Chapter 2.
Family
Traditions
A tall, rather
handsome man trekked through tall grass and entered into his cottage. His
muscular shoulders set down a bag of grain. Approaching, a woman with black
curls tied back her white skirt and smiled, brown eyes shining in noonday sun.
“Thank you,
Ernesto dear,” she said sitting at their polished, wooden table.
Ernesto came
near, took her hand and kissed it. He walked towards the kitchen, pondered a
moment then turned asking, “Michele, did you plant those tomatoes?”
She replied
tiredly, “If you went into the backyard, you would see them.”
“Oh…”
Michele shook
her head at his obliviousness.
They readied and
prepared lunch. It was a simple meal: rolls, roasted tomatoes and cold pasta.
Autumn sun streaked through the windows, few birds chirped and Michele could
hear a rabbit scurrying outside. After eating, they drank sweet wine. Ernesto
got up and wiped the table clean until its wooden surface shined while Michele
put dishes away in a basin.
Things were
quiet; neither had much to say but simply went through their household duties.
Sudden tension began rising from this silence. At once, a sound came at the
door. Ernesto answered and found of all people, Cardinal Fratelli standing
there. Behind him, an elaborate carriage circled and parked on the grass yard.
“Your Eminence,
it’s unusual for you to be here. Is everything alright?”
Fratelli grinned
and said, “Everything is fine. I couldn’t wait for you to visit me this weekend
so decided I’d come myself. There is something I wish to share with you.”
The cardinal awkwardly
clutched a box under his arm and Ernesto took it from him. He carried it into
the front-room. The object didn’t feel too heavy but he wondered what it
contained.
“It’s nice to
see you,” Ernesto then admitted, removing Fratelli’s flowing, scarlet cloak and
hanging this by the door.
His visitor
looked about the small house, small but open. A wicker basket, given as a
wedding gift, hung on the nearest wall. Pine sap’s sweet scent wafted and
smells of fresh bread and boiled stew came out of the kitchen. This was a
lived-in house, a family house.
Hearing their
voices, Michele entered and exclaimed, “Angelo, you’re here!”
Cardinal
Fratelli made himself comfortable in a wide chair then gestured for the box
which Ernesto set on his lap.
“Can’t I open it?” Ernesto asked.
“No, I will, there is
something here I must show you.”
“Angelo, would you like
something to drink?” Michele chimed.
Though his face expressed
slight frustration at being addressed so informally, Fratelli gently spoke, “No
I am fine.”
Carefully,
Fratelli removed his pristine, white gloves, siting them on the table beside
him and pried open the box. Under layers of thin, gauzy paper were revealed
two, tiny statuettes: One of Saint Joseph in brown garments, glaze brightening
his tan skin, a tiny wooden staff in his hand and the other, a ceramic lamb.
“They are so beautiful!” Michele cried.
Delicately, she took the lamb into her
hands examining closer. Fratelli handed Ernesto the Joseph figurine.
“There is a tradition in the Fratelli
family,” he began, “Every year, when we meet to celebrate the Feast of the
Nativity, each of us brings part of the family crèche and we put it together
and display it in the house where we are feasting.”
Michele gasped, delighted.
“Our
own family is just beginning and how thoughtful of you to give us a new
tradition like this!” she stammered.
Ernesto smiled but said
nothing. He didn’t want to break the light mood which settled over them. His
wife spoke truly, their new family had just begun and he anticipated this first
year together. The cardinal’s voice broke his musing:
“For years, it was my duty to place
these two figures- along with the baby Christ, which I now keep. However, you
two are now part of the family and so shall have a part in this…”
“Thank you, Your Eminence, I am proud to
be in this family,” Ernesto responded.
The cardinal laughed, “Well, you always
were actually. Thanks be to God for the wonderful fortune of discovering you
are my brother.”
Ernesto glanced down, overcome with
humble joy. Sudden emotion swept over Michele and rather than betray her
feelings, she unseated and darted into the kitchen pretending to fetch wine. So
many thoughts flowed through her mind, thoughts of the recent wedding, her
happiness, joy and worry. Looking out a small window, she noticed storm clouds
gathering. Distant, city towers grew dark.
Walking back into the living room, she
placed an open bottle of wine between them and three glasses. She poured and
they sipped listening to faint thunder. As Fratelli stuffed tissue paper back
into his box, a little bell rang and he looked at his feet to find Michele’s
Siamese kitten pawing and tearing one sheet.
“Bella, no!” Michele cried snatching the
paper away.
Fratelli calmly grabbed the kitten and
placed her on the chair next to him. Seeing her playful, pale-blue eyes
sparkle, he lifted one end of his silk belt, dangling its tassels above the
kitten who swatted at them. He laughed in amusement. A rumble sounded outside,
growing louder.
“Perhaps I should be on my way?” Fratelli
then suggested.
“Yes rain is coming and it sounds
fierce,” Ernesto said.
Soon as he spoke, loud thunder clapped
and clouds above released a torrent of rain. Through the dripping windows, they
watched driver outside quickly move beneath a tree.
“That poor man…” Michele sighed.
Fratelli nodded in agreement, betraying
silent remorse and went to the door retrieving his draping, red cloak. Wrapping
the fine fabric around him, the cardinal granted farewell then moved to open
the door. He froze, peering outside with apprehension.
“You won’t get too wet,” Ernesto
remarked, “I’ve been working on the roof, fixing the gutters.”
