Just Desserts

One evening, a couple weeks ago, my friend Kristina picked me up in her grandpa's car (which is really hers) and we went out together. We perused shops like Bibelot and The Red Balloon on Grand Avenue in the city of Saint Paul. We stopped to check out the Cafe Latte but only looked in their dessert case, and then we peeked in the windows of stores already closed for the evening. We walked from Lexington Avenue at least as far as Victoria Street, all the while attempting to decide where we wanted to stop for coffee and a fancy dessert. We stopped at The Lexington Restaurant but found they had closed their doors. Kristina was disappointed. With minds set on "fancy," we decided to venture on and check out WA Frost and Company. It was definitely fancy, but after sitting on the patio for a long time (which was quite an experience in and of itself with the party lights and mature trees), and having no one stop by to inquire as to what we wanted, we took our leave and went across the street to a totally different adventure.

On the other side of Selby Avenue is Moscow on the Hill, a Russian restaurant and vodka bar. They had coffee, they had fancy desserts, and they had a very nice patio, even if it wasn't quite as breathtaking as the one across the street. We assured the waitress, who was very nice, that we were only after coffee (decaf, please) and a couple of desserts. There were three on the menu; Tiramisu, Napoleon, and Chocolate Truffles. We placed our orders and soon the waitress returned with two desserts, the Napoleon we had ordered, and a plate of truffles, which we had not. Rather than send them back, we asked for a third dessert and soon found before us every dessert on the menu.

We talked and laughed, shared our three delightful desserts, and wondered aloud if either one of us would ever be able to sleep that night. Not too long after Kristina dropped me back off at Jim and Michele's, I got a text message on my phone. It said, "I don't feel so good." I laughed silently, hoped she was exaggerating, and replied back, "Oh, dear," but the next day we found that, in spite of the sugar, we had both slept pretty well.