get enough of a loan from the bank to open both shops,” Ciro said. “The only problem is that we’ll be separated, essentially starting a business single-handed, even if we’re partners on paper. What do you think, Enza?”
“There’s a hospital in Hibbing, and Pappina needs to be close to it when the baby comes. There’s a trolley, so it isn’t difficult to get from here to there. I think the more boots you can make, the better off all four of us will be. It’s simple, really.”
Ciro and Luigi took Enza’s opinion seriously. She was experienced in weighing business propositions, first with her father, and later in the costume shop. Enza had learned that even the Great Caruso took extra jobs to fill his purse. He sang in the opera house, but he also performed private concerts for profit and made records of his arias. There was no such thing as a one-track career, and Enza knew the value of two men capitalizing on two towns that needed shoemakers.
“I liked Hibbing.” Pappina smiled. “But I leave the shoemaking to the shoemakers, and the business to you, Enza. You know what you’re talking about. I’ve only ever worked in my mother’s home, so I don’t know the first thing about ledgers, figures, and banks.”
One thing was decided for certain that morning. They were not going to run back to New York City at the first bump in the road. They were going to give the Iron Range a real shot. Luigi and Pappina left to meet up with Mel and sign the lease for the shop in Hibbing. They would also take the apartment above the shop, which was clean and spacious. Ciro and Enza stayed behind and spent the afternoon looking over the property at 5 West Lake Street.
A set of wide-plank wooden stairs, painted burgundy, led to the upstairs apartment. A large open living room with three windows overlooked the lake. A dining area connected to the kitchen. A hallway led to three bedrooms and a landing porch outside the master bedroom that overlooked the backyard. A small bathroom, one of the town’s only indoor facilities, was tiled in white, with white enamel fixtures.
Enza’s heart leapt when she noticed that despite the dark sky on that winter day, the apartment was filled with light because every room had a skylight in the ceiling.
“What do you think?” Ciro asked when he joined Enza in the room that would become their master bedroom. “The rent is three dollars a month.”
“Tell Mr. Butorac we will take it. You’ll make shoes in the front workroom, and I’ll sew in the back. We’ll do just fine.”
Ciro kissed his wife, certain that he was the luckiest man in the world for having married her. Enza’s practical nature was a tonic for the emotions that had controlled him all of his life. In her presence, Ciro forgot the isolation he’d felt as a child, and the injustice he’d endured when he was exiled from his mountain. He even put the anguish of war behind him. Ciro was in love with a good woman who had become his full partner, and they were going to build a life together.
Ciro unpacked the crates in his new workroom. He set up a pattern table, with bright metal lamps suspended overhead. He had purchased several planks of wood to build cubbies for storage, a top-of-the-line saw to cut the patterns, a buffing machine with four brushes, a threading machine, and a rolling machine to prep the leather.
Ciro had also bought a Singer sewing machine for Enza, with enough thread, needles, buttons, and trims to start her own business.
“Buon giorno! You look like you could use a hand,” Emilio Uncini said as he entered the front door of the shop. He leaned on the table and smiled at his new neighbor. Emilio was in his middle forties, with a thick thatch of gray hair, a small black mustache, and a winning smile. He placed his hands on his hips. “What is the wood for?” he continued in his rapid-fire dialect.
“I’m going to build shelves. I’m Ciro—”
“Lazzari. I heard all about you. Our prayers have been answered. We need a shoemaker.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a stonemason. I live one street over. I built the fieldstone wall around the library.”
“Very nice. So tell me about your town.” Ciro lifted the wood onto the pattern table, and Emilio helped him stack it.
“It’s a nice place. But watch your business. The Chisholm bank is solid,