“Thanks.” Merry Anna looked behind her. “I think your dog smells the strawberries. Can we give him one?”
“Shorty loves them. Toss it in the air. He’ll catch it.”
“Here, hold this.” She handed Adam a purple cloth tote bag and then took out the baggies of berries. “I think we may have enough strawberries to make pies for everyone on the street, but I wasn’t sure how many to bring.” She took a couple of berries out and one by one tossed them in the air. The black-and-white corgi caught each one. “Heisgood.” She reached down and patted him on the head.
“He’s a good dog.” He lifted the bag easily. “This had to beheavy on the walk over.” He led the way to the kitchen and set the bag on the island.
“Your kitchen is fabulous.” She’d followed him. Standing there wide-eyed, she looked at him with a crooked smile. “Sorry, I just hadn’t pegged you as the chef’s-kitchen type.”
“Told you I was a good cook.”
“I’m beginning to see evidence of that. I’m impressed.”
He smiled at that comment. “I’m a pretty good host too. Can I get you something to drink? I’ve got coffee, water, or lemonade.”
“Lemonade sounds good. I never think about making that.”
He clicked his fingers and scooped a handful of strawberries into a glass. “How about a fresh strawberry lemonade?”
“Seems fitting for the theme of the day.”
“Yeah, glad I thought of it.” He tossed a couple of ice cubes into the blender, along with the frozen strawberries and lemonade. Just a few short bursts, and everything was an inviting sunset red. He poured two glasses.
“Thank you.” She took a small sip. “That’s very good.”
“And that, my new friend, is your first recipe with frozen strawberries.”
“I think there’s hope for me after all. EvenIcould do that.”
“Just don’t forget to put the top on the blender tightly. I made that mistake when I was about twelve.”
She laughed out loud. “Oh no! You didn’t.”
“I sure did. My mom cleaned up strawberry seeds from the walls and tile for a year. She was so mad at me.” He cocked his head. “She might still be mad about that.”
“I’ll be careful not to let that happen, although it sounds exactly like something that would happen to me.”
“So, here’s the good news. The recipe is pretty much thesame whether you are making the pie from the fresh strawberries or the frozen ones, because they hold a lot of moisture either way.” He picked up a frozen strawberry. “The trick is to cook them down until they are completely thawed before you bake the pie.”
“Okay.” She rubbed her hands together. “I’m ready.”
“I don’t really use a recipe, so we’ll just have to pay close attention to what the measurements seem to be, and I’ll teach you how to know when enough is enough.”
“What can I do?”
“Get the sugar canister from the counter over there, and there’s cornstarch in the cabinet just above it.”
She gathered the items and carried them to the island. “Good to know Icancome over if I need a cup of sugar,” she joked.
“I already warned you that I’m really not that kind of neighbor.”
She looked offended.
“I’m so rarely here,” he said, stumbling over the explanation. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, I won’t have any, so I guess that makes me not that kind of neighbor too.”
“Poor Tara is in a bad way, then, isn’t she?”
