Chapter 19
(Cooper)
“Shh, go check and make sure Song and Zachy are still preoccupied while I sneak them in,” Cooper hissed into Gage’s ear and nudged him in the direction of the playroom.
Gage nodded and hurried down the hall while Cooper opened the door for them.
“Me either,” her companion, Ms. Lottie, replied. “And it can all stay right here with the four of you when we roll out of here on Monday.”
Cooper kept his chuckles low as he guided them from the living room to the kitchen after they’d stripped off their outer garments.
“We’ve got cocoa, tea, coffee, and warm cider, if you’re looking for something hot,” Cooper explained. “There’s an assortment of cold drinks in there too, but none of them are caffeinated.
“Cocoa will be perfect,” Nan said.
“Make that too,” Ms. Lottie added.
“Two cocoa confections coming right up,” Cooper said as he lined six mugs up on the counter and started filling them.
Knowing Zachy and Song, they’d want some the moment they caught a whiff of it, so Cooper broke out the crushed Butterfinger pieces to sprinkle over the whipped cream he topped their drinks with.
“How were the roads?” he asked as he added marshmallows and drizzled caramel on top of every cup before adding the Butterfinger bits to Song and Zachy’s.
“Fine, until we got on this side of Chicago,” Ms. Lottie said.
“After that it started to look like the world had frozen over. Next winter you boys will have to come see us in Arizona. We can sit out on the patio and sip lemonade made with fresh lemons from the tree out back. We’ll fire up the grill too, since I doubt even your Yeti isn’t about to try and barbeque on a day like this. ”
Cooper glanced towards the door leading to the hallways, but so far, there were no sounds drifting their way, which probably meant that the door was still closed.
“Don’t be so sure,” Cooper declared. “He’s been complaining about wanting brisket, so it would not shock me if the smoker got a workout before New Years.”
“Now, you keep on telling us things like that, and we’ll be parked in your driveway until March,” Nan said.
“Somehow I doubt Zachy will have a single complaint about that,” Cooper replied. “He’s missed you guys something fierce, despite the video chats.”
“Uh-huh, I just bet he does,” Ms. Lottie said, giggling as she blew on her mug of cocoa. “Us and all the baking we do whenever we’re around. That boy will put us to work; you mark my words. We’ll be up to our ears in fudge- and custard-filled donuts in no time.”
“You make custard-filled donuts?” Cooper asked. “How am I only hearing about this now! Those are my favorites. I will seriously mow through a breakroom full of people just to grab one from the box.”
“Oh boy,” Nan said, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, and we’ll have to make double.”
“Yes!” Cooper blurted, then slapped both hands over his mouth, eyes going wide as he silently listened to see if that had drawn any footsteps from down the hallway.
Mercifully, it was still silent. That thick-ass door was more than worth its weight in gold some days. Other times it was scary as hell when Cooper thought about what might be going on behind it.”
“Don’t forget the cheesecake bites and cake pops,” Nan said. “Now those are my specialty.”
“You just wait until you taste the ones she wraps gummy worms around,” Ms. Lottie said. “There are three flavors of cake swirled together and frosting that tastes like biting into a Sour Patch Kid.”
“Sold,” Cooper said.
“Oh, we have got to make them the chocolate peanut butter crème fudge you perfected and a marshmallow crème one too.” Nan said.
“Unless those are big batches, you might want to make two,” Cooper said, face flushing.
He felt a little sheepish admitting it, but he had as big of a sweet tooth as everyone in the house and was already planning out the perfect tins to use to hide treats away in the back of his desk drawers.
Cooper licked his lips at the very thought of savoring a few plump pieces of fudge with his mid-morning coffee.
“Two is doable,” Ms. Lottie said. “And after seeing those Butterfinger bits you pulled out, we’ll have to make a batch filled with them and pulverized Twix.
I just love seeing them come apart in the food processor.
The best part is that there are so many varieties now that we can always make a new twist on an old favorite. ”
“Oh yes, there will be plenty of fudge to go around by the time we’re through,” Nan said as Cooper finally heard Zachy in the hall. “And hopefully that brisket you mentioned too.”
