The Christmas Truffle Mystery

 

          The Christmas Truffle Mystery

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In the early morning light, my first thought when I went out onto my patio was that something was not right. “The Barbarians have landed,” I said to my faithful pooch, Lola.

As everyone knows, any common, garden-variety Barbarian comes to pillage. This Barbarian left a bag of Belgian chocolate truffles on my table. No ribbons. No card. No note. No signature.

Not just one or two truffles. A two-pound bag of Belgian Truffles! That’s a lot of chocolate! I read the fine print, looking for a clue (no signature) and looking for legitimacy. The truffles shipped from Belgium.

Not only did the Barbarians invade in the dark of the night without a sound, they had to get past the vicious, snarling, slavering jowls of my watchdog and faithful protector and low-tech security system, Lola.

“Lola, did someone dangle a huge hunk of steak through the gate and you left your post and let them inside? Let me smell your breath.” Lola clamped her jaws shut and waggled her tail with a look of chagrin. “You are no help,” I told her grimly.

While my neighbors and I often share around trays of cookies, slabs of cake or Janet brings plates of her specialty, a loaded pizza, as a group, we are more thrifty than gifty. We don’t do birthday and Christmas presents.

I did what I do best. I wrote to my near neighbors, told them pretty much the above, with the addition that maybe it was that sweet, so friendly, white-haired man who is one of the garbage pickup crew.

Replies flew back. “Not us.” “Nor us.” “Warn’t we.” And such. Each one latched onto my white-haired man comment with much speculation. You can put that one to rest. Stat.

This morning Julie, who lives up the mountain a half-hour away on bad roads, wrote. She’d come by in the evening when I was probably in the shower. Julie is a good friend who used to live on the Rancho and Lola wagged her the go-ahead. These are really creamy, really delicious chocolate truffles, addictive, no doubt.

Julie suggested I go ahead and indulge in a chocolate high. What a good idea. I think I will.

Merry Christmas to each and every one, Merry Christmas.

Sondra Ashton   HWC: Looking out my back door   December 24, 2025

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