Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl

Aunt Phil earned her money the hard way. She conducted her business from a grand old brownstone. Six steps up from the curb in Trenton, Aunt Phil snacked on pigs’ feet and read Oggi. At the far end of Jersey, the ponies waited in the dew of early morning. She put a pot of tomatoes to simmer and the calls came.

“The price is right, Phil, Cheap Shot, 20 to 1 in the fourth.”

Aunt Phil scratched numbers on slips of paper and entered bets into a notebook where she did the “figurin’ up”. Handicaps and hunches were tacked on the wall. She kept impeccable records of bets placed, payoffs made and debts owed. The TV was on; she never moved the dial. Her eyes scanned the rosters and one ear was always tuned in to the bawdy announcers. By midday the sauce glistened and pasta waited in the pot. The men came, steelworkers with union connections.

Business couldn’t be done without a bottle. Aunt Phil sent her homemade grappa around the table in shot glasses and jelly jars. With craps and card games, she sealed ward votes with grim determination and reliability.

Admirers, petitioners and business associates came and went. Aunt Phil negotiated, her rasp was authoritative. She did not waver as she spoke to the men with ruddy faces and the love of fast ponies. The “constituents” waited, composed, for her response. Aunt Phil minced no words; most of these hardhats wouldn’t pluck a hen without consulting her first. When business was done, she put a roll of bills in the cigar box and secured her paperwork from the day’s take. Then she hitched up her skirt and headed to the 4th floor bedroom, her footsteps muted by the El train. The glare of its lights washed the walls with grains of yellow. Aunt Phil gently tucked the blankets around her children.
She touched each curly head and made the sign of the cross.
“Ti’amo, ragazzi, a domani.”

Story ID:	826
Written by:	toni giarnese (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Location:	new hartford usa
Year:	2007