Fords were Irish farmers, and the Vanderbilts were from Staten Island. They became wealthy because they worked hard in a country that let them. So you just tell Mrs. Chapin that the Heerys are on the way up, and you’re taking them with you.”
“His mother has another girl in mind for him,” Laura said softly, “And Colin is taking her to a regatta in Newport this weekend.”
“How do you know?”
“He told me. And that’s when I decided to take my vacation days and come up and help you. There’s nothing in New York for me. It’s over.”
That night, Enza made sure that Laura was comfortable in her room before she joined Ciro in their bedroom and climbed into bed. Ciro stacked the feather pillows around Enza like sandbags in a trench until she was comfortable. “Emilio and Ida offered to drive you and Laura to Lake Bemidji.”
“I don’t know if anything will lift Laura’s spirits.”
“I didn’t know that Americans made matches like our people do back on the mountain.”
“It’s worse. You match up the ladder, never down. You not only have to be rich, you have to be educated. Laura is so smart, but she didn’t go to finishing school. I guess that’s a requirement, to marry a Chapin.”
“I don’t want you to have any anxiety.”
“I can’t help it. She’s my best friend. And she’s unhappy.”
“So try and have some fun. You have time before the baby comes. There’s Serbian Days, you can show her Canada, the lakes—there’s lots to do.” Ciro kissed Enza good night.
Enza leaned back on the pillows and stared at the ceiling. Laura was a few years older than she, and knew that her friend felt pressure to marry. Laura was not meant to be an old maid, but she already felt like one. The new baby would go a long way in helping Laura feel useful, but Enza wondered if it might also make her sad, knowing that her future with Colin was no longer a possibility.
Serbian Days was a celebration that filled the Mesabi Range with visitors from northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and as far south as Chicago. Most families held their reunions and took their summer vacations during the festival week, and as a result, the range doubled its population. The stores on West Lake Street had sidewalk sales; eager to be a part of the action, Enza put out baby bibs, crib blankets, and flannel buntings she had made to sell. Laura marveled at the foot traffic, and promised Enza she would have the costume shop girls make all kinds of items to sell the following year.
Longyear Lake had a bandstand on the green, featuring a different group every night. There were fireworks over the lake, and shows that would highlight numbers from the dance contest that was held on the final night of the festival. Pappina and Luigi brought their son, John, who at five months old was already an active baby, a first class squirmer. Laura and Enza spread a blanket on the ground, while Ciro went for pierogies and soda.
“I could get used to this.” Laura smiled. “The fresh air, the lake, good friends.”
“Stay, then!” Pappina said.
“Do you know how hard it is to keep a room once you get it at the Milbank House?”
“It’s like gold,” Enza said.
“I was never a working girl, and I wish I could’ve been. But I went straight from my mother’s house to an apartment with Luigi. What did I miss?”
“If you like not knowing where your next paycheck will come from, if you’re able to make your own clothes from the ends in the factory, and if you like warm champagne in a paper cup on opening night at the opera, then the working-girl life is for you.”
“I’ll never know what it’s like, but I sure love hearing all about it,” Pappina said.
“It seems that girls always want what they don’t have.” Laura stretched her long legs out in front of her on the blanket, smoothing her skirt over them. “I wanted to be a petite brunette, and I’m built like a string of red licorice. I wouldn’t mind having my own baby on my lap, but I’m unmarried, not by choice but circumstance. So you see, we don’t necessarily get what we want, but we get something.”
Enza laughed, as she always did when Laura was philosophical. She tried not to think about what it would be like when Laura went back to New York. It had been a wonderful two weeks, more