It was a peaceful night at the apartment, the snow not beginning to fly until around 6:30 AM or so. When all was said and done, I’d say we got about four inches. “A wet four inches!”
When we finally got out of bed this morning Julia asked, “Want to have some fun?”
“Sure,” I responded. “What do you have in mind?”
That’s when Julia broke out the stuff to make Chocolate Chip Cookies. “We can make them and give them to the neighbors,” Julia said brightly. “That way we don’t eat too many ourselves.”
So, we got to work doing the cookie thing. During the course of all that Maria Cangelosi, our downstairs neighbor came up to hang for a little while with her dog Rico, who’s just a little guy.
It worked out pretty well, the two ladies hanging and talking with each other and me for the better part of an afternoon, when I wasn’t out delivering cookies on complex. I was impressed with the way the sidewalks were being maintained by the complex manager this time around. Everything was being kept up to scratch despite the rate of snowfall, “Which is always a beautiful thing.”
As Maria was getting ready to leave, she gave Julia and me each a big hug, thanking us for letting her hang for so long. Julia told her that she’s welcome to come knock on our door any time, and Maria assured us that she would. “I had fun,” Maria said as she headed down the stairs; pausing briefly to assure me that she still felt that I was very good looking. “She’s sweet!”
It was dinner time when we decided to give the oven a break and clean up from baking cookies. As we started dinner together, Julia asked, “How did you make out with the cookie deliveries?”
I chuckled and said, “Most people weren’t home. But the few folks that were thanked us for their unexpected cookie delivery. You know? Now that I think of it… I don’t know of anyone who can say know to a freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookie, do you?”
Julia laughed and paused from putting the salads together and gave me a big hug and kiss. She hung on for quite a while before speaking. “Thanks for doing this with me today. I know baking and cooking in general aren’t really your thing. Although, I’ve got to tell you, what you do produce in a kitchen is exceptional and you are always a huge help to me with the cooking.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere with me,” I said as I ran my fingers through her hair before we separated and finished getting dinner together and sat down to eat. “I do have a question though,” I said. “When did you get the chance to do another shopping for this place?”
“When we did the shopping for the house last,” she said. I then dropped off what I got for here on one of my trips into the office.
“And you tell me I’m the amazing one,” I commented. “You are good. Damn good!”
She laughed and said, “It’s not rocket science. I just worked it all in. I am sorry we didn’t get to go see the boat today though. I rescheduled that trip for next Saturday if that’s ok with you?”
I nodded and then asked, “What about the dream seminar thing we were going to attend this month?” Julia sighed and said, “It turned out to be a bust.”
I nodded and said, “That’s ok. These things do happen.”
Julia gave my leg a gentle squeeze under the table and said, “Yes. They do. I’m feeling like this time around though, it really is a good thing. The city isn’t exactly the mecca of law abiding citizens it once was. Not that you could just walk blindly down the streets of Manhattan banging off the walls, even on a good day. But now… People are acting crazier than usual from what I hear.”
“I get it,” I said and a few minutes later we were cleaning up from dinner and settling down for the evening.
Julia was reading a book in the living room when I sat down to write this. But I’m thinking she’s now asleep out there. So… I do believe it is time to tuck the lady in and call it a night. “Cheers!”