Looking for Alibrandi: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

It’s “tomato day.” Josie sits with her whole family in Nonna’s backyard, processing tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce. She and Robert call it “Wog Day.” Zia Patrizia reminds Josie that they’ve been doing this for more than 40 years. She sits next to Nonna, and Josie wishes Mama would sit over here and rescue her from the old ladies’ gossip. But then, Zia Patrizia asks Nonna if she remembers the year Marcus Sandford helped on tomato day. Both Josie and Robert perk up. Zia Patrizia explains that Marcus was an Australian policeman who helped them when Nonno and Zio Ricardo were imprisoned in a camp for Italian men during World War II.

Nonna and Zia Patrizia theatrically tell the story of Nonna going to speak to the army to ask them to give their husbands back. The army refused, and on her way home, Nonna ran into Marcus. She hadn’t seen him in two years by this point. He tried to get Nonno and Zio Ricardo released, but he couldn’t. So Marcus helped the women garden, process tomatoes, and even delivered one of Robert’s uncles.

Zia Patrizia says that Marcus loved her “little Roberto,” and Robert asks if that’s the one who died. The old ladies cross themselves and Nonna says that one day, they couldn’t find Roberto. Finally, late in the night, Marcus came back with Roberto’s body in his arms—the boy had drowned in the creek. Nonna says that she blamed Australia for Roberto’s death, since it was the country’s policy of imprisoning Italian men that meant Zia Patrizia was too busy to keep track of the boy. Zia Patrizia says that after that, they never saw Marcus again. Josie notices Nonna’s expression and thinks that Nonna saw Marcus again, but she takes another tub of tomatoes and goes to sit with Mama. The family has spaghetti that night. It’s a tradition that Josie knows she’ll never stop observing.