One Italian Summer

On the last day of her mother’s shiva, Katy Silver contemplates how her life will look without her mother’s influence. (In Judaism, a shiva period is a weeklong mourning ritual for immediate family members; shiva means “seven” in Hebrew.) An interior designer, Carol Silver preferred to keep their home clean and abided by a set of rules to live by, such as planting herbs but not flowers and always having fresh lemons at home. Katy considers breaking Carol’s last rule to never smoke with a cigarette between her teeth as she remembers her mother’s impact on those around her.

As Katy lists her mother’s endearing qualities and their weekly tradition of getting lunch together on Tuesdays, she centers her and her mother’s lives around the other: “My mother, you see, is the great love of my life. She is the great love of my life, and I have lost her” (3). Not only did Carol play an active role in their community, but she also maintained and organized her household as a wife and mother. She took on all the domestic responsibilities and prioritized Katy above all else. Through her grief, Katy realizes that she must take care of her father, who relied on Carol to cook every meal, and she must attend to the countless guests who have stopped by their family home to offer their condolences.