Instant Connection

6

"Where's Stella, she loves the story. Johnny, go get her." Charlie instructs. 

"On it." he says. 

"No need, I'm here." I smile, descending the staircase. 

"For once." Johnny mutters. 

"Excuse me?" 

"Johnny, be nice." Charlie warns, "I think he means to say, that since Lauren said she was leaving and until she left you haven't been around much." 

"Just didn't want to say 'bye', I guess." I shrug, climbing onto a stool. 

"Good-byes are hard, babe. But, you can always talk to us." 

"We got you." Jakes calls out. 

"Anytime." Mike agrees. 

"Thanks. I'm fine, really." 

"All right, and now for the story. It was the end of an age of virtue, and the authorities shuddered as immorality and hedonism intensified. Finally, Pope Sixtus V declared an end of protestantism. Visitors swept through Italia like a flash flood. Their cruelty was boundless, and as time passed transgressors realized there would be no reprieve. My great-grandmother's great-grandmother's great-grandma ran the kitchen at the cathedral Di Napoli. Her name was Francesca." 

"That math doesn't add up." Mike comments. 

"This isn't a story about math--listen." Jakes tells him. 

"As Francesca prepared her famous Ragu for the inquisitors, she heard a knock at the cathedral door."

Jakes knocks on the cabinet beneath him. 

"Niccolo, a handsome Cordwainer, begging for sanctuary from the inquisition."

"What's a Cordwainer again?" Mike asks. 

"A luxury shoemaker. Don't interrupt." she warns. 

"You'll throw off the magic." Jakes says. 

"I'm sorry." Mike apologizes. 

"Anyway, knowing this kid faced torture or death, Francesca hid Niccolo in the pantry. She promised to keep her Ragu warm until the local vicar declared the city cleansed." 

"Last time you said it was an archdeacon, remember?" Johnny interrupts. 

"Now it's a vicar. Shut up, Johnny." Jakes tells him. 

"After three long days, the inquisitors finally left Napoli. Niccolo survived on the promise and smell of the Ragu. They fell in love and vowed to pass on the sauce to their children and their children's children till the end of days." Charlie finishes. 

We give her a round of applause. 

"This is Francesca's ragu. It takes three days to prepare, and the rules are simple. Don't touch and don't be late. There will be no leftovers."

"The best bedtime story ever." Jakes praises. 

"Calling it an early one?" 

"Range at 0600." he confirms, "Blasting the old seven ring." 

"You need some help?" Mike offers. 

"That depends, do you have ancestors from medieval Naples?" 

"No."

"Okay, then don't touch my braciole." she says, snapping his hand away. 

"Yo, Chuckie?" Johnny asks, tossing a football into the air. 

"Yo." 

"You gonna be manning that sauce all weekend?" 

"Yeah, I jacked up my back shutting down the Grape Street cook.Figured I'd take a few sick days, a few more Vicodin." she jokes.