Cooper was just about to mention that Gage would need no further encouragement to fire up the smoker than hearing Nan and Ms. Lottie were in the mood for some when the pace of Zachy’s footsteps increased, and he switched his frame of thought.
“Boy, I know you have more home training than that since I taught it to you,” Nan called out, beating Cooper to the warning about no running in the house that he’d been about to issue.
She was cackling when Zachy burst into the room, skidding as he rounded the corner and rushed to hug her.
Ms. Lottie got in on it too, the older ladies sandwiching Zachy between them.
Thanks to our frequent video chats, they knew who Song was the moment he entered the room and converged on him as soon as they let go of Zachy.
Cooper caught Gage’s gaze and raised an eyebrow, wondering what they’d done to be reduced to chopped liver and miss out on all the hugging. Gage just shook his head and shrugged.
They did eventually get hugs, but only after Nan and Ms. Lottie had finished fussing over the boys.
Zachy fired off several questions about why they hadn’t said anything about coming to visit and if they’d stopped at any cool places along the way, but his Nan knew just how to handle him and got him settled down in the chair in front of his cocoa, right beside Song.
Sitting around the island in the kitchen, they all started sipping while it was warm, quietly waiting to see which road trip stories Nan and Ms. Lottie were going to share first.
“I tell you boys, the cold is getting harder on these old bones with every passing year,” Ms. Lottie said. “Takes awhile to get warm these days. You wouldn’t happen to have a bit of Irish Cream or Buttershots[TM6] I can toss in this?”
“We’ve got both and Peppermint Schnapps,” Gage replied, pushing back his seat. “Which can I grab for you?”
“The schnapps, if you don’t mind,” she said, so Gage got up and grabbed the bottle.
“Desert winters do lack some of the charm of snow-covered ones,” Nan said.
“Though I’m sure my chiropractor appreciates me staying off the skis these past few seasons.
These old hips just couldn’t maneuver the way they used to, and I took a few more tumbles than I admitted to when we were on the phone.
The artist colony we’ve been staying in is a far safer option at our ages than hopping a ski lift to the top of the slopes, but I do miss it. ”
“Ain’t that the truth? Even the bunny hills made my knees ache the last time we went,” Ms. Lottie said.
“But there’s nothing saying we can’t ride up to Stowe and spend a weekend at the lodge sometime for old times’ sake.
We can hold court in front of the fireplace and see who pops over to swap stories with us.
There’s always something exciting going on somewhere; if we can’t live it, the next best thing is getting to listen to someone else’s tales. ”
“Having Greta Williams in residence at the colony teaching watercolors year-round now does make it far easier to spend less time traveling and more time sitting still,” Ms. Lottie said. “Our community gained a true treasure when she decided to settle out west.”
“She said the sunsets spoke to her,” Nan said.
“Now she painted blooming cactuses highlighted by low, red suns, and succulents of all shapes and sizes ringing beautiful, moonlit fountains. Listening to her tell the stories behind each one is as educational as watching her demonstrate the techniques she used.”
“She inspired me to start painting scenes right out of the stories my grandmother used to tell,” Ms. Lottie said.
“Can we hear some of them?” Song blurted, earning a wide smile from both older women.
“You can hear as many stories as you’d like,” Ms. Lottie told him, “but I think refills are in order first, along with a relocation to those comfy-looking easy chairs I spied on our way in here.”
Chuckling, Cooper stood and started refilling mugs, while Gage passed around the marshmallows, casting a stern look at the boys to suggest that they shouldn’t add too many.
Cooper splashed Buttershots in his and Gage’s mugs while Nan and Ms. Lottie added schnapps to theirs.
Because Zachy always looked a little sad when they added things to their drinks and he couldn’t, Cooper added a splash of flavored coffee creamer to his and Song’s.
Today it was Oreo.
“We stopped and did a bit of painting in New Mexico on our way through, then someone got it in her head to go north halfway through Texas so we could go through Omaha and see family,” Nan said.
“Was a nice visit,” Ms. Lottie tsked. “Most of it anyway. Sophia has always had a big mouth, but now that she’s creeping up there in years, she’s gotten downright cantankerous. You can bet it’ll be another six years before I drop by and say hello to her again.”