Carmella Commands
ment, refused to allow her to go to the movies with Nicolo. She met the latter one morning, as she was on her way to school.
“Say,” he began, “what’s the works?”
“It’s past me, Nick,” said Carmella, flushing.
“Dad’s got a grouch, I reckon. But believe me, when he says anything, it’s SO.”
“Aw, gosh! Listen, I can get away tonight. Are you with me? You can pretend to study with Amelia. See?”
For the sake of her self-respect Carmella consented. Prejudice among today’s youth against parental control is especially strong among the foreign-born. Descendants of the Mayflower group, who think they have trouble with their sons and daughters, know nothing whatever about it.
As they rose from table that evening, Carmella said to her mother:
“Can Giuseppe wash the dishes? Miss Silva says we’ve got to learn more history. I told Amelia I’d study it with her. She’s just plain dumb.”
And before her mother could answer, she had gone. Down the street she met the waiting Nicolo.
“So you made it this time,” said he, more sneeringly than she liked.
It started the evening wrong. Through the two-hour show Carmella found the hand-holding and the conversation slightly forced. She was disgusted by the “Western” that Nicolo applauded so heartily. The
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