Summer Soap (Episode 10): A final meal for Natalie and a trip back to U.S

Tony’s Bistro could be relied upon for a hearty breakfast on the earlier mornings, so it was only natural that’s where Natalie started her day before heading off to Cork Airport for the flight home.

The little restaurant was decorated with lights for the Christmas season, and nearly empty so soon after opening. With her pick of tables, Natalie opted for the one near the door so she could enjoy the string of lights around the walls.

Her parents weren’t there to get her to the airport on time like they did three months ago so she kept an extra sharp eye on the time, opening her phone after thanking the waitress for bringing her latte. It was a departure from her now routine mocha, but her upcoming departure had her feeling a bit nostalgic for her first day in the city.

After a semester of expanding her drink palate, the latte wasn’t nearly as bitter as she’d remembered, it just needed a pinch of sugar. Natalie checked her flight information while pouring sugar into her coffee.

Her mom suggested getting to the airport in Charlottesville three hours early for international flights, but the airport in Cork was much smaller, and Natalie wasn’t sure what she’d do for the other two hours, so she compromised and resolved to get there an hour and a half before her flight at noon. Her phone’s clock said it was 8:42, so plenty of time for a stack of pancakes and a plate of bacon before heading home for a final baggage check.

She turned her attention away from her phone screen to the harrowing sight not of a brown sugar packet in her hand, but an emptied tube of brown sauce hovering over her coffee like a guillotine.

Oh no.

Natalie considered whether or not it was worth the embarrassment of asking for another cup mere seconds after receiving it.

She took a sip.

It wasn’t that bad, actually. A bit on the sour side to be sure, but nothing real brown sugar wouldn’t fix.

It took three packets of thoroughly examined sugar to make her latte drinkable, so long as she took several sips of water in between. She could call it a savoury note to balance the sweetness of her pancakes. Best to keep her focus on the pancakes though, and keep the water pouring.

Natalie dipped her pancake in the whipped cream before putting it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She had been a bit of an outlier when it came to pancakes, preferring to grab a couple to eat with her hands before going about her weekend. This meant that she grew up eating simple pancakes flavoured with a layer of butter and little else. From what she could find in the restaurants she’d explored, pancakes were a sweeter affair in Ireland.

She’d tried making her own, but with little practice she had mixed results. Maybe she could ask her mom to make her some for breakfast tomorrow? She wouldn’t have to know that Natalie would be eating pancakes two days in a row.

Three-quarters of a cup in, it was revealed that her latte’s saving grace wasn’t the sugar, but the density of the sauce itself. Rather than dissolving into the cursed coffee, it simply sank to the bottom.

Natalie let those last sips of the coffee be, paying her bill and rushing out the door before the server had a chance to clear her table and ask any questions.

Back at her room, Natalie did one last look through her suitcase. She was packing light this time since she was going home where most of her clothes were anyway. She just needed enough to get her through the long travel day, and some of her warmer pyjamas.

She’d wear her coat to the airport, so she had room in her suitcase for all of the Christmas gifts she bought for her family. Hats and scarves for her father and brother, and Natalie had added boxes of Butlers chocolates to her mom’s gift pile. The chocolate haul had only been half intentional. Butlers had a consistent customer base, so it stood to reason that their gift bundles would be in high demand, right?

Natalie had worried they’d run out of stock if she didn’t jump the gun, so in the final days of November she’d selected one of their gift boxes after making sure they included the creme brulee flavoured truffles(her mom’s favourite).

It wasn’t until a week later when Natalie returned to Butlers for a warm mocha that she saw the stacks of bright red holiday boxes and she just couldn’t return home without buying Christmas chocolates, what kind of daughter would she be?

This meant that Natalie looked down at a suitcase filled with not one, but three boxes of chocolate.

She better be the favourite child after this.

Her phone chimed an alarm, making it exactly ten o’clock, which meant it was time for Natalie to head for the airport.

She ordered a cab before putting her coat on, closed her suitcase, and checked to make sure she was wearing her coat. Satisfied, she grabbed her purse, made sure she was wearing her coat again, and rolled out the door.