I’m just a little excited about something. Hint: It’s green and yellow and warms my heart.
Only I can’t say exactly where this will be, or what will come with it. BUT…I think those who have been faithful followers of Peace Garden Mama and Peace Garden Writer, or even just plain old friends with little old me, will be tickled with me over it.
I’ll share more about that lovely image soon. But while we’re waiting on those sunflowers to simmer…
I have a story about this weekend to share. It all started when I got a note from my friend Laetitia asking if I wanted to get together. It’s been hard finding time to sit with friends lately, even though it is one of my all-time favorite activities. But it had been a very long time since I’d seen her. Too long. I cleared my schedule Saturday to make it work.
We’d gone back and forth a few times on plans, and even postponed it from last weekend, when Valentine’s Day got in the way. But finally, the time had come. I’d just wrapped up a weekend writing project and was excited to get out and see this sweet friend.
I arrived at the coffee shop right on time, 3:30 p.m. She wasn’t there yet, and I hadn’t had lunch, so I decided to order a little something. The menu had been expanded to include more food items since my last visit, and I was thrilled to see the Reuben sandwich included. And soup, too. My father loved a hearty Reuben and was also a big fan of all different kinds of soup. I can’t help but think of him when I order that combination. And it had been a while since a Reuben had come my way, so was ready!
At 3:32 I thought I’d better text just to make sure we were on track: “Just got here and ordered lunch. I haven’t eaten yet,” I typed. Then I thought I’d better make sure we were thinking of the same location, since this coffee shop has two. “25th right?”
“Yes,” she replied. Good. Certainly, she’ll be here any minute, I thought. “See you soon!” I texted back.
I sat down and checked my email. My food was announced. I collected everything and sat down to enjoy it. I had my back to the door so I kept looking back so I’d catch her eye when she arrived.
Which would be any minute now. Right?
Or not.
I enjoyed each bite of the Reuben and every last drip of soup. I thought of how my Dad used to use ice cubes to cool off my hot soup when I was little and we were eating at one of the many greasy spoon cafes he loved. I was enjoying my time filling up and warming up. But I was alone still. No Laetitia.
I paused. Should I order a drink now? Where could she be? Finally, a text came in. “Are we at 2 different locations???”
Oh no. Oh NO! No wonder she hadn’t arrived yet. Now, how did this get mixed up? Weren’t we clear?
“25 Dunn,” I texted. Then, for clarification, “Are you at Caribou?”
” 🙂 I am at Caribou 25 and 13. Yes.”
“Ahhh, that’s where things went wrong,” I texted back. “I’ll head over. I thought you’d said Dunn.”
And she had. I confirmed it. But, you know how it goes, right? Two different coffee shops with the same name in the same town in different locations. It’s bound to happen every once in a while.
When we finally found each other…at the wrong coffee shop…we laughed for about the first 20 minutes. Before we could do any real updates, Laetitia felt compelled to explain the scenario from her end. We laughed some more, realizing that each of us was waiting for the other at another location, and how mixed up the texts were as we were thinking of two completely different scenarios.
In the end, it didn’t matter. We had a cozy conversation there in the wrong coffee place. It was truly lovely, and our little mishap made it even all the more lively and real.
Besides. I think I was meant to savor that soup alone, thinking about my Daddy, just him and me, so that my heart would be even more full and ready by the time Laetitia and I found one another.
Q4U: What’s your favorite sandwich and soup combination?
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