“You’ve done a lot on your own, haven’t you?”
“I guess I have. My father was wonderful, too. I think he wanted to be sure that I was strong and able to survive. But his protectiveness prevented him from marrying again.”
“It sounds like he never stopped grieving for your mother.”
“That’s perceptive of you; I think that’s right. I had a ghost for a mother. Fortunately, I later met Lella, when I was at the University of Bologna. She was at my father’s book signing. She was younger than my mother would have been, but I secretly wished that my father would marry her. Of course, Lella was already married and had two children.”
“You two have been close ever since that time?”
“Yes. Her own daughter was a little distant, and she was drawn to me. She used to come down to the farm for the weeken
