That's my little piece of heaven. Go ahead." Ciro followed Demo through the open door to a small enclosed garden. Terra-cotta pots positioned along the top of the stone wall spilled over with red geraniums and orange impatiens. An elm tree with a wide trunk and deep roots filled the center with the garden. Its green leaves and thick branches reached past the roof of Demo's building, creating a canopy over the garden. There was a small white marble birdbath, gray with soot, flanked by two deep wicker armchairs. Demo fished a cigarette out of his pocket, offering another to Cairo as both men took a seat. "This is where I come to think."" Va been," Cairo said as he looked up into the tree. He remembered the thousands of trees that blanketed the Alps; here on Mulberry Street, one tree with peeling gray bark and holes in its leaves was cause for celebration.

The Shoemaker's Wife