Friday met us with sad, sad news. Ryan's dear Uncle Gerard died in Ireland on Thursday night. So Ryan and I ended the work week with a night at the Pizza Parlour, where we somberly toasted to the life and times of Gerard. And then Ryan told me funny stories about his trips over the pond to visit and the antics of Uncle Gerard. And we laughed. We laughed about when Uncle Gerard was a bus driver and let a little three year old Ryan pose in the driver's seat. Made for one of my favorite photos of all time. Or the time, he picked Ryan up from the airport and had a personalized football jersey for him. Or when Uncle Gerard brought his Italian girlfriend home to meet the parents. Classic tale.
My heart had been breaking for Ryan's Dad ever since we heard the news and we agreed to gather for dinner this past Saturday, before he flew back home to say goodbye to his brother. But I didn't know how to express the sorrow I felt for my dear father-in-law. A card seemed too informal. Flowers too girly. So I baked.
A coconut cake, in honor of an uncle and a brother now at rest...
With each crack of the egg and cup of sugar, I thought about Uncle Gerard and what our first conversation would have been like, had we been afforded the chance. I would have been nervous that he would like me, knowing full well that I would like him. I imagined us prancing from pub to pub and then back to his flat where we would listen to Pink Floyd and Bob Seger.
And then I wondered if he even liked coconut...
And I fretted for a bit.
And then I realized that this cake, once finished, looked like one, big snowball.
Cold and icy like an Irish night. It was fitting. Even if it ended up tasting like cardboard.
There. So be it. A coconut cake for Uncle Gerard and those who will miss him. A man I never met, but loved just the same.
xoxo.
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