” Sandro spoke from the heart. “I’m trying to stay on track.”
“You can’t stay on track when your own government is derailing you.” Rosa frowned sympathetically. “Mussolini has turned against us. The manifesto and the Race Laws show he doesn’t want Jews in Italy any longer. He’s going to make life so hard for us that we leave.”
“But why, do you think? Why now, after all this time?”
“It’s what David and I have been worried about. Mussolini is choosing to side with Hitler, and if Hitler is against the Jews, so is Mussolini.” Rosa touched his arm tenderly. “I know you love Papa, and so do I, but he’s missing what I see at the embassy.”
Sandro felt torn. “But he knows people in the party and he reads the papers.”
“He reads only the Fascist papers, and all of his closest friends are Fascists. They go with Mussolini, no matter what.” Rosa squeezed his arm. “Anyway, just because Papa thinks something doesn’t mean you have to. Fascism is now our enemy. Jews should leave the party, after today. The Race Laws are the last straw. They threw you out of school. It’s outrageous!”
“Papa says it will be temporary.”
“He’s wrong. Sandro, you have to think for yourself.”
“Rosa!” His mother entered the room and kissed Rosa on both cheeks, followed by his father.
“What a nice surprise!” His father held out his arms to embrace Rosa, but Sandro detected the effort in his parents’ smiles. All evening, they had been talking privately in his father’s study.
Rosa kissed them both. “What a terrible day. I’m horrified.”
“As are we,” his mother said, her tone controlled. “But your father is already working on solutions. You’ll stay and eat, won’t you?”
Sandro interjected, “It’s my consolation dinner, Rosa. Cornelia promised me something fried.”
Rosa chuckled, a happy sound amid the tension. “I’d love to stay.”
“Good, sit down, and I’ll get another place setting.” His mother turned and left for the kitchen.
“Yes, sit down, both of you.” His father crossed to the table, picked up his wineglass, poured some, and offered it to Rosa. “How have you been?”
“Fine, until today.” Rosa accepted the wine and sat down. “Papa, what about the Race Laws? What is Mamma talking about, solutions?”
“We have to keep our wits and go forward. There is a provision for Jewish schools to be established with government funding.”
“But what do you think of the party now? You, of all people, who are so loyal, must have been shocked. It’s an about-face, is it not?”
“As I told Sandro, I am shocked by the promulgation of the Race Laws. However, since then, I’ve had some time to study the law, confer with members of the Board, and make some calls.”