away with her handkerchief. “I plan to leave my tears between here and Penn Station. Once I get off the train, I’ll be fine.”
Ciro appeared in the doorway.
“I know, I know, Ciro, I have to leave now or I’ll miss my train.” Laura stood and snapped the clasps on her suitcase. She lifted it off the bed.
“I think you may miss your train after all.”
“Why? Has there been an accident?”
“No. There’s a delay.” Ciro leaned against the door frame.
“What do you mean?” Laura looked at her itinerary, as if it would hold a clue.
“There’s someone here to see you,” he said. “Will you girls come down to the shop, please?” He reached over and took the baby from Enza. “Follow me.”
Laura was confused, and Enza didn’t know what to say, so they followed Ciro down the stairs. Ciro went through the door first with the baby, followed by Enza. Laura came through the door last. Standing by the worktable was Colin Chapin, looking handsome but rumpled in a seersucker suit after the long journey. Seeing him, Laura was so stunned, it was as if she’d seen a ghost. She began to back out of the room toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Colin asked. “I came all this way for you.”
Laura stopped. “Why?”
“Because I love you, and we’re going to get married.”
“We are?”
“If you’ll have me.” Colin smiled. “And my boys. They’re part of the deal.”
“What about your mother?”
“I reminded her that her own mother was a Fitzsimmons who worked in a glass factory.”
“Your mother is lace curtain Irish?”
“The laciest.” Colin laughed. “Don’t make me beg. Will you marry me? The deal is on the table.”
Ciro and Enza looked at one another, and then at Laura. Laura took a deep breath and said, “I’ll take the deal.”
Colin laughed, and soon Enza and Ciro joined in. But Laura began to cry. “You’re all I ever wanted.”
“Then why are you crying?” Colin went to her, pulled her close, and kissed her.
“Because I never get what I want.”
“You can’t say that anymore, Laura,” Ciro said gently.
“Never again,” Enza agreed.
Laura Maria Heery and Colin Cooper Chapin were married December 26, 1919, at the Chapel of the Blessed Lady at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Colin noted that it was Boxing Day, which meant they would either have lots of fights or none. They chose the day because the Met was dark through New Year’s, and the boys were on school break; William was eleven, and Charles was twelve. The four of them went on a vacation to Miami Beach, which doubled as a honeymoon. Laura sent a postcard to Minnesota with three words written in her perfect Palmer penmanship: “Never been happier.”
Enza kept a playpen next to her sewing machine in the workroom. There was no separation between work and home life; Enza and Ciro happily blurred the lines. The baby liked to take his bottle and watch the light dance through the shade tree and into the window, throwing petals of shadow on the old tin ceiling. While Antonio napped, Enza was able to help Ciro as he finished the work boots. Enza would buff the leather, and place a wooden rod inside the shoe to stretch the leather under the metal toecap.
Ciro often came from the front of the shop to play with Antonio, throw him in the air, or take him to the yard out back and let him crawl on the grass. They found their son endlessly fascinating. Now that Antonio was almost two years old, he had playmates who came by with their mothers. Enza’s experience taking care of her brothers and sisters held her in good stead as a mother. There were many experienced parents around them. Ida Uncini, whose children were grown, made it a point to stop in and help out. Friends like Linda Nykaza Albanase would drop off a coffee cake and take Antonio for a ride in his pram.
Ciro’s shop on West Lake Street continued to be a magnet for the miners who were looking for a card game after a long shift. Ciro would make sandwiches of mozzarella and tomato; he made the cheese himself, as he had back in his convent days. Enza made fresh bread twice a week, and made sure that Ciro had his friends over on baking day to take advantage of the fresh rolls.
Ciro and Enza took turns making lunch for one another. Ciro would flip the sign in the window, and for