Free Having Fun with Mr. Wrong by Celia T. Franklin Page B

Pain made more of a man out of him.
    Sometimes the pressure of being the strong, masculine, dependable protector was too much. First, for his mother. Now, Carmala. Mostly, he didn’t mind. But some days, like today, he wished someone would show him a little caring.
    The guys at work were beefy, no-nonsense tough guys. Same with the guys at the gym. And he could absolutely not let Carmala or Mama know about his needs. He shouldn’t even have emotional needs. Really. He was a man, the man of his house for all the years he could remember.
    Maybe things would’ve been different if he hadn’t lost his father when he was a boy. As he glanced at the bottle of Italian wine, Guido drifted to memories of his past. As a young boy, Guido lived on the family grape farm of Cortollo Acres in Italy. The memory that stood out most in his mind was of the day his father told him he planned to send him and his mother to the New Country.
    “Son, you going to be the big man. The man of the house. No time for toys. No games.” Papa had gathered Guido’s action figures and thrown them in the trash.
    Guido had begun to cry. The slap had come fast and stung his cheek.
    “No son of mine is gonna cry like a sissy. Stop it or you’ll get the belt!”
    Guido sniffled but wiped his forearm across his eyes to dry his tears. “But, Papa, I can be the man and still play.”
    Papa ruffled his hair. “Come on now. Stiff upper lip.” He led him to the rickety wooden kitchen table in their poorly furnished farm home. “Your papa has to ask you to grow up quickly. You’re going to take on some important responsibilities. Are you ready to be a big boy and listen to me?”
    “Yeah, Papa, I can do whatever you ask of me.”
    “Good. I’m gonna send you and Mama to America for a better life. I’ll set you up in a nice home in an Italian neighborhood. Once I get enough money together, I’ll meet you there.”
    “What about Grandma and Grandpa?”
    “You don’t worry about them. We’re going to sell the farm, and they’ll be joining us. We’ll be one happy family, living in the Land of Opportunity.”
    “I like it here.” Guido whimpered, instantly fearing another slap.
    Papa raised his voice. “You need to stop acting like a sissy and hanging onto Grandma’s skirts. There’s nothing here. No work, no good schooling for you. You and Mama will do fine, and I’ll be there before you know it.”
    “How soon?”
    “You don’t need to worry about that. Now I want you to pack your things into your backpack, only take what you can carry,” Papa had said.
    The pasta threatened to boil over, snapping Guido back to the present.
    He tasted a strand of spaghetti. Still not quite there. He continued to stir the pasta, and his mind once again drifted back to the past.
    He and his mother had lived in the States without his father for over a year. Pa sent money every so often but sent no word on when he’d be coming over to join them.
    Mama was happy in her new home in Brooklyn. She had the modern conveniences of a dishwasher, shower, and bathtub, and a private sitting room where she could do her crocheting.
    Guido had many friends in school. The other students looked up to him since he was so serious and mature. He supposed all the responsibility he took on gave him an air of authority.
    Papa finally came to the States soon after Guido’s ninth birthday. Guido was glad to be a family again. Only, Papa got an important job with the union, and he was never home. Mama didn’t seem to care. She had the company of her sister, his Aunt Clara, and the two of them were busy shopping, cooking, and crocheting.
    One day Papa hadn’t come home at all. There’d been an accident at the construction site. Months later, a check came in the mail for over a hundred thousand dollars. Mama said it was from Papa’s life insurance. They moved into a bigger house. Guido continued to excel in school, getting easy straight As and being elected class president. But Mama