The Sicilian Inheritance

Giusy and police officer Fina take Sara to a secluded café in Sicania, a village near the ocean. Fina produces a large book containing ecclesiastical records of Caltabellessa’s births, deaths, and marriages, but the book has no record of Serafina’s death. They find records of last rites on her land, confirming that she used it as a medical clinic. Since there is no record of her death, the church couldn’t have given her a funeral or a proper burial. Fina explains that in the church’s eyes, Serafina never died, complicating her land ownership.

Fina and Giusy introduce Sara to the handsome young chef Luca, and Sara is instantly attracted to him. He is attractive, but she is enticed into cooking with him. Giusy tells Luca that Sara is a chef, and he invites her to assist in slicing the tuna and preparing the meal. For a moment, Sara forgets her troubles, lost in the thrill of cooking. Back at the table, the women sample Luca’s delectable dishes while Fina regales Sara with a brief history of Sicily. She explains how the mass exodus of the men briefly freed the women to work and pursue their dreams. When the men returned or summoned their wives to the US, they resumed their traditional roles. Giusy and Fina share the legends surrounding Serafina, and Sara struggles to reconcile these depictions with the saintly image she knew. She thought Serafina was like the obedient Penelope waiting for Odysseus, but Giusy counters, “I do not think Penelope stayed saintly and chaste while Odysseus was gone. I think Penelope fucked” (192).

They learn from the record book that Marco gave Serafina the land, and he died when he was just 45. Giusy says it was rumored that Serafina and Marco had a love affair. Sara wonders if Marco murdered Serafina, but Fina says her injuries were more consistent with the Cosa Nostra. Luca suggests they go swimming, and Sara sheds her clothing and luxuriates in the ocean water. She thinks of Rosie, who taught her to swim. Luca sneaks up on Sara and tries to pull her under the water. She instinctively kicks him and bloodies his nose.

Fina and Giusy stay on the beach drinking. Sara borrows Fina’s car to find her family’s land. When she finds it, its beauty awes her. She climbs to the top of a stone tower to admire the view. She imagines bringing Sophie there and sharing adventures. She misses Sophie and calls Jack, but he doesn’t answer. Two armed men with a dog await her at the bottom of the tower. Sara recognizes one as Giusy’s cousin, who is in Cosa Nostra. They know her identity, but Sara pretends not to understand. As she crawls under the fence to her car, one of the men warns, “Women like you disappear every day here” (203).

Serafina wakes in Rosalia’s cave, surrounded by all the women except Cettina. Rosalia treated her broken ribs and the gash in her head. When the other women ask what happened, Serafina lies and says a horse kicked her. Later, Carmine accuses her of murdering the man. Marco comes to Serafina’s house to check on her. Cettina doesn’t go to Rosalia’s because she is afraid of Carmine. Marco says Serafina is like family to Cettina, but Serafina knows that “[b]lood was blood, and nothing was stronger” (207). Marco helps Serafina stitch the gash in her head, and she kisses him. Soon, they are tangled up on the floor, kissing and touching each other passionately. They stop only because Serafina hears a sound and worries her children will see. Marco leaves as Serafina proclaims that they cannot meet again. Marco says he regrets nothing, and Serafina knows they will meet again.

Sara returns to the hotel, still shaken from her encounter with the landowners and bleeding from her forehead. She searches for Giusy and finds her living quarters empty, so she lets herself inside to find a band-aid. There is a photo of Giusy and Fina on the bedside table, and Sara wonders if she is hiding anything. There is a journal stuffed with articles and restaurant reviews about Sara and her restaurant, La Macellaia. The journal is Serafina’s diary—a detailed account of her life as a healer and her deep friendship with someone called “C.” Some of the pages were ripped out. Sara is confused about Giusy hiding this from her. However, she marvels at the difference between the saintly woman she grew up learning about and the Serafina that comes to life on the pages of the journal. Sara sees Giusy at breakfast but does not mention the confrontation with her cousin or the journal. Sara is taking the bus to Palermo to deal with her stolen passport, and on her way to the bus station, she sees Luca.

Paola’s husband accuses her of infidelity and takes another wife in the US. He demands that she send the children to join him. Paola jumps to her death from a tall cliff above the village. Cettina believes the accusations of Paola’s betrayal. Serafina knows they aren’t true because Paola never asked her for help in preventing pregnancy, unlike many of the village women. Serafina feels guilty conversing with her best friend while having a secret affair with her husband. She and Marco have been meeting in secret regularly for a month, and her love and passion for him grow when they are together.

Marco is a kind and generous mayor who diligently works to help the villagers. When the flu breaks out, Serafina creates a tent hospital to keep the sick isolated. Marco offers to give Serafina a piece of family land below the town to build a clinic. At first, Serafina declines, noting that Gio would never allow it, and it would spark further rumors. The land is near the place Carmine attacked her, though he hasn’t been seen since the attack. Marco insists, citing what the rumors did for Paola. He declares his love for Serafina, and she accepts his gift.

Luca apologizes to Sara for frightening her in the ocean the previous day and offers to drive her to Palermo. Sara doesn’t want to appear weak, although she admits to herself that she’s felt powerless since closing the restaurant. While walking to his car, Luca speaks to the local baker and others. Nicolo, who sketched Sara, tells her to keep the sketch because he is a famous sculptor, and it might be valuable one day. Sara enjoys being in the car with Luca, as she is physically attracted to him and his love for food and cooking. As they drive past Marsala, Sara’s namesake, he explains the town’s name came when Arabs conquered it.

Luca suggests they stop and have a picnic on the beach. He takes Sara to shop in a local grocery store, and they leave with armfuls of delicacies. Luca enjoys watching Sara eat on the beach, and they share how they became chefs. After culinary school, Sara apprenticed to become a butcher. Luca spent his first few years as a young chef in New York, learning about international cuisine. He returned home five years ago because he missed his mother and the simplicity of Sicilian food. Sara goes for a swim, and when she returns, Luca is sleeping. When he wakes up and notices she has been watching him sleep, he says he wants to kiss her. Sara initiates a passionate kiss, and Luca responds hungrily. He leads her into a cave, where they have sex. They swim back to the public beach and finish their picnic. When they return to Luca’s car, the windows are smashed, and there’s a note inside reading, “Does your wife know about you and the American whore?” (247).

Serafina uses the land Marco gave her to create a clinic. She hires nurses from the mainland, many of whom she suspects were running away. She is sure that two nurses are in love with each other. The clinic is often crowded, and with each new outbreak, Serafina learns more about helping people. When Gio learns of the land and clinic, he considers the monetary value of the land. He wants to sell it and purchase a family home in the US. Gio visits her, and she uses a treatment to prevent getting pregnant. Soon, Gio’s letters stop, as does the talk about her moving to the US.

Marco becomes gravely ill, and Cettina rushes to get Serafina. She says Carmine returned and is angry about the clinic near his land. Serafina comforts Marco, who is dying in bed. He tells her he wanted to spend his final moments with her, so she climbs into bed to hold him, and Cettina sees.