Bell for Adano, A - John Hersey [40]
The two stood against the cool iron of the balcony railing and looked up at the sharp stars. Tina said: “Do you like it here?”
Major Joppolo said: “I’ve never been so happy in my life.”
“That seems strange,” Tina said, “when you’re so far from home.”
“I’m not so far from home, in a way. Florence is almost a home to me. My father and mother were from a little town near Florence.”
“Where are you from, in America I mean?” “The Bronx, Tina.”
“Where is that, the Bronx?” “New York.”
“The Bronx is part of New York City?”
“Sometimes I think New York City is part of the Bronx.”
“Oh, I should love to go there. Is the Bronx beautiful? Is it beautiful for Florentines in the Bronx? How would it be for someone from Adano?”
“For my Florentine parents, I think it is beautiful, yes, it is beautiful. In Italy they were just poor peasants, and you know it is not very beautiful for most of the peasants here. There my father is a waiter. He has a very good job, in the University Club, it is a very nice atmosphere, all the chairs are leather like in the Palazzo and the walls are all panelled. My mother has a washing machine. Father has a car. It is very beautiful for them, I think. For me, it was not always so beautiful.”
“Why not, Mister Major?”
“Well, it’s hard to explain. You see, I grew up in America. I could see that the Bronx was not the most beautiful place in America. I always wanted a little more than we had. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”
“No,” said Tina, “you don’t have to explain. I know what it is to be restless. That’s why my hair is blonde, I guess.”
Major Joppolo had made up his mind that Tina’s hair was dyed. But he didn’t expect her to talk about it. Tina sensed his embarrassment. “Oh, my hair is not natural, Mister Major. I dyed it because I was not satisfied. My dark hair was my Bronx. Every one had dark hair. I wanted something different.”
“I thought at first perhaps you were from Northern Italy,” the Major said politely.
Tina laughed. “Tell me some more about yourself,” she said.
“There’s not much to tell,” he said.
“Did you go to one of those American colleges? I’ve seen them in the movies at Vicinamare.”
“No, not exactly. I went to school until I was sixteen. Then I lied about my age, I said I was eighteen so that I could get a driver’s license and take a job. I worked as a truck driver until I was twenty, then I had an accident, from lifting things which were too heavy.”
“What kind of an accident, Mister Major?”
“It was a rupture. After the accident I had no job for two months. It is not very exciting to be unemployed in the United States. Finally I got a job as a clerk in a grocery store at twelve dollars a week.”
“How much is that?”
“Twelve hundred lira.”
“Twelve hundred lira! You must have been rich.”
“No, Tina, twelve hundred lira is all right for Adano -”
“All rightl I should say it is all right. Six hundred is high pay. My father used to think six hundred was a very good week - and he hasn’t been out for a long time,” she added sadly.
“But that’s not so much in the States.” “You mean everyone is rich in the Bronx?”
“No, I wouldn’t say so, Tina. It’s just that our standard of living is higher than yours.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, that’s hard to explain, too. It’s just that everyone has a little more than they have here. They mostly have automobiles, in peacetime, that is. The food is a little better, everyone gets orange juice and milk and things like that. They get paid a little more. They have to pay more for what they get, though.”
“In other words, it’s just what I said. Everyone is rich in the Bronx.”
“Well, have it your own way. Anyhow, I think fate has had a lot to do with my life, because one night a friend of mine told me that they were about to have examinations for jobs in the City Government.”
“The City of the Bronx?”
“No, Tina, New York City. He told me I ought to take them. I said I hadn’t had enough education, but he said I ought to go ahead and try. So I did and I came out number 177 out of 1,100. That made me feel pretty