“So, Misty, where would you like to go to dinner? My treat.”
“Anywhere?”
“Well, not Chicago, or New York City, but anywhere within driving distance. Oh, wait. I don’t have a car. Wait. I could borrow my cousin’s. So yes, anywhere we can drive.”
“I can drive us.”
“Perfect. I don’t know my way around anyway.”
“There’s this tearoom on the edge of town. It’s only open on the weekends. I think you’d love it.”
“That sounds delightful.”
“Great.”
Vanessa followed Misty through the parking lot, passing a compact car with a graduation tassel that she’d thought for sure would be hers, but ending up next to a huge Ford truck with dual rear wheels and running boards, which Vanessa quickly realized were necessary in order for her to hitch her hiney up into the passenger seat.
“This is a whopper of a truck. How’d you ever learn to drive this?”
Misty laughed, but her pride shone. “I’ve been driving this thing for years. Learned on the back of our property.” She fired up the engine and shifted the truck into reverse, then turned around and headed to the outskirts of town.
She shifted gears like a pro. Most of the people Vanessa knew didn’t even know how to drive a manual transmission. She had to pass driver’s ed with both a manual and an automatic transmission, but that had been years ago. She wasn’t sure she could still pull it off today, and even if she could it probably would not go well in a truck this size. She imagined a line of tumbling mailboxes in her wake if she were driving this truck tonight.
Misty was a lot like Vanessa in some ways, but the total opposite in others. Vanessa had been a tiara and pedicure kind of girl from the word go. Misty was clearly more athletic than Vanessa had ever been, but she had good business sense and she knew what she wanted. Vanessa liked her moxie.
As they wound through the curving roads, Vanessa thought about herself at sixteen. She’d been teased for being too frillyby the other girls. It might have been nice to be the girl in blue jeans and lace who drove a pickup truck—carefree and fearless. But she’d never been fearless. She avoided the conflict and cut all ties with anyone who’d given her a hard time.
Misty slowed and turned on her blinker in front of a big white farmhouse with twinkle lights in every tree on the property. When they pulled into the parking lot, she could see that the split rail fence had also been decorated with lighted garland and live wreaths with shiny red balls and bows.
“It’s like a winter wonderland. This is going to be fun.”
“I really hope you like it.” Misty hopped out of the truck and slammed the driver’s door.
Vanessa stepped on the running board and hung on to the pillar grab bar as she stretched to get her foot on the ground.
“Silent Night” poured through the speakers in the gardens as they walked along the path to the restaurant. The chilly air made her skin tingle. Inside, the old farmhouse had been decorated for the holidays too. Fires were flickering in all of the rooms, and a mixture of spicy and sweet filled the air. Poinsettias graced each double glass-panel door entryway, and smaller ones decorated each step of the grand stairway that led to the second level. Presumably the owner’s quarters.
“Just two tonight?” The older woman with glasses hanging from a beaded silver chain around her neck lifted two menus. “Near the fireplace okay?”
“That would be wonderful,” Misty jumped in. “If that’s okay with you,” she turned and said to Vanessa.
“That sounds perfect.”
“It’s my favorite table.” The hostess gestured to a table set with lovely bone china with winter birds perched amid awreath motif of pinecone, holly, and mistletoe and glistening shiny gold accents.
“I can see why.” Vanessa took a seat and Misty sat down across from her. “Thank you very much.”
A waitress came out from the back carrying a silver tea service, and set it on the side table next to theirs. “Today’s flavor is Paris tea. May I pour?”
Vanessa flipped over her teacup and nodded.
Misty followed suit. “This is one of my favorite teas.”
“Would you like to order off the dinner menu or do our popular North Carolina Tea Tray for two?” She leaned in. “I personally like the tea trays. It’s more than enough and you get to try a lot of the things on the menu. Plus, we do some specifically North Carolinian things like pork barbecue on the savory level, and a smack-your-momma banana pudding in a fine pastry added to the desserts. Mm-hmm.”
“Thank you for the recommendation. That sounds really good to me. Misty, what would you like to do?”
“The tea tray for sure.”
