Rosalia's Bittersweet Pastry Shop by Rosanna Chiofalo

Author:Rosanna Chiofalo [Chiofalo, Rosanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-04-04T04:00:00+00:00

16

Piparelli

CRUNCHY SPICE COOKIES

March 9, 1956

Rosalia ran in and out of the porticoed archway that lined the first story of the convent’s property. As soon as she spotted Teresa chasing her, she quickly hid behind the wall of one of the arches.

“It’s no use, Rosalia! I will catch you sooner or later!” Teresa called out.

Rosalia laughed before saying, “I’m too fast for you!”

She and Teresa had decided to play this silly game to quell their boredom. Ever since Lent had begun, they, along with the other lay workers and the nuns, were expected to do their work in silence as much as possible in order to reflect on their sins; they were to remember that the next forty days were to be a somber time of penance and prayer. Normally, Rosalia would have followed the rules as she’d been doing ever since she had come to stay at the convent. But they were now in their third week of Lent, and she couldn’t take the morose air any longer.

The only lay worker who didn’t seem to mind that they could no longer joke and talk animatedly while they worked in the kitchen or did their other hobbies when they had free time was Elisabetta, of course. She had begun her training to become a nun, and she was not going to let anything get in the way of her dream. Unlike her sister, Teresa, she intended to become the best nun, and to devote the rest of her life in service to God. Ever since Rosalia had gone to the Carnevale celebrations in Acireale, she had become closer to Teresa. But she still didn’t have the courage to ask her what had happened before she came to the Convento di Santa Lucia to cause her to be defrocked as a nun.

Rosalia was getting tired and decided to surrender to Teresa. Running into plain sight, she held up her arms.

“I give up. You win! Let’s take a break.”

“You’re not supposed to give up. What fun is that? You’re supposed to let me catch you.” Teresa frowned.

They walked over to the Saint Lucy statue by the fountain. It was an overcast day, but the cloudy weather did not detract from the signs of spring that were evident all around them. It was the second week in March, and the official start of the season was just a couple of weeks away. The magnolia trees had already bloomed, and tulips, daffodils, and wildflowers were shooting up all around the convent’s gardens. Rosalia took some small comfort in seeing everything turn green again even if she wished she were back home, watching the flowers in her mother’s garden come to life. She tried not to let herself think about the fact that it was now seven months since she’d been separated from her family. And still no word from the police about where her family had moved.

“Where is Antonio?” Teresa broke in on Rosalia’s thoughts.

“Madre Carmela sent him into town to pick up a few supplies.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.