“I’m s?—”
“Now, Everett,” Stella chimes. “Please smile, we have a busy day. You and Starla can catch up another time.”
Starla brings her camera to her eye.
“Thank you,” Claire says to Chip after we jot down our scores.
More settled?I look over at Claire, who’s smiling and laughing with Stella. Taking a deep breath, I decide it doesn’t matter. I am more settled. I don’t need to analyze what she meant.
“Good afternoon,” Joe says from behind his booth. “Ready for me to blow your minds?”
“You know my husband. He’s convinced he’s going to win this thing and you haven’t even tried his drink yet.” Cami calls from the booth next to his, laughing.
“She’s just afraid I’m going to beat her,” he whispers to the two of us. He slides two mugs to the edge of the counter.
One is bright green and covered with little, three dimensional Christmas lights, and the other is blue with a snowman. Each is topped with a healthy dollop of whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg. Both sit on top of a matching saucer and are accompanied by some sort of long, brown cookie.
“Yes, I’m dying for some caffeine,” Claire says, picking up one of the mugs.
“What’s this?” I ask, pointing to the accompaniment.
“Homemade gingerbread biscotti,” Joe explains. “I think it tastes delicious when dipped into the latte.”
“Thank you,” Claire adds, lifting her mug and tapping it against the edge of mine. “Cheers!”
“Cheers,” I repeat.
We both take a sip, savoring the warm, creamy drink. It’s heavy on the nutmeg and cinnamon, but I don’t hate it. Picking up the biscotti, I dip it in, trying what Joe suggested, and he’s right—it does taste good.
Finishing our drinks, we mark our scores and pose for another photo before moving on along.
“How many more of these desserts do we have to try?” I groan.
“Five.”
“I’m not used to this much sugar.”
“Then maybe don’t eat and drink everything they give us.” She giggles.
“But it’s so good.”
Claire shakes her head.
“Hiya, you two,” Cami sings. “I made a Christmas chai latte.”
Sitting in front of us are two antique Christmas tea cups and saucers. Each one is topped with asimple star anise.
Claire reaches for her cup, and I do the same.
“Cheers!” I say, and we tap our cups together and take a sip. It’s delicious, but not what I would usually drink. The spices overpower my mouth, and I smile through a few more sips before setting the cup down.
“The latte was delicious,” Claire says to Cami.
“Blink twice if it was better than Joe’s,” she says playfully, looking back at her husband.
“Hey, no canoodling with the judges,” Joe calls.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “We won’t be giving anything away until the end.”
