VIII.
A Visit
Rosa is thrown into a frenzy of straightening up. The goats are moved to the garage. Only on the coldest days does Rosa bring them in. Mondo, who is around now more than he is at the halfway house, is pestered into moving his derelict cars back behind the garage and the two broken washing machines into the storeroom in the basement. The plaster Virgin in the dining room is sponged off, as well as the leaves of the rubber tree, which has grown as high as the ceiling. Thanks to her aunt’s teaching, kitchen and bathroom can stand any inspection. Only when all this is accomplished does Rosa set a date, the first Sunday in March, for Gina to come.
They arrive after ten o’clock mass in a long gray Mercedes Benz. Mondo, who still has not found a job, has been sent to the Mexican
