I like surprises

For the first time since about June, Bill and I enjoyed an ordinary night last night---well, at least for a while. He arrived home at the regular time for a change--5:30 instead of 7 or 7:30. I'd fixed a Love-style pan of nachos. We were short on salsa, so I broke open the jar of black-bean dip Annie had brought us on her last visit.

She'd hit paydirt that day at the Marriott when her boss called and told her to drop by to pick up her goodie bag. Seems the Obertos of Obertos Jerky had a big wedding, and they'd stayed at the hotel. As wedding favors for the guests, they'd given shopping bags full of Seattle-area products, including some jerky, of course. Some bags were left over, so they asked the hotel management to share among their employees.

Annie brought home a huge tote bag filled with crackers, nuts, jerky, bean dip, coffee beans, and you-name-it. We'd eaten some of the stuff but had saved the bean dip and salted pistachios for other occasions. Last night turned out perfect for the bean dip because it helped substitute for a salsa shortage in the nacho dish. I told Bill, as he ate dinner, that if he was good there'd be another surprise later.

My surprise for Bill was a piece of delectable pecan pie, baked at The Pantry in Clark Fork. I purchased the pie after my friend Helen and I had enjoyed their delicious sandwiches with homemade bread. We also topped off our lunch with their famous pumpkin swirls which get better every time I go there. We both shopped for goodies to take home, and I decided to purchase two pieces of pie so Bill and I could both enjoy a dessert complete with Meadow Gold French vanilla ice cream.

I hid the pie in the cupboard, so he'd be completely surprised when he came in from pruning more pine trees in his new forest. The evening seemed to linger as I kept thinking about how good that pie was gonna taste, but I resisted temptation to sneak a bite and enjoyed an extra walk in the woods while waiting for PP-time.

I made it back to the house just as dusk was turning to dark. The phone rang. It was Annie.

"How's the weather there?" she asked.

"It's in the 80s, and it's supposed to be that way for the next ten days," I told her.

"That's good," she said. "It's cooled off in Seattle too."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Driving past some lake," she said.

"What lake?" I asked.

"I think it's called Cocolalla," she answered.

My heart started to flutter. Thoughts of pecan pie and ice cream quickly diminished. Annie would be home for a surprise visit within the next twenty minutes. I decided to keep her arrival a secret from her dad.

When he came into the house, he saw one surprise: that pecan pie. A few minutes later, when he came out from his shower, another surprise stood in the kitchen.

"Well, hi, Annie. How are you?" he said, while picking up his pie and appearing totally delighted with both of his evening surprises.

As for me, I was pretty delighted that once again, our evening had not been totally ordinary. A welcome surprise came in from Seattle, and this time with no bean dip.

But that's quite okay with me.