Bell for Adano, A - John Hersey [39]
Major Joppolo said: “What did you think of the American Major?”
Tina said: “He breathes very loudly, like the leaky bellows of the pipe organ at the Benedettini.”
The Major laughed.
“Have a piece of torrone,” Tina said. “I made it.”
One could not very well turn down an invitation put just that way, so the Major took a big piece. The candy was passed all around the room, and for a time all conversation stopped. Nothing could be heard except the crunching of nuts between teeth and the smacking sound of boiled sugar coming unstuck from teeth. During this time of chewing, Major Joppolo couldn’t help thinking how strange it was to build a whole evening around the eating of torrone, but that seemed to be the program.
When he dared, Major Joppolo said “Good.” Captain Purvis could afford to be more honest in English: “Christ,” he said, “what did we come to, a glue factory?”
“Another piece,” Tina said to the Major cordially.
“In a few minutes,” the Major said.
“We must have some wine,” the fat and happy Rosa said. “Go out in the kitchen, fool,” she said to Tomasino, “and get a bottle of Marsala.”
Wine on top of torrone, and probably mixed right up with it. Major Joppolo could think of nothing less tempting, but Captain Purvis, hearing the word vino, shouted: “Vino, hurray for vino.” Then he said very seriously, as if pulling himself together: “Jesus, if I have much more of this stuff, I’m going to have to lay one of these girls. If I have to stay in this town much longer, IT take on the fat one, even if she is the mother.”
Major Joppolo stood up and said: “Purvis, either you shut your big trap or I’ll throw you out of here.” Captain Purvis said: “Aw come on, Major, don’t be a spoil sport. You know you feel the same way, if you were just honest enough to say so. “
“Shut up, Purvisl” The Major’s eyes blazed. “That’s an order. Now you behave yourself.”
Captain Purvis stood up and saluted with a wavering dignity.
Tomasino came back with the wine, and Captain Purvis saluted the bottle, bending slightly at the waist and aiming the breakaway of the salute straight at the bottle.
Rosa, sensing that something was wrong, shouted desperately: “My Gud! My Gud!” But nobody laughed. Tina jumped up and said: “Let’s dance,” and she ran over to the radio and turned on Radio Moscow. “Moscow always has the best music,” she said.
Francesca, with Major Joppolo’s help, carried the table from the middle of the room to the end away from the radio. Captain Purvis rushed over to Rosa, held out his arms, and said: “Okay, fatso, let’s dance.”
Rosa understood from his gestures what he meant, and she stood up laughing. The tipsy Captain and his huge partner careened around the room. After a couple of turns Rosa collapsed into a chair, gasping and shouting her English vocabulary.
Then Captain Purvis danced with Francesca, and Major Joppolo with Tina. They stamped and laughed and talked above the music until Tomasino said glumly: “You are making too much noise. You will wake the girls.”
Tina ran over and toned the radio down a little. “The girls?” the Major said.
Tina blushed. She said: “My sister’s daughters.” “Francesca’s?”
“Oh, no, of my sister who is in Rome.”
Major Joppolo did not think to ask why the daughters were in Adano and the mother in Rome; or why Tina blushed; or why she did not seem very anxious to talk any more about the sleeping girls.
“Let’s dance some more,” she said.
So they danced until they were both sweating in the midsummer heat.
It was Tina who said: “Some fresh air, Mister Major?” He said: “That would be a good idea.”
Tina said: “We can go right out here.”
She slipped out through wooden shutter doors onto a narrow balcony over the dark street, and the Major followed her. Behind him he could hear Captain Purvis saying to Giuseppe: “There goes that bastard out to make some time with his wop talk. How the hell can I make love when I have to keep you hanging around, Giuseppe?”
Tina closed the