The waiter answered, ‘Pomegranate juice, strawberry vodka, and Chambord.’
There was a gold arrow with strawberries cut into heart shapes speared on it, sitting in the drink, and Christa thought she could have died in this moment and been happy but decided against it since she knew there was more to come.
Everyone had their drinks, and Marc raised his glass to Christa, the birthday queen of hearts he said, and then everyone raised their glasses and said, ‘To Christa,’ and she cried.
She couldn’t help it but no one seemed to mind.
More staff came into the room with canapés and drinks and somewhere Christa could hear music playing.
‘Where is the music coming from?’ she asked Marc and he showed her out the door, where there was a small swing jazz band playing on the landing of the stairs.
‘Are you kidding me? It’s Christmas Eve. Where did you get all of this from? The staff, the food, which is excellent by the way. Did you try those blinis?’
Back in the sitting room, Seth and Ethan both wanted to sit by Christa.
‘When can Christa open her presents?’ asked Seth.
‘Now,’ said Marc and Seth and Ethan ran to the table and came back holding two large boxes.
‘Two presents?’ she said and looked up at Marc. ‘This is a lot.’
He looked unconcerned at her worry and took a sip from his cocktail.
‘Too bad, we’re only just beginning. So, get ready for the best birthday you’ve ever had in your life.’
Love Potion #9 Cocktail
Ingredients
1 cup pomegranate juice
80ml/2¾fl oz strawberry vodka
80ml/2¾fl oz Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
2 small chunks dry ice (optional)
2 strawberries cut into hearts for garnish (optional)
Method
In a cocktail shaker, combine the pomegranate juice, vodka, and Chambord. Shake to combine.
Place one chunk of dry ice into the bottom of each glass.
Pour the martini over a very small piece of dry ice.
Garnish with skewered strawberry hearts if desired. Pretty cute :)
Wait 5–10 minutes for the dry ice to dissolve (and enjoy the fun show!) before drinking.
36
Marc worried it was too much for Christa but if he could have tied up the world in a pink ribbon then he would have.
The evening had gone perfectly, with presents given. The boys had given her a Lego set of a bakery to make together.
‘I can’t wait,’ said Christa, clearly meaning it, and Marc saw how happy they were to be around her.
