Chapter 53

“Yes, I suppose it does. And to be honest, there are times when a lengthy debate is helpful. I’ve been told that when Hitler invaded Poland, the Council had spent years debating a proposal to allow a railway tunnel from Italy to France to be run through Aragoni. If the tunnel had been built, the Nazis could have easily invaded despite Aragoni’s history of remaining neutral.”

“How often do you visit Conti?” Mrs. Piccioni said.

“At first, Dani and I flew down there every weekend, but as soon as Luciano had a handle on things, we cut the visits back to every other weekend, and finally once a month.”

“The people in Conti like to see Marco walking around the square with the boys,” Grandmother said. “It is reassuring to them in many ways.”

“I baptized them in my church,” Father Rinaldo said, “with the help of an Anglican priest from Aragoni.”

“Why Anglican?” Mrs. Rosati said.

“I’m not sure you want to go down that road,” I said, “you might not like where it leads.”