Christ in Concrete

Annunziata has prepared cakes and other treats for Good Friday. A woman named Angelina finds Geremio’s son, Paul. Her husband works with Geremio on the construction site and has been injured. Annunziata longs for Geremio. Paul rushes to his uncle Luigi’s home (or Ci Luigi, as Paul calls him in Italian). When he learns of the accident on the job site, Luigi cries. On Easter morning, Paul returns to the police station with his sister, Annina. He learns that his father has died. Paul, Annunziata, and Luigi are wracked with grief. Luigi calls out a message to his dead brother-in-law: “But why, Geremio—but why?” (30). The family holds a funeral for Geremio. Paul is heartbroken at leaving his father buried alone in the soil. Annunziata tries to jump out a window, but Paul stops her. He consoles her by saying that he will be the father of the unborn baby.

Annunziata goes into childbirth. She summons a midwife, dame Katarina, who brings some women—including Cola, the widow of Geremio’s deceased coworker—to assist her.