Hope came in on high heels looking like cheesecake

A favorite client texted to say he and his wife were in the area of our loft having dinner and would like to come over with wine and dessert to share triple good news. They arrived with a trio of small-plate wonders.

I could focus on those. They were beautiful. And artful. And they honored the culinary mandate of a former client that a proper dessert trio be sweet, tart and textured. Deanna specialized in signature wedding cakes, memorialized on the Today show, made of Belgium white chocolate.

It was a late and wonderful evening. J. and I made a choice to redress, clean a messy kitchen, light the apartment, clean and put guest towels out in a bathroom and hide the week’s mountain of paperwork in the space of what seemed like a breath. We greeted them as highly anticipated guests. (Thank you, mom, for that life lesson.) I loved that they were happy to be here, that they wanted to be here to share good news of being selected as an exclusive partner for $400 million of North American work by an international client.

I loved their generosity (so glad we had stylish cocktail napkins to dance with that dessert) and feel amazed still that acts two and three of their news were about opportunities for us they couldn’t wait to share. Like icing on cake.

And I’m quieted by last night’s answer to my hope and prayer through the day for encouragement because the week was not easy. It walked through the door on high heels and smart dress shoes looking like two white catering bags.