He smiled proudly and that pride assured
Fratelli who opened the door, stepping out. Soon as he fastidiously
straightened the red cap on his head, a rush of water trickled upon him. He
shrieked, dancing away from the leaky roof as Ernesto hid his face in
embarrassment. Apparently, he’d forgotten to fix one spot. Garb dampened and
dripping, Fratelli sulked towards the carriage then removed his shoes and wrung
them before stepping inside.
“Lord,
is this because I coveted the garden?” he dismally asked aloud, “Yes, I have learned my lesson. I see now
that it is your creation, which I have only tended- please forgive me and
shelter me from more rain!”
Chapter 3.
The Cardinal’s Bible
When Cardinal Fratelli returned home, he
removed his cold, wet garments, took a hot bath and went downstairs to eat
diner. He felt warm and comfortable in a dry cassock and his dull red
house-slippers, almost sleepy, but knew there was some work he had to do yet
before resting. After finishing his plate of chicken and roasted potatoes,
Fratelli went into his office to read over several documents that arrived that
afternoon.
One of these documents a theological
treatise, something he had to examine and approve. If the book taught in
accordance with church teachings and correct Christian doctrine, it would be
granted an “imprimatur”, official approval from the Church. Fratelli sat down
reading the book for a few hours then grew tired of it. So he set this down and
worked on something else. After a while, he stood up, paced for a bit then
considered going into the other room and fetching his Bible. Certainly, reading
Scripture would inspire him…
Going into his rather small library,
Fratelli carefully took from the nearby shelf an old, tattered, leather-bound
bible. He handled the tearing book delicately and brought it back to his office
where he rested in a chair and slowly opened it. The weathered, ancient pages
slipped through the torn binding, began falling out, and cascaded onto the
floor.
“Oh no!” Fratelli cried, trying to
catch them.
Hearing his lament, Father Rodrigo
entered. Seeing the floor littered with old, yellow pages, he explained, “Your
Eminence, perhaps it is time you bought a new bible?”
“But,”
the cardinal stammered, “I’ve had this one since seminary. It is so dear to me.
I will just pick these up and put them in order so they can be rebound.”
“Your Eminence, that will take
days…just get a new one.”
Fratelli furled his brows, pondering
and laid one exasperated arm on the desk. Rodrigo bent over scooping up the
fragile pages gathering them into a sloppy pile. He said, “I’ll go to the
printer tomorrow afternoon…would you like the new bible bound in red leather?
“No,
I do not like red.”
“You
don’t?”
“No, it is my least favorite color, you know
that.”
Observing the frustrated cardinal,
leaning in his chair, bright scarlet robes draping, Rodrigo didn’t mention it.
He left as Fratelli sighed and hesitantly continued working. Some days were
just difficult…
~
~ ~
Thin sunlight streamed through
windows, delicately brushing Fratelli’s face as he lay sleeping in bed. He
lifted the covers over his eyes and groaned.
“Your Eminence…”
Fratelli ignored
the voice, wanting badly to go back asleep. Father Rodrigo stood by his
bedside. At once, he tiptoed closer then shouted:
“Your
Eminence!!!”
Crying out, startled, Fratelli jumped
throwing the covers off himself and stared back irately.
Ignoring the
anger, Rodrigo calmly said, “We are late for morning prayer...”
The cardinal forgot his crankiness
knowing that God demanded his utmost attention and efforts. He dressed and
rushed downstairs into the chapel, kneeling for prayer, sleepily uttering:
“Lord
open my lips…and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
There were not truer words for this
moment.
During a light breakfast, Fratelli
rested, glancing out the window. Trees faded as the wintry side of autumn finally
showed its chill face. Wind howled against the window’s pane blowing a few
leaves around. He sipped his steaming tea, glad to be inside. Thoughts of
upcoming Christmas swirled in his mind, collecting and settling. This year, he
wished to do something gracious for his family and friends- something they
would remember.
Immediately, he straightened, drawing
Rodrigo’s attention. The priest asked right away:
“What, is the tea too hot?”
“No Father, I just had the
most-wonderful idea.”
Placing his
teacup down, Rodrigo asked,
“What idea?”
Fratelli smiled and replied:
“A great celebration
for Christmas. I shall invite all my friends and family and we will feast and
sing… I want to host a party they will always remember- with savory food,
flower bouquets everywhere and music- oh, a string quartet! It will be
splendid!”
“That does sound nice…”
“That’s because it will be!”
Fratelli
unseated and walked into another room. He held paper in his hand, setting it on
the table and began jotting things down. He smiled, writing more then laughed.
Rodrigo felt anxious to see what was written but waited patiently. Finally,
Fratelli gave the paper to him and as he read, the cardinal rushed out, his
feet scampering boyishly, excitedly shouting something unintelligible.
Later, Rodrigo went out, strolling one
mile through the city and visited a printer.
He’d ordered the cardinal’s bible that morning and was told to come back
for it. When he returned, clutching a shiny, black leather-bound book beneath
his shoulder, he found Fratelli busily reading in the office. He looked up at
Rodrigo’s footsteps.
“That bible is bigger than my old one,”
he commented, all previous excitement gone from his voice.
“That is because I had a few pictures
put in it.”
“Pictures?”
Fratelli took the bible, opened it,
smelling fresh ink, and shuffled though. His face still frowned, a bit upset at
having to replace his old bible. However, he glanced back and wryly grinned in
appreciation. Sitting back down, Fratelli now examined the first chapter of the
first book, Genesis. He seemed happier.
“Thank you Father,” he said without
looking up.
“Of course, Your Eminence.”
He left the man alone, reading to
himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment