Page 17 of Locked Down In Watch Hill
Kyle stood on the opposite side of the door, his shoes not touching the woven mat I’d thrown across the threshold on the night I moved into the unit. “My pleasure.”
I glanced at the coffee carrier in his hands, the telltale font used by Already Perked scrawled across one side. “Oh my God, you got them.”
“I most certainly did. One for you”—he looked at the coffee cups— “and one for me.”
“I love their Mexicocoas. Even the thought of one of them is enough to make me salivate.”
“I haven’t ever tried one, but I figured now was a good a time as any.” Kyle picked up a small pastry bag from the other side of the carrier. The dark fabric of his Watch Hill Pizza mask muffled his next words. “Also picked up two spinach and asiago cheese croissants, because I don’t think fancy hot chocolate alone qualifies as a meal.”
“You’re right. It probably doesn’t.”
I glanced back at my living room. Here it was—the moment that I would normally invite him in, the second things would go from regular drop off to something more, and yet I couldn’t get there from here.
I was still quarantined, and that stopped me cold.
“I’d ask you to join me,” I said somewhat sheepishly, “but I don’t think I can.” I hesitated. “What if you get the virus?”
“I know. That would be bad. Are you still feeling okay?”
“No symptoms,” I replied somewhat incredulous about that fact. I knew the virus was real and that infection manifested itself in different ways, but for the life of me I couldn’t understand how it hadn’t seemed to affect me, despite coming in close contact with someone who did get extremely sick. “Not even a cough.”
“That’s good.” Kyle studied me. “You know ... if you wanted to still have dinner together, I think there’s a way to do it safely.”
I frowned. “How?”
“That’s your balcony, isn’t it?” He nodded in the direction of the small one that jutted off from my living room, accessible by two large sliding doors.
“Yep.”
“It’s not too cold tonight.” He hunched his shoulders as if steeling himself. “I could always eat out there, and you could eat inside.”
I thought about it.This has promise...“And if I leave the glass door open but the screen door closed, then that qualifies as sort of like indoor/outdoor dining.”
“Exactly. We’ll keep the screen door pulled shut at all times.” Something glinted behind Kyle’s eyes. “At all times. Deal?”
“Deal.” I made a move to allow him inside my apartment. “I suppose this is the only way for you to get to it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got the social distancing down.”
He sped across my living room and through the balcony doorway, keeping his distance and turning his head as he did. Before stepping through it, Kyle left one Mexicocoa and a wrapped pastry on the nearby coffee table. Then he pulled the screen door shut and sank into one of the chairs that made up the small bistro table set in the corner of the balcony. It was kind of sweet that he was first, interested in having dinner with me, and second, made it amusing in the process.
“There,” he said a few moments later. “See, we can do this.”
“You’re right. We can make this work.”
Still eyeing him, I removed my mask and lifted the coffee cup to my mouth. A nanosecond later I was savoring the rich liquid of the Mexicocoa, an award-winning drink that had not only put Already Perked on the map but had made Watch Hill a destination for so many people. Jessica, and the rest of the team, had gotten lucky with the concoction, and for a second, I felt out of quarantine, free from my apartment, and enjoying something that made my life carefree.
I took another delicious sip. “What do you think of your first one?”
“It’s amazing. I can see how people love it, and why people come from all over for it.”
“It’s a signature for them, for sure. Ever since they were featured inCincinnati Lifestylemagazine, things really changed for them.”
“I remember that. The spread they did on the shop was excellent.” He paused. “That’s the kind of thing I’m hoping to do with Watch Hill Pizza. I want the new menu to take off and for us to get noticed for one item, like the one thing we do best.”
“The pizza bread is probably the strongest option to help you do that. You saw how people reacted to that post today, and they did the same thing on my account when I posted my dinner the other night. There’s just something about the way you flavor it and how it looks in the box. It’s unique.”
“It’s awesome to hear you say that because it was my grandmother’s recipe.” He tossed me a half-smile. “I just tweaked it a few times, added a couple of secret ingredients, and voila.”
