From Outsider to Insider

Tony Miles accompanied by the retiring teacher Bert Cooper parked his car at the Hotel Royal. The Education Department had informed Cooper that the new teacher had proceeded to their town and would be waiting at the hotel for them to make contact. Cooper headed for reception and inquired if there was an Enzo Comino registered there as a guest. The receptionist consulted the hotel registry book and quickly scanned the page. She looked up and nodded her head then phoned through to Comino’s room.

Bert Cooper indicated to Tony Miles sitting reading the morning newspaper then called his name when Tony appeared too engrossed in the news to respond. Tony moved to the reception counter just as the receptionist passed the phone over to Cooper. He inquired if he was speaking to Enzo Comino then looked at Tony Miles in surprise. He placed his hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Tony again speaking.

“He says his name is Angelo Comino, I thought we were expecting an Enzo Comino?”

A flood of memories came back to Tony Miles as he processed this interesting development. There’d been an Angelo Comino who was an assigned prisoner of war Italian working on their farm when he was a child Tony and his siblings Bert and Alice had followed this man around as the father figure on their property during the time their father Joseph and their elder brother had been away fighting in the war. Tony would have been about twelve at the time, but his memory was relatively clear still. This man had taught them much about agriculture and whittled toys for them out of dead trees. He’d taught them much about animal care too and preferred to use the horse to plough fields rather than the tractor. Animals responded to him. Their farm dogs always barking at strangers in a threatening manner when they appeared followed him around and seemed to understand his commands in Italian when he was mustering livestock.

Tony remembered that Angelo Comino slept in the barn loft and the dogs would sleep at the base of the ladder ears constantly alert to the presence of wild dogs migrating now and then to the farm to try and separate a calf from its mother at night. When the presence of these wild dogs was indicated by the farm dogs barking furiously Angelo would jump down from the loft and transfer his meagre bedclothes to the shed next to the yard where cows and their newborn calves were kept until old enough to understand they had to remain within the herd in the fields to be protected and not wander away. Tony as a young person had been fascinated with the amount of hair on Angelo’s back and chest and this gave him the feeling that this masculine figure was his safety. Tony also remembered that while Angelo spurned their tractor leaving it to the young Tony to operate exclusively, he was adept at fixing any kind of machinery and even sought out by neighbouring farm hands when they were unable to fix broken down machinery. Angelo had served in the transport wing of the Italian army before his capture.

These memories had come in rapid succession, and he grabbed the phone from teacher Cooper. He spoke excitedly.

“We were expecting an Enzo Comino as the replacement teacher, but you say your name is Angelo Comino?”

The receptionist thrust the booking register under Tony’s nose. She pointed to the entries. Angelo and Enzo Comino. He thanked her and spoke again.

“We are here to collect you for transport to the Miles farm where you’ll be billeted. All schoolteachers have stayed with us since the building of the school and community hall as we are the only farm with an attached apartment in the area. We will wait for you in the lobby.”

Ten minutes later the two hotel guests appeared with their luggage and looked around among those circulating in the lobby for their contacts from the Miles farm. Tom smiled to himself as he saw the aging Angelo. His Italian swagger was just as Tom remembered it though his hair was now grey from the hard life Angelo had experienced. His face was wrinkled now too but it was his childhood friend and tears formed in his eyes. It was like seeing a long departed relative after many years had passed. He moved forward to take the luggage and paused in front of Antonio who obviously didn’t recognize him.

“Angelo, do you remember three children Tony, Bert and Alice who used to follow you around during your time with us during the war? Well, I’m Tony and this is our retiring relief teacher Bert Cooper. We’ve been looking forward to your son’s arrival. The last full-time teacher was Ms. Rogers who left to get married and teacher Cooper was pulled out of retirement to temporarily fill the need.”

Angelo had been toying with the possibility he was returning with his son to the place he’d spent a few years since leaving Brisbane and recognizing the town station on arrival. But this would have been too much of a coincidence and he thrust it to the side in his mind wanting it to be true but not daring to believe it could be. He stared at this middle-aged man in front of him hardly daring to believe his good fortune.

“Tony,” he stammered?

He still retained his accented English, but it had been modified by all these years living in Australia now. Angelo moved forward to study Tony more closely and when finally convinced this was his young friend from long ago moved quickly to kiss him on both cheeks while both Bert Cooper and his son Enzo looked on incredulously. Bert Cooper indicated they’d better be moving along and indicated they should collect the luggage and deposit it in the car while Enzo completed formalities at the desk to check out of the hotel.

Bert Cooper indicated Enzo should join him in the back seat of the car as he wanted to orient him quickly to the school they’d visit after moving into the attached apartment and go through school records while familiarizing Enzo to the reporting requirements of the education department. The department would be sending a representative in a month to see how he was settling into his appointment and to observe his teaching techniques to see they were up to standard. Angelo sat in the front with Tom staring at the countryside looking for familiar places as he tapped his memories of travel to town to get supplies for the farm under the supervision of the woman of the home Judy Miles.

