The Lonely Drop (10 page)

November 2014

It’s snowing hard as I hang up the phone. I can barely see the entourage coming up the front walk, but I can hear them.

Jenny’s kids are chattering and laughing as they burst into the condo. They stomp their feet to clear their boots of the snow, and then they run to the kitchen, shouting about how Uncle Kevin promised them hot cocoa if they made it down the beginner slope without falling.

Jenny and Jonah trail in behind them, holding hands.

“Hey boss.” Jenny grins at me. Her eyes are sparkling almost as much as the diamond on her finger. Turns out the only reason Jonah drank so much was because the bar was a convenient place to see Jenny. Once they started dating, he never set foot in the Drop again. Though I was sad to lose a regular customer, seeing Jenny happy more than makes up for it. They follow the kids into the kitchen, Jenny stopping to yank the wedding planning folder out of my hands. “You said you were done. No more planning until it’s my turn.”

Kevin comes in last, carrying his skis tucked under one arm. He leans them against the wall and comes straight to me. He kisses me with the sort of fierce promise that keeps me up at night sometimes.

“We missed you out there,” he says, a little breathless.

“Yeah, I had to make a few last-minute decisions with the caterer. Gawd, that woman can talk. She thinks because I’m a restaurateur—” I make air quotes around the word “—that I want to hear every detail about the food. Seriously, if it’s locally sourced and vegetarian, I’m good, right?”

“Right,” he agrees, smiling indulgently. “Mom and Dad and Trish and Sean and the baby will be here tomorrow afternoon. Mom and Dad’s condo is three doors down from ours.”

“Great.” I shiver. I’ve gotten to know his parents better the last few months, but I still find them cold and unapproachable.

“Trish and Sean and the baby are in the one right next to ours.”

“Okay, good, they can be a buffer.”

“Do you want to do it tonight?” he asks softly.

Scatter Mom’s ashes. Say goodbye.

“After the wedding. So she can be with us.”

He smiles. “Anything you want, love.”

****

We say our vows in the ski lodge a few miles from the sleepy little house where I grew up, surrounded by his family and my friends.

Afterward, he and I take the ski lift up to the top of the mountain, but we don’t ski down right away. Instead, we take off our skis, and we say goodbye to my mom, sending her into the morning sunlight, ash on snow. That feeling of being unmoored washes over me again, but Kevin takes my hand, a reminder I’m not alone.

“I’m so glad you came into the Lonely Drop that day,” I whisper to him. “I don’t know that I could be here, that I could do this without you.”

“Me too.” He kisses my forehead. He doesn’t need to say more. He’s my family now, not just because of the rings on our fingers, but because he’s made himself my anchor. We hold each other for a long while before I’m ready to go.

When it feels right, we ski down the mountain and into our new life, together.

The End

Recipe for Bailey’s and Pistachio Ice Cream

To make the recipe vegan, please substitute full fat coconut milk for the whole milk in the recipe, and instead of using name brand Bailey’s Irish Cream, use a vegan homemade version— several recipes are available on the internet.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk, divided into 1¾ cups and ¼ cup

½ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

1 cup pistachio butter*

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

*To make pistachio butter, start with ½ cup water and 1 cup shelled pistachios (if salted, rinse excess salt). Using a food processor or immersion blender, puree until smooth, adding more water as necessary to reach desired consistency— slightly thinner than natural peanut butter. Sweeten to taste.

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup milk and the cornstarch until cornstarch dissolves.
   

2. In a saucepan, combine the rest of the milk with the Bailey’s and the sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
   

3. Whisk in the milk and cornstarch mixture, and continue to whisk as it simmers— at least five minutes to cook off the alcohol in the Bailey’s. The mixture will thicken some, but will still be fairly liquid.
   

4. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Chill in refrigerator until completely cooled— preferably overnight.
   

5. Once cooled, stir in the pistachio butter until fully blended.
   

6. Process in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, then store in freezer.
   

Author Bio

Author of over a dozen novels, novellas, and short stories, Vanessa North delights in giving happy-ever-afters to characters who don’t think they deserve them. Relentless curiosity led her to take up knitting and run a few marathons “just to see if she could.” She started writing for the same reason. Her very patient husband pretends not to notice when her hobbies take over the house. Living and writing in Northwest Georgia, she finds her attempts to keep a quiet home are frequently thwarted by twin boy-children and a very, very large dog.

Contact & Media Info

Email
|
Website
|
Twitter
|
Facebook
|
Goodreads