The Main Corpse

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Chinese Shrimp Dumplings Tomato-Brie Pie Crab Quesadillas Giant Mushrooms Stuffed with Chicken Sausage Bacon-Wrapped Artichokes with Dijon Cream Assorted Beers, Ales, Wheats, and Stouts White Chocolate Truffles, Gold Foil-Wrapped Fudge Bars French Roast Coffee

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Sometimes you’d kill for a booking. I was ready – I’d had a rotten spring. The lack of business meant I spent afternoons frantically scrolling through my client files. Wasn’t the Hardcastles’ daughter supposed to get married? Didn’t they want me to do the reception? And what about the Garden Club brunch, Newcomers’ picnic, and Kiwanians’ First-of-Summer barbecue? In terms of scheduled events, these last two months were the worst in the five years since I’d become a professional caterer. It wasn’t just a rotten spring: It was disastrous.

The problem, everyone said, was the weather. From the middle of March until now, the beginning of June, maddening, endless rain and snow had assaulted the Colorado high country. The Audubon Society announced that birds migrating north had overflown the state completely. Drownings were up, landslides were up, catered events were way, way down. The clubs had all canceled their outdoor events, and the Hardcastles’ daughter was on Prozac.

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