Drink 7: Raspberry Cosmo

The Story: John and I have no idea how, when or where we met. Contrary to popular assumption, this has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol. John was a friend of Michael’s long before he and I met but neither of us thinks that we met through Michael. More likely, we met at a business event while I worked at Business NH Magazine and, after finding out that we both knew Michael, we probably let down our professional/networking guards and became friends.

That means that we’ve been friends for nearly 10 years.

He may be nearly 10 years older than me, but John is one of the most optimistic, energetic and happy people I know. He’s always got a smile on his face and a laugh bubbling out of his mouth. I’ve seen him at the height of professionalism and the depth of drunken debauchery and I think that’s why I love him so much.

This year, we’ve spent a lot of time together. I’ve been recovering from a broken heart and he has decided that he’s my gay husband, so he’s been checking in on me, taking me out and generally being a damn good friend.

John devised an amazing strategy for going out in Boston that I have joined him on several times. This typically takes place on a Thursday night. We drive to Londonderry and catch the 4:30 bus into Boston. That gets us into town around 6. We meet Michael and Vlassis and whoever else is around for dinner, drinks, mischief and monkey business. At 10:30, we walk out of whatever bar we’re in (typically 28 Degrees at that point in the night), grab a cab and head to South Station where we catch the last bus back to Dodge at 11 p.m. We nap for nearly an hour, arrive back at Londonderry just before midnight, hop into cars and are home by 12:15. What a perfect plan!

The Drink: John’s signature drink is a raspberry cosmo, so we enjoyed one at 28 Degrees in Boston along with snacks from the $5 bar menu – like sliders and pizzas and fish tacos. Yum!