Raffaela grinned at her. “Perfect.”

Soon, they developed a rhythm, working alongside each other silently, the only sound that of the sizzling oil as Raffaela dipped the shells into it.

“I’ve never had a homemade cannoli,” Sabrina said. “I’ve bought some from the store, but they were often rubbery.”

“Well, you haven’t had a real cannoli until you’ve tried one of mine.”

“I can’t wait.” She smiled. “What will we do after all the shells are fried?”

“Once the shells are cool and we’ve filled them with the cream mix, we’ll have to hide them.”

“Hide them?” Sabrina asked curiously.

“Because if my husband or Daniel find those before dinner, they’ll eat them. They can’t keep their hands off them. Around cannoli, those two are worse than kids.”

Sabrina laughed. “Yeah, I can picture Daniel like that.”

“That boy can be a handful.” Raffaela shook her head and handed Sabrina another cooked shell.

Carefully, Sabrina removed the last shell from the tube and placed it on the rack to cool.

Raffaela retrieved the filling from the refrigerator and placed it in front of Sabrina. “I’ll have you scoop all of this into a large Ziploc bag.” She placed one in front of Sabrina.

Sabrina spooned the cream filling into the Ziploc bag and closed it. “Okay, now what?”

“Snip about half an inch off one of the corners.”

By doing so, the Ziploc bag turned into a pastry bag. Raffaela showed her how to hold the shells and squeeze the filling into it.

“Don’t worry if the ends don’t look pretty. We’re just going to dip them into toppings anyway.”

There was something calming about the monotony of picking up a shell, filling it, and then setting it back down before repeating the process.

“Shall we try one?” Raffaela suggested, lifting one of the filled shells to Sabrina’s mouth.

Without hesitation, Sabrina bit into it and chewed. The contrast between the crunchy shell and the creamy filling was perfect, as were the flavors that complemented each other.

“Hmm, it’s amazing! That’s the best cannoli I’ve ever tasted!”

Raffaela beamed.

“Last time Daniel visited, he brought Audrey with him. I asked her to help me make cannoli, too, and she asked why make them when she could just buy them. And that the bakery she went to in New York made better ones than anyone else.”

Sabrina almost choked on the shell. “How could she say that without even giving yours a try?”

How heartless of Audrey to insult the mother of her then-boyfriend. Sabrina put her hand over Raffaela’s hand holding the cannoli.

“Yours are the best ever, and no bakery in New York or anywhere else can hold a candle to them.”

Then she took another bite of the divine pastry.

“I think you and I will get on splendidly,” Raffaela assured her and smiled broadly. “Absolutely splendidly.”

9

“Would you like some more pasta, dear?” Raffaela asked, hovering over Sabrina’s plate, spoon poised and ready to scoop out more food.

“Oh, no thanks.” Sabrina put her hand on her stomach. “I’m stuffed. I couldn’t possibly eat another bite. But thank you, Raffaela. Everything was delicious.”

Raffaela turned to her son. “Daniel?”

“No thanks, Mom.” Daniel set his napkin on the table, indicating he was done eating. He reached over and put his hand on Sabrina’s leg, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiling at her.

“You two barely ate a thing,” Raffaela exclaimed as she sat back in her chair. “Well, Sabrina and I made dessert this morning, so I hope you saved room for cannoli.”

Daniel laughed. “I always have room for cannoli, Mom, you know that.”

Sabrina smiled at the look on Daniel’s face. He seemed very excited by the idea of cannoli. Maybe she really would have to make them one day as a surprise for him. He’d come home from work one night and she would be wearing some sexy lingerie, holding a plate of freshly made cannoli in her hand.

“You know, the fair is in town this weekend. You should take Sabrina,” Raffaela said as she stood and began to clear dishes from the table. “Show her around town. There will be a lot of people out and about.”

Daniel turned and looked at Sabrina. “What do you say? Would you like to go to the fair?”

Sabrina smiled. “That sounds like fun. Let me help your mom clean up first though, okay?”