30 Days of Fun: Day 27 Friends, Martinis and Sweet Surprises
August 23, 2013
Cathy Monetti
August 23, 2013
Most everything about the night was unexpected.
It was planned to be our book club gathering, first of all, a night for our group of Fabulous Women to discuss Anna Quindlen’s Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. But suddenly the start of the new school year stood stubbornly in the way. So even after we spitshook on never, ever changing the date to accommodate our busy lives (after all, we just lost AN ENTIRE YEAR trying to find a date that worked for all eight of us), we hoisted a white flag and rescheduled.
Then we realized, we three who could make it: How about dinner?
It was a night of surprises, as I said, starting with this one. It was 72 degrees. In South Carolina. In August. Needless to say, we took the opportunity to have dinner outside, on the patio at Tonello’s Bistro. Our wine glasses had just been filled with a delightful Italian Sangiovese when we heard a guitar, and then a voice so remarkable it halted our conversation. It was jazzy. Bluesy. Lazy, in the most delicious way.
Summertime, and the living is easy…
It was coming from just next door, at Arkos Mojo Grill.
I would buy her album right this minute, I said to Leslie and Teresa, and I swear the song wasn’t a quarter of the way through.
Who is that?
Are we really in Lexington?
And then I glanced up to see this:
And I’m not even on vacation.
Why was I so surprised? What is it about being in your own hometown that makes you look right past everything that is wonderful?
Lured in by both the music and the promise of martinis with a vengeance, we moseyed on over to Arkos for a nightcap. Let me tell you, Arkos did not disappoint.
Mojotini at Arkos, oh my
(See the little ears? Serrano chilis. The Mojotini, an original from Arkos, has a rather devilish little bite.)
We toasted, we laughed, we talked about marvelous things. And then we hugged goodbye, thankful to be friends, happy to be reminded life—and our little hometown of Lexington, South Carolina—is filled with sweet surprises.
30 Days of Fun II
*The photo I took of my Mojotini was not nearly as good as the one posted on Arko’s Facebook page. I hope they don’t mind that I borrowed it.
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