Stealing Pizza from Nonna

The setting: Last night, 25 people from the church choir and their families in an apartment celebrating the first choir director and her husband who are retired and visiting from Switzerland.

The victim: the previously mentioned choir director.

The scenario: We were all asked how much pizza we would like (since the visiting couple were paying for everyone's meal. Very, very kind.) I held up one finger (as most other people did) and figured we were telling how many slices we would eat (supper would be about 7:30 p.m. as usual. Kinda late for me.)

When we arrived at the apartment later and began chatting, people starting coming in with pizza boxes and saying the pizza type before putting it in people's laps. About half the room had pizzas on their lap (plenty of pizza for the entire group) when someone came in and prayed over the food.

After hearing the blessing, I got up, went over to the grandmother and asked, "Posso?" ["Can I?"] since she had the pizza type I had ordered too.
"Of course! Help yourself," she said in Italian.
"Wow, big pieces," I said and went back to my seat where two Romanian friends were staring with mouths tapping the floor. At first I thought they were just drooling over the pizza.

Allen finally picked up his bottom lip long enough to say, "You just stole her pizza."
"That's kind of a harsh way of saying it," I said lifting the cheese pizza toward my mouth.
"Becky," said Allen eyes wide, "everyone will get their OWN pizza."


I went over right away and tried to give back the pizza, rambling on about my confusion and repeated apologizing but she wouldn't hear it. The sweet grandmother commanded me, saying she was older than me and I had to do exactly what she said and there was no possible way for her to finish the entire pizza and to eat my new piece right away and come straight back for more.

She was a dear. I learned later she taught at Union College as the choir teacher for five years right after WWII and only departed from her favorite school to get married and follow her husband to France. Because of her traveling to France for mission work (her husband was a pastor), she got to put up a Golden Chord.

This woman is amazing. She's lived in France, Newbold, Switzerland, Italy, the States and Jerusalem, just to name a few places. She knows seven languages and says her husband knows three more than she does. Both were very charming and left you wanting to kiss their cheeks and give them Christmas cookies. Sadly, I had no cookies. But kisses were definitely in.