Angela didn't look up right away when the bell on the front door of the ice cream shop rang. She was busy wrapping hot waffle sheets around a stainless-steel cone mold behind the counter. Lost in her work, she was grateful that for the first time that day, her mind was calm. The sweet smell of sugar always reminded her of her mother, who had stood on this very spot when Angela was a child, showing her daughter how to pour the batter into the waffle iron without spilling it.

"I ...