Rico picked his way to her, purring, and she stroked his back, feeling the vertebrae underneath. He was thin, but he wore it well, as he had the excellent self-esteem of every feline.
“Elisabetta!” Nonna called from downstairs, and she threw off her sheet in alarm.
“Be right down!” Elisabetta jumped out of bed, slipped into her bathrobe, and hustled downstairs, with Rico at her heels. She hurried to Nonna’s bedroom and opened the door to find Nonna propped up on her pillows, holding a tiny white kitten in her lap.
“Isn’t she pretty?” Nonna stroked the kitten, which had a perfect triangle of a face, with round eyes as blue as the sea, a spongy pink nose, and wispy white ears.
“She is!” Elisabetta sat on the bed and petted the kitten, who purred immediately, a gratifying sound. “Where did you get her?”
“Teresa’s cat had kittens, and they needed homes. Teresa brought her by earlier this morning.”
“But you’re not supposed to get out of bed. What if you fell?”
“You think I can’t walk?” Nonna picked up the droopy kitten and placed her on Elisabetta’s lap, and Rico looked up from the doorway, his tail curling into a question mark.
“Oh no, I wonder what Rico will think.”
“I already told him. He has to get used to her, the way I got used to him. Old cats like us can change our ways.” Nonna chuckled, but it turned into a cough.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, and I feel good today. What do you want to name your kitten?”
“I don’t know. She’s as white as flour and chubby as a dumpling.”
“So how about Gnocchi?”
“Perfect.” Elisabetta laughed.
“I know you’ll take wonderful care of her, because you take wonderful care of me.”
“Thank you, Nonna.” Elisabetta kissed her on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Happy birthday. And don’t tell me you’re going out with Marco to celebrate.” Nonna wagged an arthritic index finger at her. “If you keep this up, he’s going to ask you to marry him.”
Elisabetta felt a guilty twinge. She hadn’t told Nonna about Marco’s proposal, since she hadn’t decided what to do. “Then I’ll tell him I need time to think about it.”
“Oh, good idea. Italian men love waiting.” Nonna snorted. “By the way, he left you a gift this morning. I saw it when I got the kitten from Teresa.”
“Marco, a gift?”
“Yes. He’s trying very hard, isn’t he?” Nonna turned to her night table, picked up a gift wrapped in silver paper, and handed it over.
Elisabetta read the card on top, recognizing Marco’s oversized and sloppy handwriting, with some letters facing the wrong way.
Elisabetta felt a wave of love for him, appreciating that he was trying to encourage her writing. She tore off the wrapping paper, and the gift was a notebook with lined pages and a painted sunflower on the cover. “Isn’t that so sweet?”
“Why is his handwriting so bad? Is he dumb?”
“No,” Elisabetta answered, defensive. “He’s very smart.”
“Then why can’t he write? His letters look like a child’s.”
“Boys never have good handwriting.” Elisabetta held the notebook to her chest, and Rico leapt to the bed. She watched to see how Rico would receive the newcomer, and so did Nonna. Gnocchi took the initiative, walking to Rico, and Rico purred loudly. “Look, he likes her!”
“I told you, he obeys me.”
* * *
—
Elisabetta arrived home after work, having floated through her birthday on a cloud. Paolo, his wife, Sofia, and the busboys had bought her a cake, and her regulars had tipped generously for the occasion. It had been a wonderful day and was going to be a wonderful night. Marco had been on her mind, and she couldn’t wait to see him.
She went to check on Nonna, but the older woman was asleep. Rico and Gnocchi were curled up together at the foot of her bed, so Elisabetta ran upstairs to get ready. She unbuttoned her work dress on the fly and slipped into her beautiful pink party dress, since they were going to a fancy restaurant. She jumped into her nice shoes, hurried to her bureau, and put on some new perfume, a freesia scent. She glanced in the mirror, loving the way the dress looked and grateful that Marco had bought it for her.
She paused, opened her jewelry box, and fished out the engagement ring. She slipped the diamond on her finger and turned her hand this way and that, watching the facets catch the