There were no more dirt roads around this rural district and even the long track from main road to the residence was sealed. Angelo was surprised when they saw the residential area in the distance. It was not the homestead of his remembrance, but two modern homes sat atop the hill as replacements which Tony remarked were the homes of Tony, Bert, Alice, and Gloria Miles joint owners now. Alice was married with children of her own one-hour drive from the Miles farm. Angelo later learned that as neighbour farms had been put up for sale the Miles family had bought their properties up and now owned the largest combined farm holdings in the district with several farm hands employed to work this giant complex of mixed agriculture and cattle breeding.

Tony explained that his elder brother who Angelo had met at the end of the war had been killed in a car accident with his wife and their only daughter Gloria was now living with Tony and his family in the largest new home with her own rooms. Unlike the old days with teacher rooms inside the home the teacher’s apartment had been built on top of a vehicle maintenance repair shop which was new, but the old barn Angelo remembered as his home for several years remained and he wanted to see inside and relive his experience with this family during the war. He wondered if the diamond python ever watchful over the grain storage and rodents that ventured to sample the crops had been replaced by another. It had never bothered him coiled around the rafters of the barn over grain storage while he used the barn as a residence at that time. Too small to swallow a human.

That evening the visitors were invited to Tony’s home and seats arranged on the back deck so they could all enjoy the meal together. Tony’s brother Bert not the teacher by the same name was there with his family to become reacquainted with his childhood mentor and while they were eating Alice with her family made an unexpected appearance bringing food with her to add to that already prepared to be self-served. It was at that party Angelo and Enzo were introduced to Gloria who was daughter of the eldest brother who’d died in a car accident along with his wife. Gloria looked after accounting, banking, and legal requirements for the private company the siblings had formed to care for their expanding holdings. She also manned the telephone party line serving the community along with Tony’s wife Amelia and shared driving the school bus with her too. Farmers in the area had all raised money to buy the bus for the school children’s use. Angelo remarked that during his time the kids had walked, rode their bikes, or used horses to get to school each day and it was reported to him that the school now served a much-expanded area with other small schools having been closed by the government and some of the farms served now were quite distant from them.

Angelo was treated with so much respect and love that evening he went to sleep that night the happiest he could remember. It was a bit cramped as there was only one double bed in that apartment, and he felt uncomfortable sleeping with his son. It would be fine for a married couple, but he was not used to this.

Enzo had been extremely happy to get such a reception and marvelled at the respect given his father. The Italian community had always had a siege mentality feeling they were not accepted and respected and had instilled this prejudice in their children as a way of steering clear of including who they considered outsiders into their families. Good to do friendly business with them but not to include in their families. To Enzo feeling the warmth of this inclusion he felt resentful these contacts had been denied him all these years.

Two days later Angelo having walked the length and breadth of this much larger property and finding little of his memories still in evidence he decided to return home to Sydney. He was seen off at the train station by the three Miles siblings who’d enjoyed their childhood experience with him and Enzo. He was showered with gifts on his departure thanking him for sharing his eldest son with them.

Enzo now felt totally at home and when not engaged in school activities voluntarily helped on the farm working hard alongside the family much to their appreciation. He even took his turn driving the school bus when the women were snowed under with their other duties, and all this was noted by Gloria who’d previously harboured prejudice against those her father fought against in the war. This prejudice was not shared by Tony, Bert, and Alice.

Gloria Miles had always found this hard to understand as her father’s health had been impacted badly by the war. But in the sudden appearance of the new teacher her prejudices were slowly eroded as she saw the respect he had for their family and his willingness to help the family out even though he had a full-time job as teacher for their community children and obviously relished his assignment. He paid rent and expected no favours from the family, but they showered them on him just as he poured his time into helping them too.

It was at one of the country dances in the community hall on school grounds that Enzo noticed Gloria sitting by herself without anyone asking her to join them on the dance floor. He felt sorry for her as no one should be left out of the fun. He walked over and asked her if he could sit there for a while, and she readily agreed. There was no ulterior motive as he realized there was a barrier between the different nationalities that was hard to penetrate but felt comfortable with this family. They chatted animatedly for a while and Enzo asked if she’d like to dance. She smiled.

“Enzo I can remember my father and mother enjoying these country dances and my dad would always pull this little girl up on the floor and dance with her when he was not dancing with my mom. Grandpa Joseph and Grandma Judy would urge me on, but I was shy. Then dad would pick me up and twirl around the floor with me in his arms while they all clapped. That was so special to me, and I was devastated when my parents were taken from me. So, all these years I’ve said no as I wanted to retain that special memory selfishly and after a while no one asked me anymore. So, I never learned to dance though as you can see these people look like they haven’t had many lessons either though they enjoy themselves despite that. So, I don’t know how to dance.”

Enzo processed this in his mind then decided to try again.

