Emma had enjoyed living with Jill. They’d grown closer after years of living on opposite sides of the country. Jill had started the year very much single, while Emma had been trying to mentally process the news that her husband of many years preferred men. She hadn’t seen it coming at all, though in retrospect the signs were there. She’d just missed them all because she hadn’t ever been looking for them.
But as their grandmother had often said, ‘everything happens for a reason’ and seeing Paul again was unexpected yet familiar. They’d been childhood sweethearts and had grown apart as young people often do. The years fell away once they began working together, and she suspected her grandmother knew exactly what she was doing when she left Mimi’s Place equally to her three granddaughters and her executive chef, Paul. Emma resisted revisiting the idea of a relationship with Paul until it was inevitable. Now she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.
Emma parked in Mandy’s circular driveway, grabbed the dip and bottle of chardonnay from the backseat and started toward the front door. She paused for a moment to admire Mandy’s holiday lighting. The outside of the house and the tall bushes on either side of the front farmer’s porch were all decorated with soft white lights. In the distance, just beyond Mandy’s house, Emma could see a boat on the water that was also lit up with holiday lights. Through the big bay window that looked into the kitchen, she could see Mandy stirring something on the stove, while Jill and Billy sat at the kitchen island laughing.
She knocked on the door to let them know she’d arrived and walked in. Jill and Billy came over to greet her when she stepped into the kitchen.
“I’m so glad you didn’t have to work tonight,” Jill said as she gave her a big hug. Billy did the same and asked if she wanted a glass of the wine they’d just opened.
“I’d love one, thanks.” Emma set her casserole dish with the dip on the stove.
“Is that hot? Or should we pop it into the oven to heat up?” Mandy asked.
“Is that our dip?” Jill said excitedly.
“It is.” Emma turned to Mandy. “I think a few minutes in the oven might be good. It’s warm, but it could be a little hotter.” Mandy popped it in the already-hot oven, next to a bigger pan. “Are those—” Emma didn’t even have to finish the sentence before Mandy nodded.
“Yes, the Cape scallops. I haven’t had them yet this year and Jack was just putting them out at Trattel’s Seafood when I stopped in.”
“Yum,” Emma said. Cape scallops were only available for a few months every year and they were smaller than the usual sea scallops and so much sweeter. They were also much more expensive because there was such a limited supply of them.
Billy handed her a glass of wine as she slid into the third open chair at the island, next to Jill. “What’s in the pot?” Emma asked as Mandy added some liquid and gave it another stir.
“I’m trying Paul’s recipe for lobster and corn risotto. Thought it would go well with the scallops.”
“That sounds perfect. Can I do anything to help?” Emma offered.
“No, I’m good. Actually, I think I’m ready for a glass of wine now too. I was drinking tea earlier.” She poured herself a glass, gave the risotto a stir and then checked on the dip, which Emma could see was starting to bubble when Mandy opened the door. Emma jumped up to get a platter to put the hot dish on and Mandy carefully took it out of the oven, set it on the platter and put it right in front of Jill, who laughed and immediately reached for a toasted pita chip to scoop up the dip.
“This is so good, Em. I haven’t had it since we were last here.”
“Maybe you should get the recipe and make it for us at home sometime,” Billy teased her after he took a bite.
Jill laughed. “I really should do that. So, Emma how are things with you and Paul? Any wedding bells on the horizon?”
Emma made a face. She knew Jill was teasing her. “It’s going great. I think we’ll probably eventually get engaged, but neither one of us is in any rush.” She realized that wasn’t entirely true. “Well, maybe Paul is ready now. I haven’t quite caught up to him. But, we’re very happy.”
Mandy glanced at Jill and Billy. “I’m not sure if I updated you, but we added you both to the list for the wine dinner tomorrow night. You’ll be sitting with us. Emma and I are technically working it, but we’ll be able to relax and enjoy it too. I added another server, so there’s plenty of help.”
“Oh, good. We can help too. I hope you’re definitely going to put us to work while we’re here?”
Mandy nodded. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about that. I thought we could use Billy at the front of the house with me, greeting people and checking reservations and we can always use you at the bar, to give Gina a break.”
“Perfect,” Jill said. “How is Gina?”
“She’s good.” Mandy frowned. “I don’t think she’s all that keen on the holidays. I invited her to join us for Christmas dinner as her family isn’t doing anything this year, but she didn’t commit.”
“They’re not?” Jill looked surprised.
“Her mother remarried her father earlier this year. She said they are like lovesick newlyweds and are on a cruise around the world. She thinks they will be somewhere near Spain on Christmas. They invited her to fly in and join them there, but she said that seemed too complicated,” Emma said.
“Plus, even though we are closed on Christmas, Gina always likes to work Christmas Eve when all her regulars try to stop in and see her,” Mandy added.
“Poor kid,” Jill said. “The best part of Christmas is being around family. No wonder she’s not feeling it this year. Lots of people dread the holidays, actually.”
“I know,” Mandy agreed. “I was chatting with Connie Boyle the other day. You remember, she was Grams’ friend?” Jill nodded. “So, she was telling me that it’s hard for a lot of the residents at Dover Falls. Some of them either don’t have family around or have recently lost their partners so it’s a sad remembrance of what they used to have.”
“How is Connie?” Jill asked. “She used to come in often and I loved chatting with her at the bar. I hope I have that much energy at her age. She seems to really enjoy life.”
“She’s good. She still does. She was telling me how she and a few friends are going to be singing carols during the Stroll.”
“Fun! I told Billy he has to get the full Stroll experience. I thought we might make mugs of hot chocolate, slip in a little peppermint or butterscotch Schnapps and walk around counting all the fur coats.”
Billy laughed. “Are there really that many?”
“Just wait,” Emma said. “You’ll see.”
“It seems like a million years ago that we used to do that,” Mandy said. She smiled at Billy. “Every time we saw a fur coat, we took a sip.”
“And it’s a good thing I always made a whole thermos of hot chocolate!” Jill added.
Later, after they finished eating dinner and the kids went up to bed, Mandy opened another bottle of wine and they settled in the living room by the fireplace. She flipped the switch and the gas flames roared to life, filling the room with a cheery glow.