Chapter 5

[Andy writes from Italy]

Major had a crew going over Prince as well as Duck and Mallard. Everyone returned to the village at night. Charlie took Tomas with him a day.

I spent the day with Bobbi. We had many tasks that we wanted to accomplish including marking a site for the first water wheel generator. We were outlining the site with hoes and shovels when two other of the young men came and tried to shoulder us aside and do the work.

Bobbi talked to them sternly and told me they said that this was man's work and we shouldn't be doing it. I went up to the one who had done most of the talking and slapped him hard. I don't think he had been hit that hard by a female before. I was not gentle.

He staggered back. I kept the hoe from falling and began to hoe. He came back at me and I decked him using one of the moves from Mom Janice. I stood over him. I said, "Bobbi, tell this worthless excuse for a male that my husband does not limit my activities nor do I his. We are equal. If he ever wants to be a man, he needs to treat women respectfully and as equals. If he doesn't treat me respectfully and as an equal, I will make him a woman. And, Bobbi, don't be polite."

She apparently did and I later learned she demonstrated an intimate knowledge of the male anatomy and what would hurt the most. The other young man colored red with rage and came at her. She decked him and resumed her harangue. She told me that they and their worms needed to return to the village and stay there until they matured, if they ever would. A few of the older women saw the altercation.

They left followed by the women who were laughing at them. By the time we returned to the village, Charlie and Tomas were returning from working at the airport.

The same two idiots had friends with them and tried to come at us again. This time, there were four. It didn't matter except that I was still wearing boots and, when I kicked, it was as hard as I could. He made interesting distressed sounds as he folded over my boot. I took care of one other and Bobbi got the other two. She began to shout at the four on the ground and the others with them.

Charlie came up to me and took my hand. I smiled at him. Tomas made a mistake. He was trying to either calm Bobbi or to take up for her but grabbed at her. She casually decked him and resumed her scolding.

Guiseppe came up beside me and whispered, "She has an excellent command of Italian. She is making it plain that she is an independent woman and will be respected and treated as an equal even if she had to beat every male in the village into understanding. I suspect she is quite capable of doing just that.

"Tomas just learned a hard lesson from her. She is truly a beauty but, like a rose, she has thorns. A man must have a delicate touch and must understand that she won't be tamed. A real man would be proud to have such a woman stand next to him."

Charles came up to Bobbi and said, "Sis, I think you made your point. You might help your boy friend to his feet since you're the one who decked him." Charles simply stood there quietly when she twirled around.

She looked at him and blushed. She looked down and saw Tomas looking at her with awe and even a little fear. She extended her hand down to him, helping him to his feet. He had a bruise on one cheek starting to color up.

Guiseppe translated to Charles and me what she said. "I'm sorry Tomas. I had been defending myself from those two and you grabbed me. I have been taught by my mother to respond violently to being grabbed. I hope I didn't hurt you badly."

Guiseppe continued with what Tomas said. "I am okay. I will be more careful. I must clean up. I have been helping Charlie work at the airport. I need to clean up from that."

I grinned. "Charles, you were more circumspect in your approach. You need to go clean up, too. That's where Bobbi and I were going when we were assaulted." I went to Bobbi and said, "Let's go clean up. I think your friends need a little time to process what happened."

Mom Janice came up to us as we headed to the guest house and a shower. "It's going to take a while to get them to understand. I've been tied up meeting with Poppa and Marco most of the day. I could tell Marco isn't totally comfortable with Poppa having me take the lead in our discussions. He's learning. His son will learn, too."

Bobbi said, "If he doesn't, I will bruise his other cheek."

We went to the ladies' communal showers and cleaned up. Bobbi asked me, "What happened, Andy?"

"First, Tomas is not the only one who can tell you're a beautiful female and to develop desire for you. Second, the first two learned a painful lesson and their pride was hurt.

"It takes a brave man to be humbled by a woman and just take it the way Tomas did. He really likes and respects you. Even lying on the ground after you decked him, he looked at you the way Charles looks at me."

"Do you think he might want to spank me?"

"No. There are two reasons. First, you aren't mean to others in your willfulness. Second, you could beat him up!"

"Andrea, I don't want him to be afraid of me!"

"He's not afraid but has learned that his United States rose has thorns. He has had an awakening. So have you. I needed Charles to discipline me for my own good. It hurt him more mentally and emotionally to do that than the physical pain I suffered. Just after we were married, he admitted that he almost didn't because he knew how much pain he would have to suffer in giving me the pain that was necessary to truly get through to me. Tomas has discovered that you won't be his 'little woman' like most females in Milan would be ready to do in an instant but are an able person fully capable of being independent."