Dear Maria,
I hope all is well back at home. Are the children getting better? Is our eldest okay now? Things are not the same without you here. I miss your joyous laughter and happiness you brought to the room. Rodolpho and I have arrived safely at The Carbone’s home in Brooklyn. It is much nicer than our house, and the city is beautiful. We arrived with no worries, and the longshoremen have gotten us to work immediately. I wish I could be home right now but alas, I need to remain in America for a few years to earn enough money to keep our family healthy. I hope the money I have been sending over has been spent well and has been enough to afford food and medicine.
Beatrice and her family are lovely and have been very hospitable. Beatrice is as strong and kind-hearted as ever, and has been more than welcoming to us. They still have Catherine, who is seventeen now. She has just acquired a job as a secretary too, which is wonderful. She has grown up as a beautiful young woman, in heart and appearance. Eddie however is different. He is a very stubborn man, although quite generous. He does not seem to be the same as Beatrice and Catherine though. Rodolpho and I have settled in well, we now work at the docks, unloading and loading cargo ships. No one has taken too much notice to myself, however Rodolpho has gained the nickname “Canary” as he likes to sing around the docks. Most of the other longshoremen talk about Rodolpho and how much joy he brings to the docks. Nothing negative has come of it so far but I am concerned about the way he’s acting. It feels like he sometimes forgets that we are there illegally and could be in very big trouble if anyone decided to run their mouth too far. So far Rodolpho and I are earning about forty dollars a week, most of which I have been sending home to you, however Rodolpho has been spending his money immaturely on fancy clothes and records.
Rodolpho has taken a liking to Catherine, too. He wants to marry her, whether Eddie and Beatrice know yet, I do not know. Catherine seems to have been enthralled with Rodolpho since we arrived. It seems they do not have many boys who can sing and cook and make dresses over here, especially blond on...
