he next evening, after supper, Tommaso settled himself in his chair with his pipe, and called Carmella to him. It was Saturday, and all day she had been with him and Dixon, out near Greendale, on a new contract.
Tommaso had noticed that his partner was teaching the girl to drive the small automobile which their business now warranted, for errand-running in and out of town. She would be old enough for a driver’s license soon.
She responded to her father’s call by curling on the arm of his chair, and he put his arm around her. Although this was the usual hour for his lesson in English, he began to speak in Italian.
“You like Dixon?” he asked abruptly.
“Surely, padre! He is a wonderful man. I’m going to marry him some day.”
Tommaso nearly lost the pipe from his mouth in his surprise. He closed his teeth on it, and smoked in silence for a few minutes, hoping not to betray his emotion. Finally he spoke:
“But not till you finish school, carissima.”
[268]
