Back in St. Louis, Lena quickly became Annette's caretaker and her favorite person. Annette loved those years. Grandma Lena cooked her favoriate foods and took her shopping (still a favorite activity). Marie went back to work as a suitmaker, and Dave got a job driving a city bus. This was a typical Italian family: grandparents Ben and Lena, Dave and Marie, Frank and Marge, Tony until he married, and Benny (Junie). Junie was only eight years older than Annette, so he became her surrogate older brother. At night, the family would go to the Italian shops for desert or to the riverboat on the Mississippi to see the entertainers.
