"What is?"
"When I first started selling my pies in places other than the farmers market after high school, I talked to the chef at the Tavern. He turned me down because he said that my pies were "too pedestrian"."
Pablo grinned.
"That's why I'm the chef now and he isn't," he said. "If you're going to have a restaurant and a hotel, the restaurant can't be too high-brow or it will lose money. You need some family-friendly alternatives here and there."
"The other side of that," Lisa told him, "is that the diner isn't really interested in the other desserts that I can do because they're a little too rich for the kind of cuisine they like to serve. Once in a blue moon I'll do a cheesecake or creme caramel, but George doesn't ask me too often because they're too sophisticated."
"Are you officially in business?"
"Not yet, but Franco is trying to talk me into it. And Fabian's going to teach me to drive so that I can make deliveries when I need to without being at the mercy of whoever can tote me around."
"For what it's worth, Lisa, I agree with Franco. I think you should, too. I know chefs in Newtown and Oxbow. If you get things set up and get a delivery system in place, I can set you up with contacts to sell your pies and desserts."
"Thank you, Pablo. I'll give that some thought," she smiled. "I heard you were interested in fruitwood to cook with. I have some to spare. Help yourself to whatever's on the wood pile. Dennis and I really pruned the apple trees last year."
"Tell you what. Why don't we trade?" he suggested. "I'll trade you a few cords of maple, oak, and ash for a few cords of fruitwood. My parents had to take some trees down last year, so they have plenty."
"That's a deal!" Lisa said.
"I'll divide the fruitwood -- half for Adrianna's and half for the Tavern -- and replace all of it," Pablo told her. "I wouldn't want to leave you without firewood."
Lisa froze in place as her grandmother's loss hit her again. She lived over in the house now, with the fireplace. It hadn't occurred to her to use it. She'd given the wood to Adrianna for her restaurant and to Fabian for the Aga stove without even thinking about the living room in the house and its cold fireplace.
"I'm sorry," Pablo said, standing and moving to touch her arm.
"No -- it's okay," she said. "The oddest things hit me and make me miss my grandma every now and then. I think Fabian's set for firewood -- I'll ask him."
"He has a fireplace?" Pablo was surprised.
"He has a wood-burning stove in his vardo," she said. "He usually keeps it going all the time in winter, and I'm not sure how much wood it takes. In any event, any kind of wood should suffice for him, since it's a stove and not open fire cooking."