Chapter threeMarch 1944
Fiume
The Saforo family were feeling much more settled. They had made the stone storehouse into a homely space, filling it with cushions, rugs and knitted blankets. They used boxes for cupboard drawers, which the children were encouraged to brighten with crayons.
Winter eventually gave way to spring—a busy time at the farmhouse for planting, pruning and trimming. Always looking for a way to repay the Coletta family’s hospitality, Contessa and Nonna threw themselves into the work. They were often seen wearing gloves, with turban-like scarves around their heads—turning the soil, clipping branches and removing diseased stems that had struggled to thrive through the winter.
For Contessa the work was very satisfying, and helped to take her mind off worries about the