“I’d like to teach you if you’re willing Gloria it’s not good for you to isolate yourself from the community this way and I miss using those lessons we all learned in high school in Sydney. Once the rest of the community see you trying, they’ll begin asking you again.”

Gloria sat thinking for a while. She’d watched as all her school friends had got married and saw the happiness they had in their married life and sometimes felt she’d love to have a home of her own too but there was this retained shyness and she, having lost her parents felt she couldn’t survive another loss if a potential husband died. Farming could be a dangerous occupation for many reasons and men did die in their district from farming accidents. She felt this man was almost a part of the Miles family history and could be trusted even though his nation had been at war with hers long ago. So, she nodded.

“I’ll give it a try then Enzo. Thanks for encouraging me.”

She found it difficult at first to have her feet in sync with his at the same time and tripped up a couple of times, but no one seemed to be interested so she concentrated hard and followed Enzo’s lead. He led gently giving instructions as they went around then the music stopped, and they returned to their seats. She was happy for the first time that evening. She’d done the impossible. It had felt nice having a man’s arm around her too and she looked at this man in a new light. That was the beginning of a strong friendship between the two and they sought each other’s company from that time forward much to the delight of the Miles families who’d not seen her this happy since her parents died. They desperately wanted their niece to be happy knowing how hard it had been for her to lose her parents.

Enzo passed the education departments inspection a month after his arrival at the school with commendations. Parents and children spoke highly of him when surveyed and the children’s grades improved considerably under his tutorship as he made each level class interesting and instilled in them the desire to work hard at studies and develop an inquiring mind.

Soon after that Enzo received a letter from his father Angelo with the news the aged Constantine Ferrari had passed to his rest to the relief of the community in general. Constantine had become more and more dictatorial as he aged, and the community was in its second and third generation making rapid progress in assimilating into the wider community. The younger generation were not happy to only marry within their community and cultural taboos were breaking down quickly. Nevertheless, Angelo inquired whether Enzo wished him to begin searching for a suitable marriage partner. Enzo quickly responded he’d like to choose someone himself at the appropriate time but would seek his father’s counsel before me made that official. Angelo never raised the subject again with his son.

But this caused Enzo to ponder his father’s question. He was in his late twenties now and envious of the happiness he saw exhibited in the Miles extended family. He’d been accompanying Gloria to functions and assisting her in her work and Gloria in turn had been taking an interest in his teaching. Neither had made any approach to each other romantically but Enzo realized their interests were beginning to blend. He suddenly realized she was an important part of his life but the barrier against these so-called outsiders to his community had kept up his reserve between them.

But suddenly, he wanted to share his life with her permanently and that meant marriage. He’d feel devastated when the education department sent him a letter to advise him of his next appointment location and he wouldn’t have access to her anymore. He tried to sleep on it, but a sense of urgency overpowered him.

He got out of bed and spent the rest of the night writing to his father Angelo. He poured out his heart making it plain he’d not approached his love with a proposal and was aware of the disapproval this could bring about from the Comino family and the Italian community generally if he did marry outside the community. He wanted Angelo’s approval anyway to approach Gloria before trying his luck. It took two weeks to get a reply and Enzo imagined his father was very unhappy with him and this caused him further distress.

Gloria noted his unhappiness and tried to find out why he was so unhappy. Had something happened between he and the family, with parents, with children?

But eventually the letter came, and Angelo indicated no matter what the consequences Enzo should approach this woman to be his wife. She was after all part of a family who’d treated him so kindly during his captivity in Australia and he viewed the Miles family as an extension of his.

It was late in the afternoon when mail was delivered from town, and Gloria delivered the letter from Angelo to Enzo when he returned home from school. He’d done the bus run for the family that day and it was later in the afternoon. He quickly opened it and read the contents and shouted to Gloria who was heading with the mail to deliver to other families on the estate. She turned uncertainly to see a change in her friend. He’d not looked this happy for a long time. He ran to catch up with her. Enzo was breathless and flushed.

“Gloria, would you consider doing me the honour of becoming my wife. I’ve been plucking up courage to ask you for a couple of weeks now and just hope you’d consider this man with foreign connections to be a husband to you. I’d love you unreservedly and will always be there to support you if you’ll have me and I already have a demonstrated loyalty to your family.”

Gloria chuckled.

“So that’s why you’ve been so unhappy and unapproachable for a while Enzo. This is a surprise, but I do enjoy your company and would feel happy to be married to you so, yes! But what does your father say. Did you ask his opinion and is his answer in the letter I just delivered?”

“Yes, I did, and he encouraged me to ask you.”

“Then come around with me as I deliver the mail and we’ll share this with my family my husband to be.”

She took his arm and together they broke the news to the rest of the family who were overjoyed at the news.

Enzo’s amazing coincidence in being assigned in his first job to the place where his father had been interned during the war had morphed into a happy change in his life for the better.

Conclusion.

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