Corn Rose
A Novel
by
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“Let's take a walk around the place before turning in. It's a beautiful night!” Rose pulled Jack down the steps, and started to run, laughing and twirling, coaxing him to follow. The fragrant spring air and moonlight had an intoxicating effect on her. He caught up easily, his long strides making two of hers. As he grabbed her hand, she stumbled and fell, bringing Jack down with her, both laughing as they tumbled to the ground near a lovely willow tree. They lay under the tree for awhile, away from the farm house and it's lights. Rose noticed how cozy it all looked, lanterns softly glowing through lace curtains. If only the people inside were as inviting, she thought. The moon cast a silvery glow on her face. “You look so pretty in the moonlight.” Jack said, tracing her face with a finger as he positioned himself above her. His simple way of expressing things was one of the things Rose found most endearing about Jack. He pulled her arms above her head and held them there, kissing her neck and, whispering endearments that young lovers do, melting her heart in the process. His hands cupped her breasts, and she smiled. “Would you like a midnight picnic?” Rose teased. “What's on the menu?” “A little of this…a little of that…and, lots of dessert!”
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About the Book
Rose Calamia is a first generation Italian American working girl in a 1945 aircraft plant, when she meets Iowa farm boy, Jack Conner. Jack has recently been discharged from the Army and is still licking his wounds from an all too familiar war time casualty--a “Dear John” followed by divorce. When their love affair leads to a wedding and a move to Jack's home community, Rose is totally unprepared for the life that awaits her in rural Iowa. Ever the sheltered daughter and sister in a family steeped in old world traditions, Rose is exposed to Jack's world which is the polar opposite. Living with her in-laws for the first few months of marriage, Rose is homesick and unsure of her hasty decision to move back to the Midwest with her husband of three months. On top of all the other adjustments (no modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing) Rose harbors a secret, her pregnancy. Her mother-in-law, Bess is determined to sabotage Jack's marriage to this skinny foreigner and “city gal,” whose skin is dark and ways unlike any she's familiar with. Rose's determination to endure and love her husband is tested when she is called home for her mother's funeral. Once back in warm, sunny California -- Iowa, Jack, and the harsh Midwest seem worlds away. Rose has to decide if what she wants is in Iowa with her husband or in the comfortable surroundings of California and family --and an old flame who awakens her heart in ways she thought were dead. Rose's struggle, like so many women of her generation, is a tug-of-war between what is expected and what desires are left over for her in the ash-heap of duty and subservience. Rose's final decision will test her character and surprise her harshest critiques.