Free Rosalia's Bittersweet Pastry Shop by Rosanna Chiofalo Page A

but my father would not allow it,’ I said.
    â€œ ‘Why not? I come from a respectable family, and I am asking him for his permission before taking you out. What harm can there be in going to the cinema?’
    â€œI wanted to tell him that only a moment ago he had had the audacity to ask me to take a walk with him in the piazza while my father was away, but I dared not. He’d shown how quickly his mood could change, and something inside me warned me not to stir his temper.
    â€œSo instead I said to him, ‘Marco, it’s not you. My father does not wish young men to begin courting me until I am nineteen, and he doesn’t approve of the cinema.’
    â€œHe asked me, ‘How old are you now?’
    â€œWhen I told him seventeen, I couldn’t help smiling a little, feeling as if I’d won.
    â€œAgain, Marco’s face flared with anger. He put his hands in his trousers’ pockets and began circling the front of the store. I could see he was desperately trying to think of a way around my age.
    â€œThen he said, ‘Maybe if I talked to your father he would have a change of heart?’
    â€œMarco’s voice sounded desperate. I didn’t want to encourage him. Though I was afraid to be honest with him, I knew I had to, for he was determined to court me.
    â€œSo I said, ‘Marco, you seem like a nice boy, but I am also not ready to be courted. I’m sorry.’ I kept my gaze lowered as I said this.
    â€œ ‘I am a man, not a boy!’ he shouted as he pounded his fist on the counter, causing me to take a quick step back.
    â€œI held my hands up, saying, ‘I did not mean to offend you, Marco. I’m sorry. Please, calm down.’
    He shook his head fiercely and said, “‘You are just afraid of your father, Rosalia. I can see that.’
    â€œIn my head, I was screaming, No, I’m afraid of you! But I refused to let him see just how fearful I was.
    â€œ ‘Don’t worry, Rosalia. We will find a way to be together,’ he told me before coming around the counter and toward me. I continued backing up, but he firmly placed his hand on my wrist, squeezing so hard that I had no choice but to stop.
    â€œHe lowered his face near mine, and I squirmed, turning my head to the side. But he still managed to plant a kiss on my lips. In that moment, my own fury was unleashed and, with my free hand, I struck him across the face. He let go of me and rubbed the cheek I had slapped. I ran to the front of the shop and opened the door, screaming,‘Get out! I never want to see you in here again!’
    â€œI began to relax when he walked toward the door. He was about to step outside, but then hesitated and said, ‘You are not feeling well today. I am not upset with you. I’m sure you will be feeling better the next time I visit.’
    â€œAnd with that he left. I closed the door and locked it. My body was shaking all over. When my father returned, I told him what had happened. I was terrified of Marco, especially after that day, and I didn’t want to be alone at the shop the next time he came by. I also told my father how I’d noticed Marco was spying on us every day, waiting for his chance to come visit me when I was alone in the shop.
    â€œSo the next day, my father told me to stay at home. My brother, Luca, was visiting from the seminary. Papà asked Luca to accompany him to the shop. I suspected they were going to warn Marco to stay away from me.
    â€œThat evening, when my father and brother came home, Luca told me, ‘Don’t worry. That beast will no longer bother you.’
    â€œI breathed a sigh of relief, but I still felt a bit uneasy. Marco had managed to give me a good scare. My parents thought it best for me to stay away from the tailor shop for a few weeks just in case Marco was crazy enough not to heed my father’s and brother’s threats to stay away from me. This way, he would see I was