Little Women: If Beth Had Lived 7: Rome

After their stay in London, Laurie and Beth visited Paris, where they toured the Louvre and saw the Palais Royale, the Tuileries Gardens, the Luxembourg Gardens, and the Pere la Chaise cemetery. Then they sailed up the Rhine hand in hand, marvelling at the beauty of the coastline. After visiting Germany and Switzerland, they went to Rome, where they met Laurie's Uncle Mario and Aunt Lucia and his cousins, Carlo and Gina. Laurie hadn't seen any of them since he had been a child. To Beth's immense relief, they all knew English well enough to converse, since she knew no Italian at all. Laurie's grandmother lived with them as well, but unfortunately, she knew no English.

Beth received a very warm welcome from Laurie's family, who acted as if they had known her for years.

"Beth is a very talented pianist," Laurie said proudly.

"That's wonderful!" said Gina, who was around Beth's age. "We're a very musical family. Carlo and I have been taking singing lessons for years, and we've performed in several operas."

"I've been trying to write an opera myself, but haven't had much luck with it," Laurie said. "It's a tragic love story. This fellow is madly in love with the girl next door, but she rejects him and he goes far away to wallow in self pity. Every time I try to work on it, I keep getting distracted by other thoughts, like how lovely Beth looks in her new hat sitting amongst the daisies. It's simply impossible for me to produce anything sad with Beth around."

"I'm very glad you came when you did, Theodore," said Aunt Lucia. "Your grandmother has been doing very poorly. She never truly recovered from the loss of your mother."

"I don't believe my grandfather ever got over the loss of my father either, although he doesn't show it," Laurie replied.

"You Americans don't know how to express emotion," said Uncle Mario. Laurie smiled. Beth didn't get it.

Laurie's grandmother lay in bed with her eyes almost shut. She looked very pale and weak, but her face seemed to brighten at the sight of Laurie. He went to her bedside, gently took her hand, and spoke softly to her in Italian. She looked greatly comforted by his words.

"Please play something for us, Beth," Gina begged. "Carlo and I are dying to hear you play."

"Yes, please do," added Carlo, who was around Laurie's age.

Beth blushed deeply and shook her head.

"She's very shy," Laurie explained to his cousins, who looked disappointed.

"How about if we play a duet together," Laurie suggested to his wife. "That won't be so bad, will it?"

Beth reluctantly agreed. When they were finished, Carlo, Gina, and their parents applauded so enthusiastically that Beth temporarily forgot about being shy.

Soon it was time for dinner, and Laurie patiently explained to Beth what each dish was. One she found delicious, and although she didn't care for the taste of another, she ate it anyway so that no one's feelings would be hurt.

After dinner, Carlo and Gina invited Laurie and Beth to attend an opera with them. Although Beth didn't understand a word of it, she enjoyed sitting with Laurie and holding his hand, and marvelling at her luxurious surroundings. It lasted a rather long time, and toward the end, Beth found herself suppressing yawns.

"It's been a long day, hasn't it?" Laurie said as they were preparing for bed. He touched her cheek tenderly.

"I've really enjoyed it, Laurie, but right now all I want to do is cuddle up with you and go to sleep," Beth replied. And so they did.

They awakened to sad news the following morning.

"Your grandmother passed on in her sleep last night," Aunt Lucia told Laurie. "She went very gently and quietly, without any pain."

Laurie looked crestfallen.

"Oh, Laurie, I'm so sorry," Beth told him. He buried his face in her breast, and she gently stroked the curly dark brown locks.

The family all worked together to prepare Laurie's grandmother's body for burial, and Beth did what she could to help. Laurie picked three tiny, cream-colored roses and gently placed them in his grandmother's hands.

Uncle Mario summoned the priest, who arrived and walked around the casket in circles, sprinkling incense, taking sips of wine, and speaking in Latin for what seemed like a very long time to Beth. When he was finally finished, Beth crossed herself like the others did. She meant to ask Laurie later what the symbolism of that was all about. She knew the story of Jesus on the cross and thought that it must be related to that.

Aunt Lucia and Gina both wailed loudly. Beth, unused to such displays of emotion, tried to hide behind Laurie. She kept looking at the pale roses in Laurie's grandmother's hands and thinking about the time she had had scarlet fever. She glanced at Laurie and wondered whether he was thinking about the same thing.

A pall of gloom hung over the home for several days afterwards. Beth spent a lot of time with Gina and got to know the young woman quite well. Gina spent hours relating her favorite stories about her grandparents, and Beth listened sympathetically. By the end of the visit, she felt almost as close to Gina as she did to her own sisters, and when it was time to say good-bye, she felt a sense of loss as she and Gina hugged and kissed, promising to keep in touch.

"I'm afraid we won't have as much time to spend in Nice as we originally planned," Laurie said apologetically as he and Beth planned to return to France.

"Oh, that's all right! I understand completely, and I really did enjoy meeting the other side of your family," Beth assured him.

"I knew that you would," Laurie said with a smile as he kissed her tenderly.

"Those red roses sure make me think of Jo," Beth said, nodding at a rose bush nearby.

Laurie picked one, grimacing as he did so. "Careful of the thorns," he warned Beth as he handed it to her.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Beth asked with concern.

"It's all right. It was worth it," Laurie said with a grin.